iOS 16.5 is out and these are the new features

Apple released an update for the iPhone last week: iOS 16.5. New features, bug fixes and security updates: do you already have the update on your phone? You must know this.

iOS 16.5 new features

iOS 16.5 contains some nice innovations, but to be honest: there are a lot fewer than with iOS 16.4. This included new emojis, SOS emergency notification via satellite and voice isolation in telephone conversations. What’s new in iOS 16.5?

1) New Pride wallpaper

Apple announced an Apple Watch Pride 2023 band this month. And of course that includes a matching watch face and iPhone wallpaper: Pride celebration, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and culture. And more than that, Apple explains: Inspired by the strength and beauty of the LGBTQ+ community, the new sports band features not only the rainbow colors of the original Pride flag, but also five other colors: black and brown as a symbol of black and Hispanic communities and the victims of HIV/AIDS and people infected with HIV/AIDS, and light blue, pink and white as a symbol for transgender people and non-binary people.’

You can find the new wallpaper with the other wallpapers, under the heading ‘Collections’ – which now also contains the previous Pride wallpapers. The wallpaper comes in light and dark mode and has a cool animation:

The animation 😍

The new wallpaper will be available with iOS 16.5 pic.twitter.com/joMCvFFLrd

— Apple Hub (@theapplehub) May 10, 2023

2) Troubleshooting

iOS 16.5 also brings some bug fixes. Apple lists the following bugs in the release notes:

• Fixed an issue where Spotlight might stop responding
• Fixed an issue where Podcasts in CarPlay might not load content
• Fixed an issue where Screen Time settings might reset or not sync across devices

3) More focus on sports (but not in the Benelux)

This new feature is not available for the Netherlands and Belgium: Apple is adding a Sports tab to the News app, so you can easily access news, scores and schedules from your favorite teams and leagues. The News app is not available at all in this region.

Finally, a function that was present in previous betas seems to have died in the final phase: making a screen recording via the voice assistant Siri.

This could just be one of the last versions of iOS 16 and this software seems to have completely crystallized by now. We expect Apple to announce iOS 17 at WWDC on June 5th. If you want to stay informed of the news, sign up for our newsletter: