To start things off, there’s the new Live Activities feature which is basically a new notification type that keeps you updated on certain activities in real-time, including the current proximity of your e-hailing driver, flight updates, football match scores, and so on. These will appear on the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro models, as well as the Lock Screen for all compatible iPhones. Speaking of which, Lock Screen customisation on iOS 16.1 now allows users to tweak it via the screen itself or Home Screen. In addition, Apple has also updated the interface of the Wallpaper section in Settings, which now lets you swap between wallpapers directly from this interface. Other user interface (UI) changes included in this firmware update is the addition of the battery percentage indicator for older iPhone models (such as the iPhone XR, 11 series, 12 mini, and 13 mini), and an updated charge level indicator on which now briefly appears above the time on the Lock Screen in a larger typeface.
For the app department, users can now securely share their car, hotel room and other keys that are supported on the Wallet app with others through Messages, WhatsApp and other messaging services. In addition, those who do not wish to have the Wallet app on their iPhones are finally given the option to completely uninstall it, therefore allowing them to utilise other tap-to-pay alternatives other than Apple Pay.
The Photo app now supports iCloud Shared Photo Library, which lets you share a library of photos with a total of six people. This addition makes it easier to distribute, edit, favourite, caption, and manage images amongst friends and family members. Another new feature is the ability to let users run newly installed apps even when it is still downloading additional content in the background. This is activated on iOS 16.1 by default, and you may choose to disable it via the Settings page.
Other significant additions is the ability to use Apple Fitness+ on iPhones without needing to have an Apple Watch, as well as Matter support which allows for interoperability between smart devices from different companies such as Alexa, Google Assistant and so on. According to MacRumors, groundwork for the upcoming Emergency SOS via Satellite ability for iPhone 14 models have been added in this update as well. This particular feature is expected to officially debut in November.
As for fixes, iOS 16.1 claims to have fixed an issue where deleted conversations may appear in the Messages list, as well as a bug where CarPlay may fail to connect when using a VPN app. Specifically for iPhone 14 Pro models, an issue where Dynamic Island content is not available when using Reachability has also been addressed to.
The new iOS 16.1 is available now, and can be found via the Software Update tab under Settings if you wish to download it manually. For the iPhone 13 series, the update comes in at 1.13 GB, though keep in mind that file sizes may differ depending on your device. (Source: Apple [1] [2])
