Gurman: Apple Finished iOS 16 Development Last Week Ahead of iPhone 14 Event Planned for September 7

Apple engineers wrapped up development of the initial version of iOS 16 last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. This likely means that Apple has few to no major new features or changes planned for the remaining iOS 16 betas and will instead focus on bug fixes in the final weeks before the software update is publicly released.

iOS 16 Lock Screen Customize
In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman reiterated that iOS 16 and watchOS 9 are planned for release in September alongside new iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 models, while he expects iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura to be released in October.

Here's the exact quote from Gurman's newsletter:

The iOS 16.0 update, which Apple engineers finished work on this past week, is due to launch in September alongside watchOS 9. Those updates will correspond with the new hardware. The macOS Ventura and iPadOS upgrades, on the other hand, are now scheduled for October (after Stage Manager-related delays to the iPad software) to match the new hardware lineup.

iOS 16's major new features include a customizable Lock Screen with widgets, the ability to temporarily edit or unsend an iMessage, iCloud Shared Photo Library for sharing photos with family and friends, a revamped Home app, and more. Apple also reintroduced a battery percentage icon in the status bar on most iPhones with a notch.

Gurman recently reported that Apple is planning to hold an event on Wednesday, September 7 to unveil new iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 models. Apple would likely also announce release dates for iOS 16 and watchOS 9 at the event, which Apple has yet to officially confirm. Gurman believes Apple is likely to hold another event in October focused on new Macs and iPads, including updated iPad Pro models with the M2 chip.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...
iOS 26 Hold Assist

Google Says iOS 26 Copies Three Android Features

Tuesday June 17, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
In a new ad, Google says iOS 26 copies three Android features that have been available on Pixel phones for years: Live Translate, Hold Assist, and Call Screening. The video, part of the ongoing #BestPhonesForever series, shows an iPhone and a Pixel 9 Pro talking to each other on a fictional podcast. "I announced live translation for text messages," the iPhone says. "And it turned out...

Top Rated Comments

azentropy Avatar
37 months ago
More like they finished the version that will go on the new iPhones initially.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
37 months ago

Noob question : what’s the point in releasing betas if it is finished anyway ? ?
To make sure the software is stable and reliable for the general public. Apple also takes the feedback very seriously.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
37 months ago
Makes sense since the last beta was very small and incremental.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
37 months ago
A bit surprised...

What about Xcode ?

They didn't even release a new beta this week and I can't test my apps on my iPhone this week, because iOS 16 has a more recent build than Xcode. This is annoying.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cobold Avatar
37 months ago

Which is the build we get as the public release. Anything else is 16.0.1 shortly after.
Not necessarily. Last year, the first iPhone 13-series iPhones were preinstalled with iOS 15.0 build 19A341 and 19A345.
The build we got as the public release was 19A346.

You had to update your brand new iPhone 13 to the "final" build as an update labeled as "iOS 15.0", just increasing the build number bot not version number (still 15.0).

iOS 15.0.1 was build 19A348, whitch came out in October.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Premium1 Avatar
37 months ago

Noob question : what’s the point in releasing betas if it is finished anyway ? ?
Even it being "finished" there are bugs they want to work out, plus the added features that will come later on. Also the "finished" version is just what they load onto the new iphones, it doesn't mean they are done working on it.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)