Apple releases iOS 16.1 with iCloud Shared Photo Library and improvements

Last month, Apple released the iOS 16 update with new features and improvements, including the reimagined lock screen and iMessage enhancements. Now, the company has released iOS 16.1 update, which comes with the iCloud Shared Photo Library and bug fixes. It also brings support for Apple Fitness+ on iPhones without requiring an Apple Watch and third-party app support in Live Activities.

Apple iOS 16.1 update changelog

iCloud Shared Photo Library

• Separate library for seamlessly sharing photos and videos with up to five other people
• Setup rules allow you to easily contribute past photos based on the start date or people in the photos when you set up or join a library
• Library filters for quickly switching between viewing the Shared Library, your Personal Library, or both libraries together
• Shared edits and permissions let everyone add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete photos
• Sharing toggle in Camera lets you choose to send photos you take straight to the Shared Library, or enable a setting to share automatically when other participants are detected nearby using Bluetooth

Live Activities

• Live Activities from third-party apps are available in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen for iPhone 14 Pro models

Fitness+

• Apple Fitness+ is supported on iPhone even if you don’t have an Apple Watch

Wallet

• Key sharing enables you to securely share a car, hotel room, and other keys in Wallet using messaging apps such as Messages and WhatsApp

Home

• Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard, is supported, enabling a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across ecosystems

Clean Energy Charging

• New setting that can try to reduce your carbon footprint by selectively charging when lower carbon emission electricity is available

Books

• Reader controls are automatically hidden as you start reading

This update also includes bug fixes for your iPhone:

• Deleted conversations may appear in the conversations list in Messages
• Dynamic Island content is not available when using Reachability
• CarPlay may fail to connect when using a VPN app

Availability

Apple iOS 16.1 update is available for iPhone 8 or newer devices, including iPhone SE (2nd gen or later). However, some features may not be available for all compatible iPhones or all regions. Users can open the Settings app on their iPhones and go to the Software Update page to download the latest available update.