Apple News App Gains Sports Tab in First iOS 16.5 Beta

The iOS 16.5 beta that Apple seeded to developers today doesn't appear to have many features as of yet, but one change has been made to the Apple News app. To go along with its push into sports content, Apple has added a new Sports tab to the app.

apple news sports tab
Apple has positioned the Sports tab in ‌Apple News‌ right in the middle of the bottom navigation bar, putting it between Today and News+ on the left, and Audio and Following on the right. To make room for the Sports tab, Apple has combined the Following and Search tabs into one tab rather than making them separate actions.

The Sports tab facilitates the picking of favorite teams for personalized news, a feature that was already available in the prior version of ‌Apple News‌ without a dedicated tab.

A tab specifically for sports content comes as Apple is aiming to lure sports enthusiasts to its ecosystem and Apple TV+. Apple has inked deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer for exclusive content, and sports content has been more deeply integrated with the iPhone through features like Live Activities for following games in real time from the ‌iPhone‌ Lock Screen.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
ipad black friday 2025

The Best Early Black Friday iPad Deals

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:20 am PST by
Black Friday is just over a week away, and iPad deals have finally started to flood in at retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. Below we're tracking discounts on every current generation iPad, including lowest-ever prices on M3 iPad Air and M5 iPad Pro, plus steep markdowns on iPad and iPad mini. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a ...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
watchos 26 workout app

Apple Watch Users Claim Workout App Is Now Worse in Every Way

Thursday November 20, 2025 7:01 am PST by
Apple Watch owners have been voicing their frustration online over changes to the Workout app that Apple introduced in watchOS 26, with many finding the redesigned interface makes starting exercises difficult and exasperating. When Apple launched watchOS 26 in September, the Workout app went from large, easily tapped workout tiles to a scrolling, corner-button interface. Instead of tapping a ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Two More U.S. States Commit to Offering iPhone Driver's Licenses in Apple Wallet App

Thursday November 20, 2025 8:21 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Earlier this week, Illinois became the 13th state in the U.S. to offer the feature. Subsequently, we shared a list of additional states that are committed...
android iphone airdrop quickshare

iPhone Users Can Now AirDrop Files to Android Devices

Thursday November 20, 2025 9:47 am PST by
Google today announced a new cross-platform feature that allows for file sharing between iPhone and Android users. With AirDrop on the iPhone and QuickShare on Pixel 10 devices, there is a new file transfer function available. The file sharing option works on Apple devices that include iPhone, iPad, and Mac, along with the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, and Pixel 10 Fold....

Top Rated Comments

eicarr Avatar
35 months ago
I wish I could change it to Entertainment or Travel or something that even slightly interested me.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
throAU Avatar
35 months ago
when i block a channel, remove it.

don’t replace with a big box saying i blocked some content.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xxFoxtail Avatar
35 months ago
I know I can just completely ignore the tab, but as a News+ subscriber who doesn’t really care for anything sports related, this disappoints me. If there’s not a way to hide it, I guess I’ll be canceling and saving $10/month.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
i386 Avatar
35 months ago
What about a Theatre or basket weaving tab? Sports isn’t news.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Marbles1 Avatar
35 months ago
It’s going to take an awful lot to get me to bother with the Apple News app, let alone Apple News+.

It needs fundamental transformation, removing the silly blanked out tiles when you block something, the poor experience where you can’t find specific articles in a paper / magazine because it doesn’t link to online sources etc.

I mean look at Apple Arcade, Apple news+, even Apple TV+ which has no library to fall back on. It’s all such a feeble offer.

I pay for Apple Music as it’s good value for money. And I pay for iCloud because of the iPhone backup and so on. The rest is fluff.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zachz Avatar
35 months ago
I hope there’s a way to disable this, and same with the sports tab on the Apple TV app. I couldn’t care less about sports, give me a colored screen instead so I can watch virtual paint dry.

At the same time I rarely use the News app - Ground News is free and 100x better. Canadian developed and I can read whatever I want without having to pay monthly (although they do have fairly cheap subscription tiers if you want extras and customizations)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)