Apple Confirms iOS 16.5 Will Be Released Next Week With These New Features

In a press release introducing a new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch today, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5 will be released to the public next week. The software updates have been in beta testing since late March.

iOS 16
"The new Pride Celebration watch face and iPhone wallpaper will be available next week, and requires watchOS 9.5 and iOS 16.5," said Apple.

In addition to a new Pride Celebration wallpaper, iOS 16.5 includes just one small but useful change for the iPhone, a new Sports tab in the Apple News app. Overall, the update is a relatively minor one and comes just weeks ahead of Apple announcing iOS 17 at WWDC in June.

An overview of iOS 16.5 changes follows.

Pride Wallpaper

Apple Watch Pride Edition Band 2023
iOS 16.5 will include a new Pride Celebration wallpaper designed to match the new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch.

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.

iOS 16.5 Release Notes

This update includes the following enhancements and bug fixes:

- A new Pride Celebration wallpaper for the Lock Screen to honor the LGBTQ+ community and culture
- Sports tab in Apple News gives easy access to stories, scores, standings, and more, for the teams and leagues you follow
- My Sports score and schedule cards in Apple News take you directly to game pages where you can find additional details about specific games
- Fixes an issue where Spotlight may become unresponsive
- Addresses an issue where Podcasts in CarPlay may not load content
- Fixes an issue where Screen Time settings may reset or not sync across all devices

Related Forum: iOS 16

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Top Rated Comments

vegetassj4 Avatar
26 months ago
Hey Siri, Start screen recording:

Siri: I found this on the web for scream reporting

* call emergency services: 911
* Local police department
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roland.g Avatar
26 months ago
Forget real bug fixes, we got new wallpapers.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
26 months ago
Most important: Hoping for Stability and Performance improvements. The battery life on my iPhone 14 Pro Max has been terrible!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
26 months ago
Captain's Log 10.6743:
It's been 67 days since the Weather app's been down. I wonder what's it like outside?

Seriously though. The weather app is down for me again today. Is it a server issue or the app?

Update: It's working again for now.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
26 months ago
So annoying. Apple is too busy announcing the subscription model Final Cut Pro and the new Apple Watch bands but the Weather App is down once again.



Attachment Image
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DeLaSoul Avatar
26 months ago
Pride colors include Android Green, that's really inclusive, Apple ;)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)