Another iPhone update has just been released and it could be one of the very last for iOS 16. I’d certainly expect it’s the last full point entry in the series (in other words, we could see iOS 16.6.1 and additionally, if there’s another Rapid Security Response, iOS 16.6.1 (a).
This means that this is almost certainly the last big update for three major iPhones, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. Yes, the first Face ID iPhone is among the trio of handsets that won’t be supported by iOS 17, which is coming this fall.
Here’s what’s in the latest release.
Which iPhones Can Run iOS 16.6?
If you have an iPhone released in late 2017 or later, you’re going to be able to use this one. Apple iOS 16.6 runs on all iPhones from the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X onwards, and this update includes features relevant to all those handsets.
How To Get It
Updating is straightforward, as you’ll almost certainly know already: open the Settings app, click General, then Software Update. Next, select Download and Install, and you’ll be up to date quickly: this is a small-to-medium update, measuring less than 800MB on my iPhone 14 Pro Max.
What’s In The Release
The last full-point release was iOS 16.5, released on May 20, 2023. Since then, there was iOS 16.5.1 and two Rapid Security Responses, iOS 16.5.1 (a), which was quickly withdrawn, and iOS 16.5.1 (c).
But don’t let the fact that this release has only one number to the right of the decimal point fool you: this is an update light on new features, which are all expected to land in iOS 17. It had been thought that there could be the first sight of iMessage Contact Key Verification, which is something to enhance user security. The idea behind it is that it enables users who, in Apple’s words, “face extraordinary digital threats” to be able to verify that they are messaging only with the people they think they are. However, it popped up in the first developers’ beta for iOS 16.6 and promptly disappeared, suggesting Apple was laying the groundwork rather than releasing the feature. Perhaps there will be another big update to iOS 16 after all, but it could come after iOS 17 is released, when we could expect to see iMessage Contact Key Verification arrive quickly.
This update is all about the fixes. Apple says in the release notes that it includes “important bug fixes and security updates.”
Apple doesn’t go into all the regular fixes, though it has 16 security fixes. These include two for what are called actively exploited flaws, that is, ones which may very well have been exploited in the real world. Some of the security fixes have already been addressed in iOS 16.5.1 (c), the most recent Rapid Security Response, but if you didn’t install that, you’re covered here, too.
The security fixes range across the iPhone, including Find My, where sensitive location information could have been read by another app, Webkit, Webkit Web Inspector and more.
More as we have it, if new details emerge of features or other fixes.
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