In a press release introducing a new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch today, Apple confirmed that iOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5 will be released to the public next week. The software updates have been in beta testing since late March.

“The new Pride Celebration watch face and iPhone wallpaper will be available next week, and requires watchOS 9.5 and iOS 16.5,” said Apple.

In addition to a new Pride Celebration wallpaper, iOS 16.5 includes two small but useful changes for the iPhone, including a new Sports tab in the Apple News app and the ability to start a screen recording with Siri. Overall, the update is a relatively minor one and comes just weeks ahead of Apple announcing iOS 17 at WWDC in June.

An overview of iOS 16.5 changes follows.

Pride Wallpaper

iOS 16.5 will include a new Pride Celebration wallpaper designed to match the new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch.

Sports Tab in Apple News

Apple has added a Sports tab to the News app on iOS 16.5, giving you easy access to news, scores, and schedules for your favorite teams and leagues. This information was previously available in the Today tab, but it is now featured more prominently as Apple continues to push deeper into sports content across its services.

Screen Recordings via Siri

A small but convenient feature added with iOS 16.5 is the ability to ask Siri to start a screen recording. You can say “Hey Siri, start a screen recording” to record a video of your iPhone’s screen, and ask Siri to stop the recording when desired. You can still start a screen recording via Control Center after enabling the feature in Settings → Control Center.

This article, "Apple Confirms iOS 16.5 Will Be Released Next Week With These New Features" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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