iOS 16.5 Update: Everything We Know So Far

Apple’s current generation Operating System, iOS 16.3, was available for the general public on January 23, and iOS 16.4 was officially released on March 27. Compared to iOS 16.3, iOS 16.4 was a relatively more significant update. It brought over 50 new features and changes to the iOS operating system, like new emojis, notifications for web applications, voice isolation, new features for Photos and weather apps, several bug fixes, and more.

That said, it’s time for iOS 16.5 to reach all compatible Phones. Already, leaks and Rumors are surfacing around the internet about the company’s next update, namely iOS 16.5. The developers and public testers are the first to test out the upcoming software update on an iPhone. Because of them, we can recognize the expected features of the software update.

This article will discuss everything we know about iOS 16.5, including its release date and expected features. Make sure to read till the end. So, without any further ado, let’s get started!

Update 18/05/2023: Following over a month of beta testing, the official version of iOS 16.5 is now available to the general public. This update includes many new features, including the New Pride Celebration wallpaper, the Sports tab in Apple News, and more. The build number is 20F66. Fixes include Spotlight’s unresponsive issue, Screen Time settings reset or not sync bug, Podcasts content not loading in CarPlay, and more. So, should I update my iPhone to iOS 16.5? Absolutely; considering that we haven’t encountered any issues with iOS 16.5, we can safely give it the green light.

ios 16.5 install

Update 15/05/2023: On May 15, Apple released another version of iOS 16.5 called a release candidate (RC) for testing. This build comes after the first RC was released about a week ago. The latest RC build is probably the final build of iOS 16.5 that will be available to the public this week. Apple has confirmed that it will be released sometime this week.

Update 09/05/2023: Apple released the RC version of iOS 16.5 for both developers and public beta testers. Furthermore, Apple has officially announced that iOS 16.5 will be released to the public next week. This suggests the official version could be released on May 16, 2023, Tuesday.

Update 26/04/2023: Apple is conducting the beta test of the iOS 16.5 build to ensure everything runs smoothly after the general release. Following the rollout of iOS 16.5 beta 1 and beta 2, the third beta build is now available to the public beta testers. You can install it by navigating the Settings app, selecting General, and then choosing Software Update. The update has been assigned the build number 20F5050f. Talking about the changes in beta 3, slight modifications have been made to the Emergency SOS (satellite) feature.

iOS 16.5 Expected Features

1. New Sports Tab in Apple News: Earlier, you were required to go to the “Today” tab or trigger the Sports section from the “Following” tab. iOS 16.5 will likely bring a new and dedicated Sports Tab to the Apple News application, which will be easy and convenient for viewing the latest Sports news.

2. Persistent Navigation Bar in Apple News: The navigation bar disappears when reading an article. However, with the help of iOS 16.5, you can get an endless Navigation Bar even when reading an article in Apple News.

3. New Button Designs: iOS 16.5 changes the button icons and placements. The new Suggest More or Less button is now kept within a shaded circle, resulting in a single button. To stack the changes, the Back, Bookmark, and More Actions icons have shaded circles on iOS 16.5, and iPadOS 16.5 will also include the same.

4. Text Size Options: To lack uncertainty in the look and feel of iOS, Apple shifted the Text Size (AA) button to the More Actions section. If you want to adjust the size of the text of your article, then you have to increase a step in iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5.

5. Next/Previous Arrows: With iOS 16.5, the Next and Previous arrows, which used to appear at the bottom of the articles, have been eradicated. The iPadOS 16.5 carries the same.

6. Screen Recordings with Siri: iOS 16.5 will help Siri to increase her command skills. You can start or stop screen recordings by saying any of the commands to Siri and saying “Hey Siri” or using the Siri long-press shortcut. The commands are: “[Start/Stop] a screen recording.”; “[Start/Stop] recording my screen.” ; “[Start/Stop] screen record/recording.”; “Screen record.”; Start screen recording of end screen recording.

7. Shared Admins Flexibilities: In the Home app, you can provide access to the other admin for your smart home, and they can add new Matter accessories with the help of iOS 16.5.

8. Multiview for Sports in Apple TV: The company is trying to bring a new feature in the Apple TV application wherein you can stream multiple Sports games simultaneously with iOS 16.5. It is not available to the general public for now, but we have various references in iOS 16.’ code. Some commands and error messages are: “Remove a game first to add a new one.”; “No more Games Available.”; “Check back later for more games.” The company is testing up to four streams simultaneously for Apple TV+. There are dedicatedly new icons too for the two and four games services.

Apart from the above features, there will likely be minor tweaks and improvements to improve customer satisfaction. But as iOS 17 will be released on June 5 in WWDC 2023, iOS 16.5 is turning out to be a minor update. The company’s primary attention is towards Apple’s next-generation software update, i.e., iOS 17, and the iPhone 15 series will probably be coming with iOS 17 out-of-the-box.

ios 16.5 beta

When can we expect iOS 16.5 to be Released?

  • Update: The iOS 16.5 stable update was released on May 18, 2023.

The first iOS 16.5 Beta was released on March 28 to the developers. After the release of its first beta, the company started to roll out iOS 16.5 Beta to the registered users in the Apple Beta Software Program. The respective update should await you in the settings if you have registered in the program.

In addition to the iOS 16.5 Update, American Tech Giant is also rolling out the following updates to the registered users in the Apple Beta Software Program:

  • iPadOS 16.5 Beta 1 (20F5028e).
  • WatchOS 9.5 Beta 1 (20T5527c).
  • TVOS 16.5 Beta 1 (20L5527d).
  • MacOS Ventura 13.4 Beta 1.

We can expect a stable release for iOS 16.5 somewhere in May. As WWDC is approaching, Apple is paying attention to iOS 17. So, there can be a delay between the scheduled launches. We will surely update you in this post if we get any updates on the iOS 16.5 progress. Make sure to be connected with us. Thank you for reading.

Ansari, a tech writer at DealNTech, is a tech enthusiast who is always up-to-date on the latest mobile news. He writes articles about mobile news and guides for DealNTech. In his free time, he enjoys playing mobile games and testing apps. Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Linkedin

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