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iOS 10.2 Released, Brings India Specific SOS Button, 100 New Emojis, and More

iOS 10.2 Released, Brings India-Specific SOS Button, 100 New Emojis, and More

By Tasneem Akolawala | Updated: 13 December 2016 11:32 IST

Highlights

The Emergency SOS button arrives with iOS 10.2
The default emergency number is 112
100 new emojis have also been introduced

Apple has released iOS 10.2 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. The update for the first time brings an India-specific feature - the SOS or panic button - following the government's new mandate. Additionally, iOS 10.2 brings a host of other improvements including 100 new emojis, new effects in iMessage, new TV app, and improved camera features.

After upgrading to iOS 10.2, the Emergency SOS option can be found in Settings -> General menu. You can personalise the SOS settings under this option, such as how many times you will have to press the Power button to make the Emergency SOS call, whether to sound a countdown for that or not, etc. For example, by pressing the power button rapidly, a phone call to 112 will be made. This is in accordance to the government's mandate of making the SOS feature compulsory in all phones. India will adopt 112 as the new single emergency number starting January 1, 2017.

(Also see: Panic Button for Women Mandatory on Mobiles From January 1: Prasad)

You will notice that 112 is automatically saved as Distress Number in Contacts after you install iOS 10.2. While 112 is the default number, you can even add more numbers to alert during emergency via the Health app.

This update will be available for iPhone 5 and later devices, iPad fourth generation and later devices, and iPod touch 6th generation and later devices. Head over to Settings > General > Software Update to download and install the new update. Alternatively, you can even update via iTunes. First install iTunes, and then connect your iOS device to your PC or Mac. In iTunes select your device's icon on the top bar, Click the Summary tab and then click Check for update. Now, click Download and update. At this point, you should follow the simple on-screen instructions to install iOS 10.2. Ensure that you have at least 50 percent battery backup, and a strong Wi-Fi connection when attempting to update. Don't forget to backup your iOS device before you download and install the update.

The other big change, as mentioned, is the addition of 100 new Unicode 9.0 emojis that represent different professions, sports, animals, and foods. More diverse characters and expressions like face palm, shrug and fingers crossed have been added. There's also the addition of a new TV app, exclusive only to US users for now, for watching various TV shows, subscribing to premium content, and streaming it via the app.

iMessage also gets the new Send With Love and Celebration full-screen effects. iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus users get new wallpapers with this update. There's also a new Preserve Settings in Camera that lets you save your last mode. You can preserve the last mode, such as video or square, rather than the default reset to photo every time you close and open the Camera app. Lastly, several technical improvements and bug fixes are also a part of the update.

Here are the entire release notes:
iOS 10.2 introduces new features including the TV app (US Only), a new and unified experience for accessing your TV shows and movies across multiple video apps. Emoji have been beautifully redesigned to reveal even more detail and over 100 new emoji have been added including new faces, food, animals, sports, and professions. This update also includes stability improvements and bug fixes.

TV
Use Up Next to see the movies and shows you're currently watching and pick up where you left off
Get recommendations for new movies and TV shows in Watch Now
Discover new apps and the latest iTunes releases in the Store
Access the Library for your iTunes purchases and rentals

Emoji
Beautifully redesigned emoji that reveal even more detail
Over 100 new emoji including new faces, food, animals, sports, and professions

Photos
Improves stabilization and delivers faster frame rate for Live Photos
Improves accuracy of groupings of similar photos of the same person in the People album
Fixes an issue where Memories might generate a memory from photos of screenshots, whiteboards or receipts
Fixes an issue where the camera would stay zoomed in after switching back from the Camera Roll on iPhone 7 Plus
Additional support for RAW digital cameras

Messages
Adds new love and celebration full screen effects in Messages
Fixes an issue that sometimes prevented the keyboard from displaying in Messages

Music
Swipe up the Now Playing screen to more easily access Shuffle, Repeat and Up Next
Choose how to sort Playlists, Albums, and Songs in Library

News
Stories you've saved for later now appear the new Saved section
The best paid stories from channels you subscribe to will now appear in a dedicated section in For You
It's now easier than ever to get to the next story, just swipe left or tap Next Story while reading

Mail
Fixes an issue that caused the Move sheet to persist after filing a Mail message
Addresses an issue with long press activating copy and paste in Mail
Fixes an issue in which the wrong message would be selected after deleting a Mail conversation

Accessibility
Adds BraillePen14 support to VoiceOver
Fixes an issue where the braille table could switch unexpectedly with VoiceOver
Fixes an issue where sometimes Siri enhanced voices were unavailable to VoiceOver
Fixes an issue where VoiceOver users could not re-order items in lists
Fixes an issue where Switch Control was sometimes unable to delete Voicemails

Other improvements and fixes
Adds notification support for HomeKit accessories including window coverings, occupancy, motion, door/window, smoke, carbon monoxide, and water leak sensors
Adds notification support for HomeKit accessories when software updates are available to HomeKit accessories
Improves Bluetooth performance and connectivity with 3rd party accessories
Fixes an issue that could cause FaceTime participants to appear out of focus
Fixes an issue that could cause FaceTime calls to appear with incorrect aspect ratio and orientation
Fixes an issue that prevented some Visual Voicemail from completing playback
Fixes a Safari Reader issue that could cause articles to open as empty pages
Fixes an issue that could cause Safari to quit unexpectedly after marking an item as read in Reading List

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