Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 10.2 to developers, introducing some notable improvements to the new "TV" app that was introduced in the second iOS 10.2 beta.
As can be seen in the video below, the TV app is more fully functional, with support for the "Up Next" feature that keeps track of what you're watching across multiple devices. TV has now completely replaced the former Videos app in the United States, which has now been eliminated.
Here's a full list of changes that can be found in iOS 10.2 beta 3:
SOS - The SOS functionality that allowed users to call emergency services by pressing the power button multiple times on the iPhone has been removed in this beta. According to Apple's release notes, SOS is currently only available in India, perhaps for testing purposes before a wider rollout.
Messages - There's a new "Send With Love" Screen Effect option in Messages that sends a heart along with a text message.
TV settings - In the Settings app, there's a new section for the TV app. It allows users to choose whether to use cellular data for playback and choose the streaming quality over Wi-Fi and Cellular. There's also an option to choose whether to make purchases and rentals from the store in HD or SD.
TV functionality - The TV app now supports the "Up Next" feature that keeps track of the television shows and movies you're watching, saving your place or recommending next episodes across multiple devices.
Videos - The Videos app has been removed from iOS entirely in the United States and replaced with the TV app. The Videos widget, introduced with iOS 10.1, has also been removed, but there is a replacement TV widget that's been available since beta 2. In countries outside of the United States, the Videos app is still available.
Apple has only provided the third beta of iOS 10.2 to developers today, but will likely make the new features available to public beta testers later this week.
Because Apple has promised a December launch for several of the features in iOS 10.2 (including Single Sign-On and the TV app), the update could be officially released during the early weeks of the month.
