Just one day after the release of iOS 16.4 to everyone, Apple is once again kick-starting the beta testing process. iOS 16.5 beta 1 is rolling out to registered developers starting today, with a public beta likely to follow later this week or next week.

iOS 16.5 beta 1 will be available today to registered developer beta testers. As the update rolls out over the air within the next hour, you’ll be able to install it by going to the Settings app, choosing General, then choosing Software Update. The build number for today’s update is 20F5028e.

We’re still downloading iOS 16.5 onto our devices to check what’s new. There are, however, a few features that Apple has announced but not yet released, as well as features in development under the hood that aren’t yet available.

• Apple Card Savings Account
• Next-generation CarPlay
• iMessage Contact Key Verification
• Custom Accessibility Mode

As we approach the announcement of iOS 17 at WWDC in June, however, we expect these iOS 16 point updates to become less and less exciting.

Alongside iOS 16.5, Apple has also released the first betas of tvOS 16.5, HomePod Software Version 16.5, watchOS 9.5, and iPadOS 16.5.

 

 

 

 

iOS 16.5 beta brings highly-requested ‘My Sports’ tab to Apple News

 

 

 

 

Apple released the first beta of iOS 16.5 to developers on March 28,2023, just one day after iOS 16.4 was released to the public. And while today’s update doesn’t seem like a big one, it does bring some small changes. For example, the Apple News app now has a tab dedicated to the My Sports feature.

My Sports gets its own tab in the Apple News app

iOS 16 introduced My Sports to Apple News. With this feature, users can easily follow news from their favorite teams and leagues, as well as get live scores, schedules, and more. However, My Sports was originally part of the Today tab of Apple News. Now with iOS 16.5, My Sports has become a dedicated tab within the Apple News app.

The way the tab works is basically the same as before, but now it’s much easier to find, as the tab is located between the Today, News+, Audio, and Following tabs. Here’s how Apple describes My Sports:

In My Sports in the News app , you can follow your favorite sports, teams, leagues, and athletes; receive stories from top sports publications, local newspapers, and more; access scores, schedules, and standings for the top professional and college leagues; and watch highlights.

It’s no surprise that My Sports got its own tab on Apple News, as Apple has been investing more in sports content. Apple TV+ now offers access to MLB’s Friday Night Baseball, while the company also recently launched MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV app.

It’s worth noting, however, that the Apple News app is only available in selected countries. This includes Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK.

 

 

 

 

More about iOS 16.5

Right now, iOS 16.5 seems more like a minor update focused on fixing bugs and improving the overall stability of the operating system. The only new feature found so far besides the My Sports tab is the addition of new Siri commands to start or stop a screen recording.

Developers with eligible devices can install the beta update by going to the Settings app, choosing General, then choosing Software Update. It’s unclear when Apple plans to make iOS 16.5 available to the public.

iOS 16.5 beta enables screen recording via Siri [Video]

 

 

 

 

iOS 16.5 developer beta 1 doesn’t appear to contain many new features and changes, but there is at least one new feature that will surely make some users happy – the ability to ask Siri to start a screen recording.

iOS users have been able to request Siri to take a screenshot in previous versions of iOS, but up until now, invoking screen recordings required manual intervention. In iOS 16.5, you can simply say “Hey Siri, start screen recording” and the screen recording will begin.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like there’s a dedicated screen recording action for the Shortcuts app yet, but we can presume that such an action will eventually make its way to end users. Until then, you’ll need to either start a screen recording manually via its dedicated Control Center toggle, or ask Siri.

 

 

 

 

 

Once you’re finished recording the screen, you can ask Siri to “stop screen recording” and Siri will usually comply. You can watch the brief video embed above to see an example of requesting Siri to start and stop a screen recording on iOS 16.5 in action.