- The beta version of iOS 16.2 has some new customisation features for the UI, including a new accessibility mode.
- In the future, iPhone and iPad users could adapt their own UI to be more streamlined and personal.
- There is no word yet if the new accessibility mode will come with iOS 16.2 or if it will ship with a future version of iOS.
The beta build for iOS 16.2 was released on Tuesday and it seems that Apple is looking to continue increasing its UI customisation options for iPhones and iPads, this time in terms of user accessibility.
According to some digging “under the hood” performed by 9to5Mac, this new custom accessibility mode is called “Clarity” in the current beta build of the operating system and is apparently replacing the incumbent iOS Springboard interface. It is described by Apple as a “customizable, streamlined way to use your iPhone and iPad.”
The new Clarity interface is more streamlined and is aimed at making iPhones more “user-friendly” for those that find it complicated to navigate.
Through the options the new mode provides, users will be able to make a host of adjustments to their UI, including choosing their preferred layout (as seen above), setting larger text size, what apps are available on the Home Screen, allowed contacts, and access to hardware buttons when Custom Accessibility Mode is switched on.
It looks like the accessibility mode can be enabled or disabled through a triple-click on the side (or Home button) on the iPhone. Users will also be able to set a password to restrict who can change their device’s accessibility.
As of yet, there are no indications whether this feature will release with the public build of iOS 16.2 or if it will come in later updates to the operating system.
The previous version of the OS, iOS 16.1 was launched on 25th October and it came with several revamps apart from the general bug fixes, including the iCloud Photo Library, which lets you and five other users add, edit or removed images from a shared photo library.
iOS 16.1 released worldwide at once so expect iOS 16.2 to be available in South Africa along with the rest of the world. Apple doesn’t generally advertise the release dates for its iOS patches, but we’ll keep you up to date until then.
