Apple releases iOS 14.2: New emojis and Shazam feature added, HomePod Intercom support, and more

This article is based on an article from the Japanese edition of Engadget and was created using the translation tool Deepl.

Apple has launched iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2. For older devices that do not support these, iOS 12.4.9 has also been released.

If you've received it, you can update it manually by checking from the notification or by going to Settings - General - Software Update.

The main updates this time around are, first of all, over 100 new emojis and 8 new wallpapers. Support for iPhone 12 Leather Sleeve with MagSafe has been mentioned, but at the time of writing, no release date for this product has been announced (as well as the MagSafe dual charging pad).

In addition, a toggle for Shazam, the music recognition app acquired by Apple in 2018, which allows users to look up ambient sounds and songs playing in other apps, can now be displayed in the Control Center. This is the official implementation of the new element, which was confirmed in the iOS 14.2 beta.

To use this feature, you must first open the "Settings" app and select "Control Center". Then scroll down to the “More Controls” section, and tap on the “+” button next to “Music Recognition.” This will add Shazam toggles to the Control Center, and you can also sort them as needed.

iOS and iPadOS 14.2 also optimizes battery charging for AirPods and AirPods Pro to slow the rate of battery aging by reducing the time your AirPods spends fully charged.

It also supports "Intercom" for the HomePod family, announced at the iPhone 12 launch event, so you can send and receive messages to and from HomePod and HomePod mini with iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and CarPlay.

iOS 14.2, iPadOS 14.2, and iOS 12.4.9 also include significant security patches, so early updates are recommended.

The official release notes for iOS 14.2 are as follows

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

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

The official release notes for iPadOS 14.2 are as follows

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 versionsMagnifier 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

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:

https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

This article is based on an article from the Japanese edition of Engadget and was created using the translation tool Deepl. The Japanese edition of Engadget does not guarantee the accuracy or reliability of this article.