Apple Snuck Four New Animoji Characters into iOS 12.2 Beta 2

Apple managed to sneak several new Animoji characters into the latest beta version of its upcoming iOS 12.2 software update.

The new beta contains four new animated character options: a shark, an owl, a giraffe and a boar.

Interestingly, Apple didn’t announce or mention the additions publicly — it took beta testers some slight digging to actually figure out that iOS 12.2 beta 2 contained some new Animoji.

• Those four new characters, and Animoji in general, are only available on Apple devices that sport a TrueDepth camera.
• Compatible devices include the iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and new 2018 iPad Pro models.

Their addition to pre-release iOS 12.2 software pretty much confirms that they’ll make it to the official rollout of the update.

While Apple has been known to pull features previously included in beta software before release, it’s unlikely that the new Animoji will be buggy enough for Apple to do so.

In addition to new Animoji, iOS 12.2 beta 2 contains other minor changes. They include some slight AirPlay design tweaks, new AR/VR privacy and security options in Safari, and a misleading 5G E icon for AT&T users.

The first beta of iOS 12.2 also contained some notable design changes and new features. In the latter category, it added Apple News in Canada, added AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support for certain smart TVs, and hints that new AirPods with ‘Hey Siri’ and an Apple magazine subscription service are coming.

iOS 12.2 beta 2 is currently available as both a developer and a public software beta. That means you can download it and try out the new Animoji once you sign up for Apple’s public testing program (which you can do here).

Of course, the same beta advice applies. We don’t recommend that you download beta software on your daily driver or any other “mission critical” devices. If you still want to, at least perform a full backup of your device before you hit download.

If you’d rather wait, the final version of iOS 12.2 will likely be released to the public sometime this spring.