Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming iOS 16.1 update to public beta testers, with the beta coming one week after Apple seeded the first public beta. Apple has also seeded a new public beta of iPadOS 16.1 and a new public beta of watchOS 9.1.
Public beta testers who have signed up for Apple's free beta testing program can download the iOS 16.1 beta over the air after installing the proper certificate from the Public Beta website.
Apple says that iOS 16.1 will introduce Live Activities, an interactive notification feature designed to let you keep an eye on things happening in real time. Live Activities will be available on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, but you won't see them in the beta because developers are still working on implementing support.
The update includes a Clean Energy Charging feature in the United States that causes the iPhone to selectively charge at times when lower carbon emission electricity is available, plus it lays the groundwork for Matter, a smart home standard that Apple plans to begin supporting this fall.
The second developer beta of iOS 16.1 tweaked the design of the battery status bar icon, adding a visual indication of charge level. It also changed the battery font, updated the Lock Screen charging indicator, and fixed a copy and paste bug.
Other new features include a deletable Wallet app, changes to the Lock Screen customizing interface, and more, with details available in our iOS 16.1 feature guide.
Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Tuesday January 14, 2025 11:30 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released new firmware designed for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 2A143, up from the 2A138 firmware that the accessory shipped with. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the internal firmware number.
The 2024 MagSafe charger was...
Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025:
More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
There is a good chance that Apple's first product announcement of 2025 will be updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip.
Last month, Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models are coming this year (unsurprisingly).
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new MacBook Air models will be announced "earlier" than some...
Thursday January 16, 2025 8:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony about becoming its new financial partner for the Apple Card, according to Reuters sources.
The report today added that Apple has also been holding discussions with Chase Bank owner JPMorgan since last year, so there are at least three potential companies in the running to take over the Apple Card from current partner Goldman Sachs.
Goldman...
Monday January 13, 2025 5:33 am PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 18.3 is currently in beta for developers and public beta testers. So far, the upcoming iPhone software update is very minor in scope.
Below, we outline what is new in iOS 18.3 so far.
The only potential new feature coming to iPhones with iOS 18.3 so far is robot vacuum support in the Home app, but this functionality is not yet live. Apple is laying the groundwork for the feature,...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 6:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and now further evidence of the wireless earbuds has surfaced.
Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code
Apple submitted Powerbeats Pro 2 regulatory documents to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-December. The documents were made available to the public this week, and they were spotted by 91M...
If you have a 14 Pro/Pro Max and DON'T have the camera shaking bug, this beta will introduce that. So probably don't update until beta 3 if your camera isn't vibrating/shaking/freaking out.
16.1 PB 1 was very buggy compared to 16. For instance, if you opened a folder, you couldn't swipe to the next page of the folder at all. At one point couldn't swipe between pages of the home screen. A hard restart seemed to fix that. Your milage may vary. I'm on a 12 mini.
