Apple releases iOS 16.1 to the public, enabling iCloud Shared Photo Library, Matter support, and more

Apple first revealed iOS 16, along with macOS Ventura, during the main keynote of WWDC22. These major software updates to the company's operating systems come packed with significant offerings and changes that many users will appreciate. In the iPhone department, users can now customize their Lock Screens, un-send iMessages and emails, and do much more! The Cupertino firm first released iOS 16 to the public back in September. Though, it lacked a number of its announced features — which the company had to push until a later date. iOS 16.1 is now available to everyone with a compatible device worldwide. It introduces plenty of notable changes, including the iCloud Shared Photo Library and more.

iOS 16.1 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 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 car, hotel room, and other keys in Wallet using messaging apps such as Messages and WhatsApp
Savings account enables Apple Card customers to grow their Daily Cash by depositing it in a high yield savings account

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

As Apple's official changelog highlights, iOS 16.1 introduces the anticipated iCloud Shared Photo Library feature, and more. The offerings include the Live Activities API. For the unfamiliar, Live Activities act as persistent notifications for ongoing events. iOS 16.1 users also get to take advantage of Fitness Plus without needing an Apple Watch. That's not to mention that it adds support for the Matter Smart Home standard.

To download and install the iOS 16.1 update, head to the Settings app, tap on General, click Software Update, and then choose Download and Install.

What's your favorite iOS 16.1 feature, and why? Let us know in the comments section below.