When iOS 16.2 landed in mid-December, it was a pretty big update. It brought a new collaborative app in Freeform, new Medications and Sleep widgets, and Advanced Data Protection for encrypted iCloud backups. However, there’s one feature you’re probably not using that’s better than all of them.
One of iOS 16’s best features is Live Activities, which arrived in the first major update, iOS 16.1. You’ve probably used them for things like timers and music, and if you have an iPhone 14 Pro noticed how they populated the Dynamic Island. But in iOS 16.2, Apple has added Live Activities for Sports in the TV app and it’s incredible.
Here’s how it works. First, head over to the TV app and tap the Watch Now tab. Scroll down to the “Sports” section and tap “Live Sports.” Find a live game you’re interested in and click “Follow.”
When you follow an NBA or MLB game in the TV app, it’ll populate the Digital Island and continuously update.
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When you close the TV app, the score will populate the Digital Island and stay there until the game is over. If you tap and hold on the Digital Island, you’ll see the most recent play. The score updates automatically and will save you from checking your favorite sports app over and over again to see if your team is winning. If you don’t have an iPhone 14 Pro, you can still see updating scores on the Lock Screen, but the Digital Island component brings the wow factor.
Unfortunately, the TV app currently only works with NBA and MLB games, but you can use the third-party Sports Alerts app to get other sports. And it would be nice if a future update let you choose whether to automatically send a game to the Dynamic Island when a specific team is playing.
But if you’re into sports, it’s a fantastic feature that demonstrates the incredible potential for the Digital Island—and makes the iPhone 14 Pro even better.
