Apple Seeds Third Betas of iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 to Developers

Apple today seeded the third betas of upcoming iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming two weeks after the release of the second betas.

iOS 16
Registered developers can opt in to the betas by opening up the Settings app, going to Software Update, tapping on the “Beta Updates” option and toggling on the iOS 16 Developer Beta. Note that an Apple ID associated with a developer account is required to download and install the beta.

iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6 lay the groundwork for iMessage Contact Key Verification. It is meant to let Apple device owners verify that they are messaging with the people they intend to message rather than a malicious entity that has intercepted a message or is eavesdropping on a conversation.

The feature is designed for Apple users who are facing “extraordinary digital threats.” Apple intends for iMessage Contact Key Verification to be used by journalists, human rights activists, government officials, and others who are in danger of malicious digital attacks from state-sponsored attackers or other malicious actors.

Apple said that iMessage Contact Key Verification would be available on the iPhone and other Apple devices at some point in 2023, and it is one of the last features we are expecting to see in iOS 16. In the first two betas, hints of iMessage Contact Key were available, but the option was not fully enabled.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

M5 MacBook Pro

Apple Announces New 14-Inch MacBook Pro With M5 Chip

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:07 am PDT by
Apple today updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, which is also available in updated iPad Pro and Vision Pro models. In addition, the base 14-inch MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 4TB of storage on Apple's online store, whereas the previous model maxed out at 2TB. However, the maximum amount of unified RAM available for this model remains 32GB. Like...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

Apple Debuts New iPad Pro With M5 Chip, Faster Charging, and More

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple today announced the next-generation iPad Pro, featuring the custom-designed M5, C1X, and N1 chips. The M5 chip has up to a 10-core CPU, with four performance cores and six efficiency cores. It features a next-generation GPU with Neural Accelerator in each core, allowing the new iPad Pro to deliver up to 3.5x the AI performance than the previous model, and a third-generation ray-tracing ...
maxresdefault

Here's Everything Apple Announced Today

Wednesday October 15, 2025 3:54 pm PDT by
We didn't get a second fall event this year, but Apple did unveil updated products with a series of press releases that went out today. The M5 chip made an appearance in new MacBook Pro, Vision Pro, and iPad Pro models. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up our coverage and highlighted the main feature changes for each device below. MacBook Pro M5...
iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
Vision Pro M5 Announcement

Apple Updates Vision Pro With M5 Chip, Dual Knit Band, and 120Hz Support

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:14 am PDT by
Apple today updated the Vision Pro headset with its next-generation M5 chip for faster performance, and a more comfortable Dual Knit Band. The M5 chip has a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU with Neural Accelerators, and a 16-core Neural Engine, and we have confirmed the Vision Pro still has 16GB of RAM. With the M5 chip, the Vision Pro offers faster performance and longer battery life compared...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
MacBook Pro M5 Screen

New MacBook Pro Does Not Include a Charger in the Box in Europe

Wednesday October 15, 2025 6:59 am PDT by
The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M5 chip does not include a charger in the box in European countries, including the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and others, according to Apple's online store. In the U.S. and all other countries outside of Europe, the new MacBook Pro comes with Apple's 70W USB-C Power Adapter, but European customers miss out....
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday October 14, 2025 8:43 am PDT by
Apple's AirPods Max have now been available for almost five years, so what do we know about the second-generation version? According to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the new AirPods Max will be lighter than the current ones, but exactly how much is as yet known. The current AirPods Max weigh 0.85 pounds (386.2 grams), excluding the charging case, making it one of the heavier...
macbook pro blue

Apple's M5 MacBook Pro Imminent: What to Expect

Tuesday October 14, 2025 4:35 pm PDT by
Apple is going to launch a new version of the MacBook Pro as soon as tomorrow, so we thought we'd go over what to expect from Apple's upcoming Mac. M5 Chip The MacBook Pro will be one of the first new devices to use the next-generation M5 chip, which will replace the M4 chip. The M5 is built on TSMC's more advanced 3-nanometer process, and it will bring speed and efficiency improvements. ...

Top Rated Comments

xpxp2002 Avatar
31 months ago

Wait - you read another Mac-related site besides MacRumors? How could you? ?
I stopped going there after that awful site redesign a couple months ago. It's just a pain to read and navigate. The dark/light background switch still doesn't even work on iOS/iPadOS Safari.

I can get the same news here and a better forum format on a website that's easier to read and actually works.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lazyrighteye Avatar
31 months ago

Not seeing it at all. How can the build be 20G5047d when beta 2 was 20G5037d?
That build was mentioned on 9to5mac ('https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/15/apple-releases-ios-16-6-beta-3/').
Wait - you read another Mac-related site besides MacRumors? How could you? ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jjudson Avatar
31 months ago
All I care about is: Does it finally get rid of this monstrosity???



Attachment Image
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Miicat_47 Avatar
31 months ago

I stopped going there after that awful site redesign a couple months ago. It's just a pain to read and navigate. The dark/light background switch still doesn't even work on iOS/iPadOS Safari.

I can get the same news here and a better forum format on a website that's easier to read and actually works.
Same for me, I still sometimes check their site, if they have something exclusive, but nothing more
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
31 months ago

Wait - you read another Mac-related site besides MacRumors? How could you? ?
I just now see Apple site updated and it shows that its is available at 11:43 AM PST. Wow they are slow today.

* iOS 16.6 beta 3 (20G5047d) - June 15, 2023
* iPadOS 16.6 beta 3 (20G5047d) - June 15, 2023
* macOS 13.5 beta 3 (22G5048d) - June 15, 2023
* watchOS 9.6 beta 3 (20U5548c) - June 15, 2023
* tvOS 16.6 beta 3 (20M5548b) = June 15, 2023
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdavid_rp Avatar
31 months ago

I stopped going there after that awful site redesign a couple months ago. It's just a pain to read and navigate. The dark/light background switch still doesn't even work on iOS/iPadOS Safari.

I can get the same news here and a better forum format on a website that's easier to read and actually works.
Same, I have some issues by how minimal the interface is and the similarity between news and ads
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)