iOS 18.2 beta 3 has just been released to developers, bringing with it a bunch of new changes and features. While not quite as exciting as previous beta versions of iOS 18.2, which introduced features like Image Playground and Visual Intelligence, there’s still a few new things to explore.
Here’s what Apple has changed, and what public beta testers can expect to arrive in the near future.
Photos
iOS 18.2 beta 3 has a welcome change in the Photos app, and has stopped videos from zooming in and out when you tap the screen. Instead it does what you’d expect, and reveals the video controls and a gallery view at the bottom of your screen.
Camera control
iPhone 16 users with their exclusive Camera Control button will find that there’s a brand new option in the settings menu. This will let you switch off the “Require Screen On” option for Camera Control, letting you use the button to open your camera regardless of whether your phone screen is on or off.
CarPlay
The upcoming next-generation version of Apple CarPlay has been getting some changes, and it looks like the media and climate apps now have new artwork. As commenters on X have noted, the new media app icon looks remarkably like the old iTunes Radio artwork. Anyone remember that?
Writing tools
Anyone highlighting text will now find that the Writing Tools option has moved, now appearing in the first stage of the pop-up menu. Meaning you don’t need to tap the arrow and hunt for it, as you did before.
Apple TV
Ok, so this is an iPadOS change, but anyone running the 3rd iPadOS 18.2 beta will find that they can customize the navigation bar in the TV app. Options include adding channels, apps, library sections and sports.
Other iOS 18.2 beta 3 changes
Other smaller details that have changed in iOS 18.2 beta include an AirDrop icon that switches to dark mode in the sharing menu, stricter device requirements being enforced for Apple Intelligence features. and fixes for issues affecting Precision Finding and “Play Sound” in the FInd My app.
When will iOS 18.2 arrive?
The iOS 18.2 beta is still ongoing, but fortunately members of the public don’t have too long to wait before it arrives for real. Apple has confirmed that the stable version of iOS 18.2 will be arriving at some point in December, letting non-beta users take full advantage of all the new features it contains.
We don’t know exactly when in December this will happen, but it does mean all these new features will be with you before the end of the year. That includes Visual Intelligence’s AI Vision for iPhone 16 owners, ChatGPT support in Siri and other areas of iOS, and Image Playground’s new image generation capabilities.
