A major iOS 16 feature, iCloud Shared Photo Library, won’t be available at launch

One of the biggest features of iOS 16, the iCloud Shared Photo Library, will not be available when the software update is officially released next week on September 12.

iCloud Shared Photo Library enables up to six members of a family to choose which images to share to the library or have their iPhones automatically add them to it. Every user in the Shared Photo Library can add, delete, edit or favorite the shared photos or videos.

iCloud Shared Photo Library is still in development

With iOS 16, users can send photos directly to the Shared Library using a new toggle in the Camera app that shared the photos as they take them

In addition, users will also receive intelligent suggestions to share a photo that includes participants in the Shared Photo Library. Users can also choose to select photos from a specific date or from when they were together with other family members.

iCloud Shared Photo Library can also be set up in a way where when users take a photo and other members of the shared library are nearby, they will automatically receive them. This year, users do not have to worry about manually adding a ton of pictures to the library.

Unfortunately, the feature will not be available in the first official release of iOS 16. As seen in a footnote of the iPhone 14 press release, Apple says “‌iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library will be available in a future software update.”

The release candidates of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 were recently seeded to developers. The software updates are slated to be released on September 12.

iCloud Shared Photo Library is still in development

Asma Hussain