News: Apple Just Released iOS 13.2 Public Beta 1, Includes 'Deep Fusion' Update & 'Announce with Siri' for AirPods

Your iPhone has seen a lot of new features in a very short amount of time. For starters, iOS 13 introduced over 200 of them, including, among many others, system-wide Dark Mode. Before you even had a chance to breathe, however, iOS 13.1 came along and dumped an additional 22 features in your lap. For us beta testers, now its time to explore new features all over again with the first public beta for iOS 13.2.

While iOS, in general, has been quite busy, the beta testing scene? Not so much. The initial beta for 13.2 is the first since iOS 13.1 beta 4, which Apple seeded on Sept. 18. We didn't get a beta for either iOS 13.1.1 or 13.1.2, as Apple simply released these minor updates to the general public. So it's exciting to be back in the beta driver's seat once again.

• Update: Apple's iOS 13.2 Public Beta 2 Now Available for iPhone

If you're beta testing with a 2019 iPhone, you'll be able to take advantage of Deep Fusion in iOS 13.2. Deep Fusion is a major update for the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max camera systems. Like Night Mode, the tech kicks in automatically, but rather than give you on-screen controls, Deep Fusion occurs entirely in the background. Apple claims images taken using Deep Fusion will produce much deeper levels of detail.

Check out The Verge's explanation below for more info on the new tech:

1. By the time you press the shutter button, the camera has already grabbed four frames at a fast shutter speed to freeze motion in the shot and four standard frames. When you press the shutter it grabs one longer-exposure shot to capture detail.

2. Those three regular shots and long-exposure shot are merged into what Apple calls a "synthetic long." This is a major difference from Smart HDR.

3. Deep Fusion picks the short-exposure image with the most detail and merges it with the synthetic long exposure. Unlike Smart HDR, Deep Fusion merges these two frames, not more — although the synthetic long is already made of four previously-merged frames. All the component frames are also processed for noise differently than Smart HDR, in a way that's better for Deep Fusion.

4. The images are run through four detail processing steps, pixel by pixel, each tailored to increasing amounts of detail — the sky and walls are in the lowest band, while skin, hair, fabrics, and so on are the highest level. This generates a series of weightings for how to blend the two images — taking detail from one and tone, color, and luminance from the other.

5. The final image is generated.

This new update also reintroduces "Announce with Siri," which allows Siri to read incoming messages as you receive them if you're using AirPods. The feature was originally going to ship with iOS 13, but Apple removed it during beta testing. Unless Apple pulls the plug again, the feature should reach the public with the general release of iOS 13.2.

• Don't Miss: 200+ Exciting New iOS 13 Features for iPhone

Other new features include an updated animation for the new volume HUD; a Privacy settings page for the upcoming Research app; an update to the AirPlay settings page, now "AirPlay & Handoff," which includes a new "Handoff to HomePod" option; the volume slider in Control Center will reflect the Bluetooth device you're connected to; new HomeKit grouping options; and evidence of new in-ear AirPods.

You can view the release notes for iOS 13.2 beta 1 below. They're unusually brief, citing only two resolved issues, and they're exactly the same for the iOS 13.2 developer beta.

iOS & iPadOS 13.2 Beta Release Notes

Update your apps to use new features, and test your apps against API changes

Overview

• The iOS & iPadOS 13.2 SDK provides support for developing apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices running iOS & iPadOS 13.2. The SDK comes bundled with Xcode 11 available from the Mac App Store. For information on the compatibility requirements for Xcode 11, see Xcode 11 Release Notes.

iCloud - Resolved Issues

• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented deletion of the Recovered Files folder in On My iPad/iPhone. (54785368)

Siri - Resolved Issues

• The supportsOnDeviceRecognition property now returns the correct value. (47822242)

To download and install iOS 13.2 public beta 1, sign up through Apple's beta site, download and install the configuration profile, then update over the air. If you already have the profile, go to Settings –> General –> Software Update to begin the installation of the latest beta build, or you can wait until it installs automatically if "Automatic Updates" is enabled.