{"id":304059,"date":"2025-11-20T22:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T22:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/304059\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T22:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T22:46:13","slug":"ios-26-2-is-coming-here-are-my-three-favorite-new-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/304059\/","title":{"rendered":"iOS 26.2 is coming: Here are my three favorite new features"},"content":{"rendered":"

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iOS 26.2 is launching for all users next month<\/a>, but I\u2019ve been using the new update for a few weeks already in beta. Here are my three favorite new iOS 26.2 features so far.<\/p>\n

#1: Automatically created chapters in Apple Podcasts<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m a big fan of chapters in podcasts. They provide a quick way to skip around, and there are plenty of shows I listen to\u2014especially longer ones\u2014where it\u2019s helpful to have that option.<\/p>\n

But I also like chapters because they provide an overview of where a show is going, and how long each segment will be.<\/p>\n

Many Apple-centric podcasts (like 9to5Mac Happy Hour<\/a>) offer episode chapters. But the vast majority of podcasts do not.<\/p>\n

Which is why I\u2019ve been thrilled in iOS 26.2 to find that all of my favorite podcasts now have chapters.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Apple Intelligence, Apple Podcasts now automatically creates chapters for all podcasts. Creators don\u2019t need to do anything. The app already generated transcripts automatically<\/a>, and now it\u2019s using AI to make chapters for every show based on those transcripts.<\/p>\n

Shows can choose to opt out, but I very much hope that doesn\u2019t happen, because automatic chapters are a huge upgrade<\/a> for the listening experience.<\/p>\n

#2: \u2018Urgent\u2019 option in Reminders app<\/p>\n

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Apple\u2019s Reminders app used to lag behind more full-featured task managers in significant ways. But in recent years, Apple has invested heavily into adding \u2018pro\u2019 features that take Reminders beyond a simple list app.<\/p>\n

And in iOS 26.2, Reminders is getting a new feature I\u2019ve wanted for years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now when creating or editing a reminder, you\u2019ll see an \u2018Urgent\u2019 option appear if that reminder has a due time.<\/p>\n

If you set a reminder as \u2018Urgent,\u2019 an alarm will go off when its due time arrives. So instead of a standard push notification, the reminder gets the full alarm treatment.<\/p>\n

Just like your morning wakeup, the alarm will keep going off until you stop or snooze it. Snoozing will bring the alarm back in nine minutes. If you stop the alarm, you\u2019ll still see the task displayed prominently on your Lock Screen until it\u2019s marked complete. A Live Activity is even activated to make sure you don\u2019t forget the task.<\/p>\n

Overall, it\u2019s a very well done feature, and easily among my top iOS 26.2 additions.<\/p>\n

#3: Apple News navigation updates<\/p>\n

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Apple News used to be an app just for news, but in the last few years it\u2019s added daily puzzle games, sports features, recipes with a dedicated cooking mode, audio stories, and more.<\/p>\n

Until now, lots of these additions have been jammed into an overstuffed search screen. But iOS 26.2 makes some great navigation changes to put key features front and center.<\/p>\n

Now at the top of the Today view, you\u2019ll see a row of quick links to open Sports, Puzzles, Politics, or Food sections.<\/p>\n

By removing Sports from the bottom tab bar, Apple freed up space for a new Following tab. This takes everything that used to be hidden behind Search and makes it easier to find. So now, the search screen can focus exclusively on search.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an Apple One<\/a> or Apple News+<\/a> subscriber and play the app\u2019s daily puzzles, or use the recipe and cooking features often, these changes are a big improvement from the previous design.<\/p>\n

Which new iOS 26.2 features are you most looking forward to? Or if you\u2019re on the beta, what have been your favorites so far? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n

Best iPhone accessories<\/p>\n

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FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"iOS 26.2 is launching for all users next month, but I\u2019ve been using the new update for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[165,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-304059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}