iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 released – features and changes

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Apple has released iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 to all users. The new update brings Live Activities, iCloud Shared Photo Library, Clean Energy Charging, updates to Wallet, Fitness+, Home, Books, and more.

Apple released iOS 16 with a number of new features including lock screen customization, Focus enhancements, updates to Mail, Health, Fitness, Safari, Messages, Family Sharing, Live Text, Visual Lookup, and much more.

iOS 16.1 iPadOS 16.1

What’s new in iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1?

October 24 – Apple has released iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 to all users. You can download the update on your iPhone or iPad by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

Here are the release notes from Apple:

iOS 16.1

iCloud Shared Photo Library

  • Separate library for seamlessly sharing photos and videos with up to five other people
  • Setup rules allow you to easily contribute past photos based on start date or people in the photos when you set up or join a library
  • Library filters for quickly switching between viewing the Shared Library, your Personal Library, or both libraries together
  • Shared edits and permissions let everyone add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete photos
  • Sharing toggle in Camera lets you choose to send photos you take straight to the Shared Library, or enable a setting to share automatically when other participants are detected nearby using Bluetooth

Live Activities

  • Live Activities from third party apps are available in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen for iPhone 14 Pro models

Fitness+

  • Apple Fitness+ is supported on iPhone even if you don’t have an Apple Watch

Wallet

  • Key sharing enables you to securely share car, hotel room, and other keys in Wallet using messaging apps such as Messages and WhatsApp
  • Savings account enables Apple Card customers to grow their Daily Cash by depositing it in a high yield savings account

Home

  • Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard, is supported enabling a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across ecosystems

Clean Energy Charging

  • New setting that can try to reduce your carbon footprint by selectively charging when lower carbon emission electricity is available

Books

  • Reader controls are automatically hidden as you start reading

This update also includes bug fixes for your iPhone:

  • Deleted conversations may appear in the conversations list in Messages
  • Dynamic Island content is not available when using Reachability
  • CarPlay may fail to connect when using a VPN app

iPadOS 16.1

The iPad software update has a lot more new features as this is the first iPadOS 16.x release for the tablet. It brings it on par with iOS 16 features, that were released last month.

iCloud Shared Photo Library

  • Separate library for seamlessly sharing photos and videos with up to five other people
  • Setup rules allow you to easily contribute past photos based on start date or people in the photos when you set up or join a library
  • Library filters for quickly switching between viewing the Shared Library, your Personal Library, or both libraries together
  • Shared edits and permissions let everyone add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete photos
  • Sharing toggle in Camera lets you choose to send photos you take straight to the Shared Library, or enable a setting to share automatically when other participants are detected nearby using Bluetooth

Messages

  • Edit a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it and recipients see a record of edits
  • Undo send allows you to recall any message up to 2 minutes after sending it
  • Mark as unread makes it easy to come back to a conversation later
  • SharePlay in Messages lets you enjoy activities like watching movies, listening to music, playing games, and more with friends while messaging
  • Collaboration provides a simple way to invite others to collaborate on a file via Messages and get activity updates in the thread when someone makes an edit to a shared project

Mail

  • Improved search delivers more accurate, complete results and provides suggestions as soon as you begin to type
  • Undo send allows you to cancel delivery of a message within 10 seconds of hitting send
  • Scheduled send for sending an email at a specific day and time
  • Follow‑up surfaces sent emails that have not been replied to, to the top of your inbox so you can quickly follow‑up
  • Remind me lets you schedule a date and time to be reminded about an email

Safari and Passkeys

  • Shared Tab Groups let you share a set of tabs with others and see the Tab Group update instantly as you work together
  • Tab Group start pages can be customized with different background images and favorites for each Tab Group
  • Pinned tabs in Tab Groups enable you to pin frequently visited websites for each Tab Group
  • Safari web page translation adds translation for web pages in Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian, and Dutch
  • Passkeys offer support for an easier and safer sign‑in method to replace passwords
  • Passkey syncing through iCloud Keychain makes your passkeys available across all your Apple devices while keeping them end-to-end encrypted

Stage Manager

  • A new way to multitask on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) and iPad Air (5th generation)
  • Overlapping and resizable windows allow you to adjust the size of your apps and arrange your ideal workspace
  • Recent Apps arranged on the left of the screen allow you to quickly switch between apps
  • App groups allow you to create sets of apps that you can quickly get back to

New Display Modes

  • Reference Mode delivers reference color for popular color standards and video formats on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR display and with Sidecar, use it as a reference display for your Apple silicon Mac
  • New display scaling setting that increases the pixel density so you can view more in your apps on iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later) and iPad Air (5th generation)

