Apple seems to be hard at work right before the holidays. After releasing a beta for the next version of iOS less than 24 hours ago it was announced that a new beta build for the same update will be released in the following days for everyone that is a part of the beta program.
The company released the iOS 12.1.2 update last week and the release of two betas in one less than a week surprised many users. But there is a larger reason behind these updates.
The conflict between Qualcomm and Apple has been increasing recently as patent breaching, blocked royalties and withhold evidence appear in the lawsuit between the two giants.
A China court imposed an injunction against Apple, asking the company to stop the selling of select iPhone models that were accused of unlawfully using patents owned by Qualcomm. Defying the decision, Apple continued to sale the devices after a patch that removed the functionalities restricted to the disputed patents was pre-loaded on the devices.
Apple rushed to release the iOS 12.1.2 order to justify their claims in front of the court.
This may explain the quick push of the 12.1.2 update after just one beta build. It may also mean that additional functionalities that were planned for the patch may have been delayed to iOS 12.1.3 in order to avoid potential bugs.
The greatest addition during this patch is that the ECG app for the Apple Watch will now run even if you are using a beta version of iOS. Previously the app only worked on the stable version of the OS, which limited the functionality of the Watch for those that wanted to be a part of the beta at the same time.
It is expected that the new beta will be released next week, most likely after the first day of Christmas. But the company may decide to release it this weekend if the build is deemed to be stable enough for public use.
Nora Reynolds is a major in biology and a minor in Biological Basis of Behavior, writing about science in general. She also likes to try new gadgets and sports about the AI new era.
