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10+ new features in iOS 10.2 beta 1

Apple yesterday issued beta 1 of the forthcoming iOS 10.2 software update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. For starters, iOS 10.2 beta 1 includes three new wallpapers, provides a bunch of new emoji as part of the Unicode 9.0 standard and gives Camera the optional ability to remember filter, Live Photo and mode settings.

Star ratings are back in the Music app and Videos has its own widget. Oh, and you can now annoy friends with a brand new animation in Messages.

Without further ado, here's our video hands-on with iOS 10.2 beta 1 accompanied by a detailed description of all the new features and enhancements.

When iPhone 7 Home button fails, iOS 10 offers a nice software workaround

MacRumors forum member “iwayne” has noticed that iOS 10 offers an interesting software workaround for when the iPhone 7's non-moving Home button fails.

Should that ever happen to you, iOS 10 will instantly create a software-based Home button centered at the bottom of the screen.

Not unlike the AssistiveTouch accessibility feature that many iPhone owners in Asia use regularly over fear of breaking the physical Home button, iOS 10's new onscreen button could hint at how a bezel-less iPhone 8 might work without a physical Home button.

Apple granted patent for a Touch ID sensor that could work through an iPhone display

If you've been waiting for the next iconic design since the release of the black-clad iPhone 5, this year's iPhone 7 probably feels like a slight disappointment. Apple is widely thought to have saved its best innovation and industrial redesign for the Tenth Anniversary iPhone next year which could embed the fingerprint sensor, FaceTime camera and sensors behind the display.

As revealed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple has now been granted a patent for a fingerprint-sensing technology that could work through the display itself, paving the way for an iPhone with the full-screen face design.

How to adjust iPhone Home button “clicks”

The iPhone 7 came with a shiny new Home button to take advantage of built-in pressure sensors and an enhanced Taptic Engine to detect and simulate clicks. Because the button no longer uses any moving parts, you’re less likely to break it. A new “Meet the new Home button” section in the iOS installer allows you to “make your iPhone experience even more personal by choosing the click that’s right for you”.

Of course, you can select between three degrees of haptic feedback that simulate clicks at any time using the stock Settings app, here's how.

Here’s a new “Meet the new Home Button” step in iOS 10 installer on iPhone 7

With less than 24 hours left until first iPhone 7 shipments start hitting customers' doorsteps, YouTuber Marques Brownlee has put together a nice unboxing video featuring both new black options for the device, a supper glossy variant called Jet Black and its matte counterpart, referred to by Apple as simply Black.

The video offers interesting observations regarding the RAM, CPU performance, non-moving Home button and a new “Choose Your Click” Home button option.

Reports reaffirm non-moving Home button for iPhone 7 with haptic feedback simulating clicks

If you believe certain analysts, supply chain chatter and reports from outlets like Mac Otakara, Apple's next iPhone will feature an all-digital, touch-sensitive Home button flush with its front face. A pair of new rumors, first discovered by AppleInsider, have now reaffirmed that the iPhone 7's non-moving Home button won't physically click when pressed, instead simulating a click with vibration much like the trackpad on MacBooks uses haptic feedback to provide a click sensation.

Concept imagines iPhone 7 in Space Black with Force Touch Home button

You've probably read stories by DigiTimes and 9to5Mac, which were seemingly corroborated by today's analyst report and an earlier blurry photo, that the iPhone 7 would supposedly have a Home button that would sit flush with the face of the phone.

A UK-based conceptual artist took those rumors as a base for imagining a possible design for the next iPhone's Home button. He also envisioned a rumored Space Black finish for the device that should resemble the Space Black Apple Watch.

Analysts corroborate claim of alleged iPhone 7 Force Touch Home button

Cowen and Company analysts have corroborated an unconfirmed story which two days ago reiterated prior reports that the next iPhone would sport a Home button with haptic feedback to simulate a click, using the same approach as Force Touch on the Apple Watch.

Citing “field checks” to back up its research and projections, the analysts were quoted by Business Insider as saying that this new Home button will sit flush with the rest of the iPhone 7. They also expect the device will lack a headphone jack and will be waterproof, as previous rumors have suggested.

Judge tosses ‘Error 53’ lawsuit against Apple out of the window

A United States district court judge has tossed so-called 'Error 53' lawsuit against Apple out of the window on grounds that the plaintiffs “lack standing to pursue injunctive relief”. The plaintiffs argued that the iOS 9 software update causing certain devices with a faulty Touch ID or Home button, like the iPhone 6, to be bricked has resulted in permanent data loss.

They were unable, however, to frame the argument in court a legal loss.