Apple has released iOS 13.2, bringing new features like Deep Fusion camera mode, new emojis, compatibility with the new AirPods Pro and more.
Apple has been releasing a slew of updates ever since iOS 13 first came out in September. It was riddled with bugs and the iOS 13.2 update fixes a lot of them. While updating to the latest iOS is always optional, if you plan on using the new AirPods Pro, there’s no other choice. AirPods Pro are compatible with devices running at least iOS 13.2.
iOS 13.2 gives users the choice to share Siri recordings with Apple. This comes after Apple received backlash over its decision to share Siri recordings with third-party contractors to improve the service. This is despite Apple trying to position Siri as a privacy-friendly alternative to Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant.
After the update, users will prompted to choose whether they want to share Siri recordings with Apple. You can change it later in the Settings.
AirPods Pro support and Announce Messages
As mentioned earlier, iOS 13.2 brings support for the new active noise-cancellation enabled AirPods Pro along with the Announce Messages feature for Siri. The update essentially adds the ability to enable or disable ANC from the Control Center. Furthermore, second-gen AirPods will be able to announce incoming messages via Siri without having to unlock your iPhone.
Deep Fusion computational Photography
One of the more significant new addition is the Deep Fusion mode in the camera. It’s Apple’s answer to Google’s HDR+ which Senior Vice President Phil Schiller called ‘computational photography mad science’. The feature works in the background and gets activated only in medium-light settings.
Deep Fusion captures the same image in different exposure in rapid succession. Then they are fused using machine learning through a ‘pixel-by-pixel’ analysis of the images. Essentially, the feature combines the best parts of the series of images into one to reduce noise, improve sharpness and boost details.
The feature takes four images, out of which three are normal and another is a long-exposure. The camera app applies four processing steps on the three normal photos and merges them with the long-exposure shot which results in the final image. The feature is similar to what Google does with its HDR or other OEMs with their smart HDR algorithms.
However, you will not be able to see the feature at work. Just know that it is working in the background. It’s not something you can turn on or off and phone will decide when to use the feature depending on the amount of light available.
Set video resolution and frame rate in Camera app: If you have an iPhone 11 or iPhone 11 Pro, you can change the video recording resolution and frame rate right in the Camera app. Just tap on the resolution and frame rate display.
Home grouping
In the Home app there is now an option to show accessories with multiple functions as a single tile, or as multiple tiles for each individual function. Prior to iOS 13, everything was ungrouped. In iOS 13, everything is grouped. The iOS 13.2 update gives you control over showing it the way you like it.
Smart home features with HomeKit
The new update also brings HomeKit Security Video which records short videos of people, animals, cars or other objects that comes in front of your HomeKit-enabled security cameras. The update also brings support for HomeKit-enabled routers.
59 new emojis
With every new feature update, Apple introduces new emoji for users. iOS 13.2 brings 59 new ones and over 70 if you count gender versions and over 200 if you factor in skin tone. These include wheelchair or with a cane, a bionic arm, swimsuits, ice cube and more
Bug fixes and other improvements
- Fixes an issue that may prevent passwords from autofilling in 3rd party apps.
- Resolves an issue that may prevent the keyboard from appearing when using Search.
- Addresses an issue where swipe to go home might not work on iPhone X and later.
- Fixes an issue where Messages would only send a single notification when the option to repeat alerts was enabled.
- Addresses an issue where Messages may display a phone number instead of a contact name.
- Resolves an issue that caused Contacts to launch to the previously opened contact instead of the contact list.
- Fixes an issue that may prevent Markup annotations from being saved.
- Resolves an issue where saved notes could temporarily disappear.
- Fixes an issue where iCloud Backup might not successfully complete after tapping Backup Now in Settings.
- Improves performance when using AssistiveTouch to activate App Switcher.
