iOS 162 update releases with 5G for iPhones, Advanced Data Protection, AirDrop limitations, and more

Apple has released the stable and final iOS 16.2 update to the public. It comes with new iOS features like 5G support for iPhones, Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, and limitations for AirDrop, among other things. There are a few important new things to discuss here. Plus, we also brief you on the various bug fixes that this iOS update brings.

Top iOS 16.2 features: What’s new

Starting with the iOS 5G news:

1. 5G enabled for iPhones

Apple has announced that “Starting Tuesday, December 13, at 11.30 PM IST, 5G cellular support is being enabled for the powerful new iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone SE and iPhone 12 lineups. In order to use a 5G connection with Jio and Airtel on an iPhone 12 model or later, customers will need to update to iOS 16.2”.

So, if you have an iPhone 12 model or later, a 5G carrier connection, and you are living in an area with 5G coverage, enable 5G by going to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options. If you meet the above criteria and still don’t see this particular screen of options, you will have to contact your telecom provider. 

Suppose you get 5G on your iPhone, you will see a new 5G symbol on the status bar. The 5G icon could also come with 5G+, 5G UW, or 5G UC variations which denote you are getting a higher frequency of 5G.

Now, within the aforementioned, Cellular Data Options menu, you can choose between various Voice & Data options (5G Auto, 5G On, LTE) as well as various Data Modes (Allow More Data on 5G, Standard, and Low Data Mode).

2. Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

iOS 16.2 adds advanced data protection for iCloud which is a fancy name for end-to-end encryption for your backups on the iCloud.

Find out more details here.

3. 10-minute AirDrop Limitation

A neat security update is the new 10-minute AirDrop discoverable window for ‘Everyone’. This means if you have the ‘Everyone’ option enabled, it will be available for 10 minutes only and then get switched to the ‘Contacts Only’ option automatically. Read more about it here.

4. FreeForm

Upon installing iOS 16.2, you will find a new app icon added to the home screen as well as App Library. This is the new Freeform app that has been rolled out to macOS 13.1 and iPadOS 16.2. It’s a canvas app that lets you add files, images, stickies, etc and sketch with drawing tools — all in real-time and you can collaborate with others.

5. Other features and bug fixes

The list of other new iOS 16.2 features includes:

- Apple Sing (a Karaoke app),

- a pitch-black wallpaper-less Always-on Display mode for iPhone 14 series, 

- improved crash detection for iPhone 14 lineup, 

- Content-based search in Messages, 

- the ability to temporarily Turn Off Hide IP Address setting for iCloud Private Relay, 

- location-specific news articles in the Weather app, 

- Rapid Security Response that lets Apple rollout security patches separate from the full-fledged OS updates.

- Apple has also fixed a memory execution issue in the WebKit that was resulting in malicious processing of web content and arbitrary code execution.

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