Apple seeds iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 GM to developers and public beta testers

Apple is going to launch iOS 14.2 to the public soon, as the company has just seeded the golden master version of the pre-release software.

With the seeding of the golden master version, which is the final version for beta testing before the public release of the software, a broad launch is right around the corner. Which certainly makes sense, because the last two iPhone 12 variants –the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max— both go up for pre-order next Friday, November 6.

Apple released iOS 14 to the public back in September.

Related: Download the new iOS 14.2 wallpapers

iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 can be downloaded and installed from the official Apple Developer Center. It’s also possible to be downloaded and installed as an over-the-air (OTA) update on properly registered devices. Apple seeded the GM version of both iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 to developers and the public beta testers.

Tutorial: How to sign up for and install Apple’s public beta

iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 aren’t huge updates, but they do offer some new changes. The new software welcomes more emoji to the mix, for instance, including the inclusion of a mammoth, ninja, pinched fingers, polar bear, and many more. There’s more, though, including better support for Shazam.

With iOS 14.2, Apple is welcoming Shazam as a built-in feature with the mobile operating system. There is a new Control Center option for Shazam that makes launching music recognition much easier. The feature can now even recognize music while you’re listening to it on your AirPods.

In addition to the change for Shazam, the Now Playing widget in Control Center has been redesigned and improved. In iOS 14.2, this widget will now show recently played music when you’re not currently listening to anything. AirPlay’s interface is tweaked in the new software as well.

With iOS 14.2, Apple is also introducing the Intercom feature for the HomePod and other Apple devices. With Intercom, family members can interact with one another more directly. For instance, from one HomePod to another, users can quickly send a message for people throughout the house. Intercom can be used to send a notification to users that aren’t in the house, too.

It also fixes the problem where iOS 14 beta users were seeing a persistent pop-up about a non-existent software update.

iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 will launch to the public soon.

iOS 14.2 change log

iOS 14.2 includes the following improvements for your ‌iPhone‌:
– Over 100 new emoji, including animals, food, faces, household objects, musical instruments, gender-inclusive emoji, and more
– Eight new wallpapers in both light and dark mode versions
– Magnifier can detect people nearby, and report their distance using the LiDAR sensor included in iPhone 12 Pro and ‌iPhone 12 Pro‌ Max
– Support for iPhone 12 Leather Sleeve with MagSafe
– Optimized battery charging for ‌AirPods‌ to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your ‌AirPods‌ spends fully charged
– Headphone audio level notifications to alert you when audio level could impact your hearing
– New ‌AirPlay‌ controls to stream entertainment throughout your home
– Intercom support with ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ using ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, Apple Watch, ‌AirPods‌, and ‌CarPlay‌
– Ability to connect ‌HomePod‌ to ‌Apple TV‌ 4K for stereo, surround sound, and Dolby Atmos audio
– Option to provide statistics about Exposure Notifications, without identifying you, to participating Public Health Authorities

This release also fixes the following issues:
– Apps could be out of order on the Home Screen dock
– Camera viewfinder may appear black when launched
– The keyboard on the Lock Screen could miss touches when trying to enter the passcode
– Reminders could default to times in the past
– Photos widget may not display content
– Weather widget could display the high temperature in Celsius when set to Fahrenheit
– Next-hour precipitation chart description in Weather could incorrectly indicate when precipitation stops
– Voice Memos recordings are interrupted by incoming calls
– The screen could be black during Netflix video playback
– Apple Cash could fail to send or receive money when asked via ‌Siri‌
– Apple Watch app may unexpectedly close when opened
– Workout GPS routes or Health data are prevented from syncing between Apple Watch and ‌iPhone‌ for some users
– Audio is incorrectly labeled as “Not Playing” in the ‌CarPlay‌ Dashboard
– Devices could be prevented from charging wirelessly
– Exposure Notifications is disabled when restoring ‌iPhone‌ from iCloud Backup or transferring data to a new ‌iPhone‌ using ‌iPhone‌ Migration

iPadOS 14.2 change log

iPadOS 14.2 includes the following improvements for your ‌iPad‌:
– Over 100 new emoji, including animals, food, faces, household objects, musical instruments, gender-inclusive emoji, and more
– Eight new wallpapers in both light and dark mode versions
– Magnifier can detect people nearby, and report their distance using the LiDAR sensor included in iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation) and ‌iPad Pro‌ 11-inch (2nd generation)
– Scene Detection in Camera uses intelligent image recognition to identify objects within a scene and automatically improves the photo on ‌iPad Air‌ (4th generation)
– Auto FPS in Camera automatically reduces the frame rate when recording video to improve low light capture and to optimize file size on ‌iPad Air‌ (4th generation)
– Optimized battery charging for ‌AirPods‌ to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your ‌AirPods‌ spends fully charged
– New ‌AirPlay‌ controls to stream entertainment throughout your home
– Intercom support with ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ using ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, Apple Watch, ‌AirPods‌, and ‌CarPlay‌
– Ability to connect ‌HomePod‌ to ‌Apple TV‌ 4K for stereo, surround sound, and Dolby Atmos audio

This release also fixes the following issues:
– Camera viewfinder may appear black when launched
– The keyboard on the Lock Screen could miss touches when trying to enter the passcode
– Reminders could default to times in the past
– ‌Photos‌ widget may not display content
– Weather widget could display the high temperature in Celsius when set to Fahrenheit
– Voice Memos recordings are interrupted by incoming calls
– The screen could be black during Netflix video playback
– Apple Cash could fail to send or receive money when asked via ‌Siri‌