Weather

  • Weather app on iPad is optimized for the larger display, including immersive animations, detailed maps, and tappable forecast modules
  • Weather maps show precipitation, air quality, and temperature alongside the location view or in full screen
  • Tappable modules reveal more detail such as hourly temperature or precipitation forecasts for the next 10 days
  • Air quality displays a color coded scale for air quality, level and category, and you can view air quality on a map to see related health recommendations, pollutant breakdown, and more
  • Animated backgrounds represent the sun position, clouds, and precipitation with thousands of variations
  • Severe weather notifications let you know when a severe weather alert has been issued near you

Game Center

  • In-Game Dashboard Activity shows you what your friends are accomplishing in this game, and what they are playing and achieving across all games in one place
  • Game Center Profiles highlight your achievement and leaderboard activity across all of the games you play
  • Contacts integration shows your friends’ Game Center profiles and lets you see what they are playing and accomplishing in games

Live Text

  • Live Text video support allows you to interact with text in a paused video frame so you can copy, translate, lookup, share, and more available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models
  • Quick actions let you take action on data detected in photos and videos with a single tap, so you can track flights or shipments, translate foreign languages, convert currencies, and more, available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models

Visual Look Up

  • Lift subject from background isolates the subject of an image so you can copy and paste it into apps like Mail and Messages, available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models
  • Visual Look Up adds recognition of birds, insects, spiders, and statues in your photos available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models

Siri

  • Easy Shortcuts setup makes it possible to run shortcuts with Siri as soon as you download an app with no upfront setup
  • A new setting allows you to send messages without Siri asking you to confirm before sending
  • “Hey Siri, what can I do here?” helps you discover Siri capabilities in iPadOS and apps just by asking, available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models
  • Call hang up option for ending Phone and FaceTime calls with Siri by saying “Hey Siri, hang up”, available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models
  • Emoji support lets you insert emoji using your voice when sending messages on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models

Dictation

  • All-new Dictation experience supports using your voice along with keyboard or Apple Pencil to enter and edit text, available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models
  • Automatic punctuation inserts commas, periods, and question marks as you dictate
  • Emoji support lets you insert emoji using your voice available on iPad (8th generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) and iPad Pro 11-inch all models

Maps

  • Multi-stop routing supports adding up to fifteen stops along your driving route in Maps
  • Transit fares show you how much your journey will cost in the San Francisco Bay Area, London, New York, and more

Home

  • Redesigned Home app makes it easier to navigate, organize, view, and control your smart home accessories
  • Home tab now integrates all your accessories, rooms, and scenes into a single tab for a whole-house view, allowing you to see your entire home at a glance
  • Categories for lights, climate, security, speakers and TVs, and water let you quickly access all the relevant accessories organized by room, and displays more detailed status information
  • New camera view displays up to four cameras front and center in the Home tab, scroll to see any additional camera views in your home
  • Redesigned accessory tiles feature more visually recognizable icons that are color-matched to their category, and new behaviors for more precise accessory controls
  • Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard, is supported enabling a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across ecosystems

News

  • My Sports enables you to easily follow your favorite teams and leagues and watch highlights right in the News app
  • Favorites give you easy access to the channels and topics you read the most, in a consistent place near the top of your Today feed
  • New homepages deliver visually updated and easier to navigate topic feeds for local news locales, sports teams and leagues, and more

Family Sharing

  • Improved child account setup makes it easier to create an account for a child with the right parental controls, including age‑appropriate media restrictions
  • Device setup for a child lets you use Quick Start to easily set up a new iOS or iPadOS device for your child with your selected parental controls in place
  • Screen Time requests in Messages make it even easier to approve or decline requests from your child
  • Family Checklist gives you tips and suggestions like updating a child’s parental control settings, turning on location sharing, or just reminding you to share your iCloud+ subscription with everyone

Desktop-Class Apps

  • Customizable toolbars allow you to add the features you use most often in your apps
  • Menus provide additional context for actions such as close, save, and duplicate, making it easier to edit documents and files in apps like Pages and Numbers
  • Find and Replace is available in apps across the system, including Mail, Messages, Reminders, and Swift Playgrounds
  • Availability view in Calendar shows availability of invited participants when you create meetings in Calendar

Safety Check

  • Safety Check is a new section in Settings to help people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations quickly reset the access they’ve granted to others
  • Emergency reset lets you quickly take action to reset access across all people and apps, including disabling location sharing via Find My, resetting privacy permissions for apps, and more
  • Manage sharing and access helps you review and customize which apps and people can access your information

Accessibility

  • Door detection in Magnifier locates a door, reads signs and symbols around it, and gives you instructions for how to open the door
  • Live Captions (beta) automatically converts audio into text for users who are Deaf or hard of hearing to follow along more easily with calls and media content
  • Buddy controller helps users with cognitive disabilities get support from a caregiver or friend while playing a game, by combining inputs from multiple game controllers into one
  • VoiceOver is now available in over 20 new languages and locales, including Bangla (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese
  • Voice Control spelling mode gives you the option to dictate names, addresses, or other custom spellings letter by letter

