In a press release introducing a new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5 will be released to the public later this week. The software updates have been in beta testing since late March.
"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 on May 9.
iOS 16.5 includes a new Pride Celebration wallpaper, a Sports tab in the Apple News app, and bug fixes related to CarPlay, Screen Time, and Spotlight. Overall, the update is a minor one and comes just weeks ahead of Apple announcing iOS 17 at WWDC in June.
Pride Wallpaper
iOS 16.5 includes a new Pride Celebration wallpaper designed to match the new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch.
Sports Tab in Apple News
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
