After seven betas and a couple of months of testing, Apple has released the final version of iOS 10.2 to all devices that run iOS 10. This is the second major update released for iOS 10 since it came out in September and, like iOS 10.1 before it, this release adds a couple of new features and provides an extensive list of fixes for existing ones. (You can find the full release notes at the bottom of this post.)
The most noticeable change for many users will be the revamped emoji support, which includes both new characters introduced in version 9.0 of the Unicode spec as well as support for new professions and revamped Retina-friendly designs for many existing emoji. As usual, Emojipedia’s coverage is fairly comprehensive.
The biggest new feature is probably the TV app, which Apple announced during its last product event in October. This new app completely replaces the existing “Videos” app on iDevices—it now handles all playback of movies and TV shows purchased through the iTunes store as well as streaming content aggregated from compatible third-party apps. In theory, the app can just show you all kinds of TV from all sources without making you dive into individual silos of content via apps, but in practice it’s still going to be limited depending on the particular apps you use. Netflix isn’t compatible with the TV app, which significantly hurts it right out of the gate.
Other apps have merely been tweaked. Apple has improved the stabilization and increased the frame rate for Live Photos, added “love” and “celebration” full-screen effects to Messages, added a section for saved stories in the News app, and tweaked sorting and navigation options in the Music app. Additionally, HomeKit accessories are now able to send notifications when they need your attention or when a software update is available, further reducing the need for dedicated apps for your individual HomeKit devices.