In testing since before Apple even announced its latest iPhones, iOS 14.2 is now available for everyone, alongside iPadOS 14.2, watchOS 7.1, and tvOS 14.2. The key new feature for this release is Emoji 13.0, packing in over 100 new emoji characters.
A key new feature in this set of emojis is that many have been reclassified as gender-neutral, so you can have a man wearing a wedding veil, a woman wearing a tuxedo, and so on. There's even a gender-neutral version of Santa or Mrs. Claus called Mx Claus. Aside from that, there are new animals and insects, blueberries, a pepper, an olive, and much more.
Following Emoji 13.0 will be Emoji 13.1, since Emoji 14.0 was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As always, there are a bunch of other changes in the updates. Here's the full changelog for iOS 14.2:
- 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
Obviously, the iPadOS 14.2 changelog is similar:
- 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
These updates are available for all devices that were supported by iOS 14 and iPadOS 14. And don't forget, there are minor watchOS and tvOS updates out too.
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