iOS 16.5 Beta for iPhone: What's New So Far

Apple made the first beta of iOS 16.5 available to developers and public testers last month. So far, only two new features and changes have been discovered for the iPhone, including a Sports tab in the Apple News app and the ability to start a screen recording with Siri. More details about these changes are outlined below.

iOS 16
iOS 16.5 should be publicly released in May, and it is possible that more features will be added in later beta versions. To try out the beta, sign up for an Apple Developer Program membership for $99 per year or the free Apple Beta Software Program.

Sports Tab in Apple News

apple news sports tab
Apple has added a Sports tab to the News app on iOS 16.5, giving you easy access to news, scores, and schedules for your favorite teams and leagues. This information was previously available in the Today tab, but it is now featured more prominently as Apple continues to push deeper into sports content across its services.

Screen Recordings via Siri

hey siri banner apple
A small but convenient feature added with iOS 16.5 is the ability to ask Siri to start a screen recording. You can say "Hey Siri, start a screen recording" to record a video of your iPhone's screen, and ask Siri to stop the recording when desired. You can still start a screen recording via Control Center after enabling the feature in Settings → Control Center.

Wrap Up

iOS 16.5 is looking to be a minor update so far, which isn't too surprising given that Apple will unveil iOS 17 at WWDC in June. Prior to iOS 16.5, Apple is preparing to release iOS 16.4.1, likely with bug fixes and security improvements.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Top Rated Comments

erikkfi Avatar
9 months ago
What if you've turned off Siri because it's stupid and terrible?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheDarkAngel Avatar
9 months ago
I hope the savings account finally comes in iOS 16.5. :)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
9 months ago

What if you've turned off Siri because it's stupid and terrible?
It's more like it's outdated and 10+ years behind. Apple needs to take Siri seriously.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tridley68 Avatar
9 months ago
What! no new emoji's
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
9 months ago

What! no new emoji's
No more emoji’s until iOS 17 ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DotCom2 Avatar
9 months ago
How 'bout,"Hey Siri, take a pic!" and she automatically just snaps a pic of whatever your camera phone is aimed at and whatever other setting you might have it at goes to photo. I would LOVE this!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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