Even though most of Apple’s fans and various news publications are focusing quite strongly on the 8.3 update for iOS, it will likely be preceded by version 8.2 which is currently going through beta testing and is scheduled to come out soon. According to the rumors, the new version of the OS could be just a few weeks from release, but the reason it’s getting mostly ignored is probably because users have already seen most of what it will bring in the beta previews.
On the other hand, iOS 8.3 is much more mysterious and that’s the main reason why it’s getting so much attention. Still, the 8.2 update for the operating system is going to introduce various changes that will make life significantly easier for iOS users, so it should not be ignored. In addition, there are some rumored changes coming that could make this a significant improvement over the last versions of the operating system.
The most recent update that has come out officially was 8.1.3, which aimed to fix a few problems with the iPhone and iPad that had been pending for a while. And even though it’s supposed to be a minor milestone, judging by the version number, it was still quite large in terms of download size, as some users noted.
Currently, iOS 8.2 is going through a fifth beta round, as Apple have been trying to really polish this version of the OS before releasing it to the public. The company has been getting more and more active in their pre-release beta development style lately, as they previously released six beta versions for iOS 8.0 before finally releasing the actual update to the market. It’s worth noting that beta 6 was never made public though, so it’s possible that iOS 8.2 could also see a similar “hidden” update available only to carrier partners.
It’s not known with absolute certainty when iOS 8.2 will be ready to be downloaded by the public, but there are several reports that Apple are aiming for a March release. They haven’t set an official release date yet, but various publications have pointed out that it’s very likely we’ll see the update being released in the second week of the month.
After that, the company will continue their work on iOS 8.3, and users will likely get to see some of the upcoming update’s features in action before 8.3 has actually been deployed, similarly to the previous updates, including the current 8.2. Apple used to be much more secretive and closed about their development of iOS, and it’s good to see them opening up the operating system with public betas like that more frequently now.