PSA: Older Notifications No Longer Hidden in Notification Center in iOS 16.2 Beta 4

In a small but significant change to the way the Notification Center works in the latest iOS 16.2 beta, older notifications are now shown by default without having to swipe up.

In the current release as well as earlier versions of iOS 16, users do not automatically see older notifications in the Notification Center like they did in iOS 15, and instead must manually swipe up from the middle to reveal them, if there are any.

In other words, if a new notification is received and the user unlocks and then locks their iPhone without interacting with it, iOS treats it as an old notification and sends it to the Notification Center where it is hidden, which some users say often results in important notifications being missed.

Note that in iOS 16.2 beta 4, the Lock Screen still hides older notifications unless the user swipes up from the middle of the screen. The change to showing older notifications by default only applies to Notification Center, which can be pulled down with a swipe down from the top of the screen when the iPhone has been unlocked.

Whether or not the change will make it into the official release of iOS 16.2, due later this month, is unknown, but if it does, many users will welcome the new behavior as an improvement to the way iOS deals with older notifications.