New Xcode 12.2 beta is already referencing iOS 14.2

Apple seeded the seventh beta of macOS 11 Big Sur earlier today, and, with it, the latest beta of Xcode 12.2 as well. The latter is already teasing a major update to iOS.

Despite the fact that Xcode 12.1 never saw the light of day, Apple seeded a beta of Xcode 12.2 to developers today. That’s plenty interesting in itself, but the real kicker is the fact that Xcode’s latest beta is teasing iOS 14.2. Keep in mind that Apple just released iOS 14 earlier this week, and it hasn’t even hinted at any software updates for the platform just yet. And, it stands to reason that iOS 14.1 would release before 14.2? But, here we are.

That’s not all, either! It’s not enough to hint at a major update for iOS, but Xcode 12.2’s beta also indicates it offers full support for iPadOS 14.2 (obviously), tvOS 14.2, and watchOS 7.1. macOS 11 Big Sur is mentioned as well, but no major updates hinted at in that regard.

Per James Thomson on Twitter:

Apple has since removed the release notes referencing these software updates, but Xcode 12.2 –which technically appears to support those software releases– is still available to developers.

So, what does this mean? Well, a lot of possibilities. Apple could release iOS 14.1 sometime before the end of September, and even sometime in early October — basically before the launch of the iPhone 12 lineup. Or, Apple may skip iOS 14.1 altogether and just release iOS 14.2. That could be what the release notes were hinting at, especially considering watchOS’s update only went to 7.1, rather than 7.2 to keep up with the iOS updates. The iPhone 12 lineup may ship with iOS 14.2 on board right out of the box, too.

By now, folks are digging into Xcode 12.2’s beta and if there are any additional discoveries made, we will update this post accordingly.