iOS 16.5 Features: Everything New in iOS 16.5

by

Apple today released iOS 16.5, the fifth major update to the iOS 16 operating system. iOS 16.5 is not as notable as some of the prior updates that we have seen, but there are some important bug fixes and feature additions.

iOS 16
This guide highlights all of the new features in the iOS 16.5 update.

Sports Tab in Apple News

Apple added a dedicated Sports tab in Apple News, providing sports fans with quick access to stories, scores, standings, and other information. ‌Apple News‌ users can select their favorite teams and leagues to get personalized news.

apple news sports tab
Tapping on sports score and schedule cards in ‌Apple News‌ now goes directly to game pages populated with additional information about specific games.

Pride Collection Wallpaper

To go along with the new 2023 Pride Apple Watch Band and watch face, Apple has designed a Pride Celebration Lock Screen that is available in the iOS 16.5 update.

pride wallpaper ios 16 5

Bug Fixes

There are a number of bug fixes in the iOS 16.5 update, including fixes for Spotlight, Screen Time, and Podcasts.

  • 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

Security Fixes

According to Apple's security support documents for iOS, the iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 updates fix a long list of vulnerabilities, including three security flaws that were known to be actively exploited. Two of these issues were addressed in the prior iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 Rapid Security Response updates and are not an issue if you were running iOS 16.4.1 (a), but a third vulnerability is still active until you install the new software.

The WebKit security flaw could allow an attacker to break out of the Web Content sandbox, an issue that Apple fixed with improved bounds checks. Apple says that it is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. The other two WebKit vulnerabilities were related to processing maliciously crafted web content that could allow for the disclosure of sensitive information or arbitrary code execution.

Other Features

Know of an iOS 16.5 feature that we left out of this guide? Let us know in the comments below.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Apple Is Expected to Launch These Four MacBooks in 2026

Friday January 9, 2026 8:17 am PST by
2026 could be a bumper year for Apple's Mac lineup, with the company expected to announce as many as four separate MacBook launches. Rumors suggest Apple will court both ends of the consumer spectrum, with more affordable options for students and feature-rich premium lines for users that seek the highest specifications from a laptop. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. ...
Read Full Article • 113 comments
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

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

Thursday January 8, 2026 2:56 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...
Read Full Article • 75 comments
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Confirms Google Gemini Will Power Next-Generation Siri This Year

Monday January 12, 2026 7:38 am PST by
In a statement shared with CNBC today, Apple confirmed that Google Gemini will power the next-generation version of Siri that is slated to launch later this year. "After careful evaluation, we determined that Google's technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we're excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users," the statement...
Read Full Article • 225 comments
proposed unicode emoji 18%402x

Squinting Face, Pickle, and Lighthouse Among New Emoji Coming to iOS

Friday January 9, 2026 4:24 am PST by
The Unicode Consortium has published a draft list of emoji that could come to smartphones and other devices in the future. The list shared by Emojipedia outlines 19 emoji candidates under consideration for Emoji 18.0, which is expected to be finalized in September 2026. Among the proposed additions are a squinting face emoji, left- and right-pointing thumb gestures, a pickle, a lighthouse, a ...
Read Full Article • 80 comments
apple homekit ios 18 5

Apple Reminding Users of Pending Home App Upgrade Requirement

Friday January 9, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Back in late 2022 and early 2023, Apple rolled out a new architecture for its Apple Home platform to deliver improved performance and compatibility, although the rollout came with some hiccups that forced Apple to pull and later re-release the upgrade. Three years later, Apple is now on the verge of ending support for the old version of the Home architecture, which may result in access to...
Read Full Article • 90 comments
grok logo purple gradient

U.S. Senators Ask Apple and Google to Remove X and Grok Apps Over Sexualized Image Generation

Friday January 9, 2026 9:43 am PST by
In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, Ben Ray Lujan, and Edward Markey have requested that Apple and Google remove X Corp's X and Grok apps from their app stores over recent incidents of "mass generation of nonconsensual sexualized images of women and children." X has come under fire over the past week amid reports of Grok's AI image...
Read Full Article • 480 comments
iOS 26 Glass Feature

iOS 26 Shows Unusually Slow Adoption Months After Release [Updated]

Thursday January 8, 2026 3:44 pm PST by
Update: As noted by Nick Heer on his Pixel Envy blog, analytics data is unreliable because Safari on iOS 26 is reporting a different operating system version in the user agent string that analytics services rely on for data. For example, devices on several versions of iOS 26 are reporting themselves as being on iOS 18.7 when using Safari. The relatively low number of mobile devices correctly...
Read Full Article • 505 comments

Top Rated Comments

Rocko99991 Avatar
Rocko99991
35 months ago
Those wallpapers are hideous.
Score: 39 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonBOY26 Avatar
JonBOY26
35 months ago
Users: "Apple, please stop adding new features and focus on fixing bugs!"

Apple: "here's some pride wallpapers"
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baritone_Guy Avatar
Baritone_Guy
35 months ago
Obligatory, why do we need an OS update for a Sports Tab and some wallpapers. I get it for the security stuff, but relying on an OS update to update apps is so old school.

Come on Apple.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
TheYayAreaLiving ?️
35 months ago
The Weather Widget is still not fixed.

* The widget is reporting: Thunderstorm ⛈️
* When you open the weather app, it’s reporting: Mostly Sunny. ?️

Which one is correct? Frustrating and unreliable! At least iOS 16.5 got the temperature right. ??‍♀️

See below: ?





Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
mnsportsgeek
35 months ago
So ridiculous that in the year 2023 a software update is needed to push new wallpapers.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sjsharksfan12 Avatar
sjsharksfan12
35 months ago
I still don't think I understand how to use the Wallpapers on IOS. I want to change the wallpaper and it gives me an entirely new home screen where I have to place the widgets again. I'm kinda getting frustrated by it.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments