iOS 16.6 is now available to download officially from Apple for all iPhone owners. According to the release notes for the most recent software upgrade, “important bug fixes and security updates” are included in the update.
In addition, Apple has removed macOS 13.5, iPadOS 16.6, TVOS 16.6, and watchOS 9.6, and all of these updates have identical release notes. Separately, Apple has released an update for the HomePod that brings “performance and stability improvements.”
Since May, both developers and the general public have had access to the beta version of iOS 16.6. Apple released the first release candidate version of iOS 16.6 the week before last.
It is not anticipated that any new functionality will be available to end users in today’s summertime release. All of those features will be available in iOS 17, which will be released in September.
Instead, it is expected that this release will be one of the final upgrades to iOS 16 before Apple shifts its focus entirely to releases centred solely on security. One notable exception is that both Apple TV and HomePod support the Hebrew language.
Apple releases iOS 16.6 with ‘important bug fixes and security updates’ for all users
iOS 15, for instance, was updated to version 15.7.X as a choice for consumers who wanted to put off upgrading to iOS 16 until later.
Additionally, support for the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus was removed with iOS 17. This indicates that the current cycle of development for iOS 16 will serve as the last upgrade for those phones as well. Despite this, the company continues to roll out security patches for devices that are running earlier versions of iOS, even after several years have passed.
Starting today, each available software update will be made available to all users.