This release also includes other features and improvements:

  • New Watercolor, Monoline, and Fountain pens in Notes
  • AirPods Pro (2nd generation) support, including Findy My and Precision Finding for the MagSafe Charging Case as well as Personalized Spatial Audio for a more precise and immersive listening experience, also available on AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro (1st generation), and AirPods Max
  • Handoff in FaceTime allows you to move FaceTime calls seamlessly from your iPad to your iPhone or Mac, and vice versa
  • Memoji updates include more sticker poses, hairstyles, headwear, noses, and lip colors
  • Translate camera lets you translate text around you using the camera in the Translate app
  • Duplicate detection in Photos identifies duplicate photos so you can quickly clean up your library
  • Pinned lists in Reminders helps you quickly navigate to your favorite lists
  • Search on the Home Screen enables Spotlight to be accessed directly from the bottom of the Home Screen, making it easy to open apps, find contacts, or get information from the web
  • Rapid Security Response gets important security improvements to your devices even faster, as they can be applied automatically between standard software updates

iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 release candidates

October 18 – Apple has seeded the release candidates for iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1.

iOS 16.1 beta 5 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 12

October 11 – Apple has released the new beta updates today. We will update these posts as we find new changes.

iOS 16.1 beta 4 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 11

October 4 – The new beta builds contains fixes and support for Matter. Apple has also released the public beta updates.

iOS 16.1 beta 3 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 10

September 27 – Apple has released the new beta updates to developers.

Here’s everything new in this release:

iOS 16.1 beta 2 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 9

September 20 – Apple has released iOS 16.1 beta 2 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 9 to developers.

  • The battery percentage indicator in the status bar has been updated again. It now shows the battery status visually, alongside the percentage, with an updated font.

  • Apple has changed how the “Allow Paste” feature works in beta 2. You only see the “Allow Paste” pop-up when an app automatically tries to access the clipboard. If you try to copy and paste something manually, you will not see the pop-up anymore.
  • The lock screen charging indicator has also made a comeback. This is missing in the public iOS 16 release.
  • The charging indicator and progress have returned on the lock screen.

iOS 16.1 beta 1 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 8

September 15 – Apple has released the public beta updates to testers.

September 14 – Apple has released iOS 16.1 beta 1, and iPadOS 16.1 beta 8 to developers. There have been many delayed features that were cut from the final iOS 16 release, so it is expected that iOS 16.1 will ship with the following updates:

  • iCloud Shared Photo Library
  • Live Activities and Live Activities API
  • Focus filter
  • Freeform
  • Game Center: SharePlay support and deeper contacts integration
  • Matter support
  • Clean Energy Charging

As per release notes, Apple has included Matter support, and some bug fixes in these updates. We expect more new features to be included in upcoming beta updates.

Everything new in iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 7

  • Clean Energy Charging feature is now available under Settings > Battery > Battery Health and Charging
  • Battery percentage is now available on iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 11, and iPhone XR.
  • Live Activities API is back with iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island support in this beta build.
  • Lock Screen customization sees some improvements with the ability to select different wallpapers for home screen and lock screen.
  • Apple has included support for Matter smart home standard. It’s early days, and users need to install a profile to pair Matter compatible accessories.
  • Screenshots menu has been redesigned.
  • Music app icon for headphones is now larger.
  • Game center now features an option “Allow finding by friends”. This uses email address and phone number associated with a user’s Apple ID.
  • Apple Wallet app can now be deleted.
  • Stage Manager sees a bunch of updates:
    • App windows can now be dragged from iPad display to an external display.
    • You can add more windows to an app using the “+” button, which was previously non-functional.
    • You can easily see all open windows for an app by clicking an app’s icon in the dock or pressing Globe key + down arrow key.

Does your device support iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1?

The following devices are compatible with these beta updates:

  • iPhone 8 and later
  • iPad Pro (all models)
  • iPad Air 3 and later
  • iPad 5th generation and later
  • iPad mini 5 and later

Apple has dropped support for iPhone SE (1st generation), iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus with iOS 16.x updates.

Install iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 beta

If you have an Apple Developer Center membership, you can download the beta profiles to enroll your device in the beta program. Apple Developer Center also allows you to download beta restore images for your iPhone or iPad. If you do not have a membership, you will have to spend $99 per year to sign up. However, you can always find the beta profile, which is required to enroll an iPhone or iPad in the beta program, from Reddit or other sources.

You can also wait for the public beta, which should be available soon and are free to use.

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