Apple released the latest update for iOS 16 on Tuesday. iOS 16.2 is more than your average mid-December update, packed with new features, bug fixes, and security updates. And you wanna hit it Download and install button immediately. In fact, you’ll want to update all of your Apple devices to this week’s updates. It’s a pretty big update with a few important features that you won’t want to sleep about.

End-to-end encryption for all your iCloud data

Earlier this week, Apple introduced several new security features in iOS 16.2, the most important of which is the ability to end-to-end encrypt almost all of your iCloud data. Naturally, Apple has to rename everything, which is why it calls this feature Advanced Data Protection. It is not enabled by default, but we recommend that you enable it immediately. Open the Settings app, tap your Apple ID at the top, then select iCloud. Scroll down until you see Advanced Data Protection and click on it to get started.

You’ll have to go through some hoops to set it all up, which is probably why it’s not enabled by default. To get started, all your Apple devices need to be updated to the latest OS version (iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS 13.1). You will then need to create some way to regain access to your account if you lose your device or passcode, since Apple will no longer have encryption keys for your data – it could be a trusted contact or a recovery key.

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Why go through all these problems? Simply put, it takes the keys to your data from Apple’s hands and returns them to you. Apple currently encrypts some of the data on your device with a key, you I have, but They you can’t—for example, Health, Passwords & Keychain Access, Billing Information, and Apple Card Transactions. But many important categories, including backups, are encrypted in transit and on Apple servers with a key controlled by Apple. This means that if a hacker breaks into their servers, they can access your data. If a government agency needs this data from Apple, it can decrypt it and give it to them.

Advanced Data Protection adds end-to-end encryption (only your keys on your devices) to iCloud backups, photos, notes, reminders, voice memos, Safari bookmarks, and more. In fact, the only cloud data No encrypted with your own keys will be iCloud Mail, Contacts and Calendars. Worth the time to set it up!

Free Karaoke with Apple Music Sing

If you are an Apple Music subscriber, you get free karaoke update in iOS 16.2. This feature is called Apple Music Sing and all you have to do is open the lyrics of any song like you did before and look for the little microphone icon. If you see it, you can adjust the level of the vocals – all the way down to the instrumental if you want – and follow the lyrics in real time, just like in a real karaoke machine. Lyrics views have also been updated, with better animations to help you follow along.

Not every song with lyrics supports Apple Music Sing, but many of them do, and more will grow over time. It’s based on machine learning rather than playing a single track without vocals, which is why many upgraders won’t get it – it’s limited to the iPhone 11 and later, the latest Apple TV 4K and iPad from the last couple of years.

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Got a brand new home fund

You will not see this feature, but if you use any smart home devices, you probably Feel It. In iOS 16.2, Apple rewrote the basic architecture of the Home and HomeKit apps to make them faster and more reliable. If you’ve been frustrated with long delays in turning on or off lights or automations that aren’t handled in time, you may find that this is exactly the fix you’ve been looking for.

You may need to run the update yourself, and it’s a good idea to make sure everyone in your home and all your devices, like HomePods and Apple TV, are up to date first. Open the Home app, tap the (…) button in the top right corner, then select Home Settings. Scroll down and select Software Update. You can see a banner at the top of the screen saying “Home Update Available” – that’s where you’ll start.

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There is something else interesting for the lock screen

The customizable lock screen is one of the best features of iOS 16. In iOS 16.2, you get some useful new widgets to choose from: medications to remind you when to take your next dose, and sleep to help you see how much rest you have (when tracked with Apple Watch or other accessory). ).

If you have an iPhone 14 Pro, you’ll get a huge change to the always-on display: the ability to hide wallpapers and/or notifications. Those will enter very handy as they make it easier to tell when your phone is at rest and easier to read.

Follow live sports with Live Activity

Live Activity are rich notifications that update in real time. So instead of getting a new notification every time your food delivery status is updated or a baseball game score changes, you see a single notification in the form of a widget that keeps you in the loop. Those with an iPhone 14 Pro also get a new Dynamic Island experience so they can keep an eye on things using other apps.

Sports fans have been waiting to follow their favorite teams with Live Activity since iOS 16 was released in September, and the feature is finally here in iOS 16.2. Open the TV app, then tap the icon Look tab, scroll down to Sports row, then tap Live Sports. Scroll down, then tap Follow your teams. Select your favorite teams there and you’ll automatically see them in the news along with score updates for the games they play.

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Other little things

Of course, iOS 16.2 has a ton of other little things you can appreciate. In addition to nearly three dozen security updates, you have improved search in messages (you can find images by searching content), the Freeform collaborative whiteboard app, and related news articles in the Weather app. In addition, Game Center finally got SharePlay for multiplayer games and a new home screen widget showing your friends’ activities.