Shortly after releasing iOS 16.4 with a lot of features to the general public, Apple released iOS 16.5 Beta 1 to developers earlier this week. While the iOS 16.4 software update brought a number of changes and features, iOS 16.5 focuses more on stability and bug fixes. Nonetheless, there are some new features, and in this article, we will take a look at everything new that we have found in iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 Beta 1.

iOS 16.5 and iPadOS 16.5 Features: What’s new

Table of contents:

• Siri Can Now Start and Stop Screen Recording
• Apple News Now Has A New Sports Section
• Support for Sports Multi-View in Apple TV App
• Longer Beats Studio Buds+ Animation

Siri Can Now Start and Stop Screen Recording

New trick Siri can do screen Recording in iOS 16.5 Beta 1 #iOS165 #iOS16 pic.twitter.com/UpD6ZYI8Ur

— Tech Street (@Techstreat) March 29, 2023

One of the notable changes found in iOS 16.5 Beta 1 is that Siri can now start and stop screen recording. This new feature allows users to activate the screen recording function on their iPhone by simply saying, “Hey Siri, start a screen recording.” Once the command is given, the iPhone will begin recording the screen automatically until the user taps to turn it off or activates Siri and says, “Stop the screen recording.” This functionality was not available before. 

Apple News Now Has A New Sports Section

Apple has recently started focusing a lot on sports — with the company even in contention to bid for English Premier League Football rights — and in iOS 16.5 Beta, it has added a dedicated tab for Sports to the Apple News app. The tab sits between the Today, News+, Audio, and Following tabs. 

Sports lovers can use this tab to access live scores, top sports publications, local newspapers, scores, schedules, and standings for professional and college leagues and watch highlights. It is, however, worth pointing our that the Sports tab is only available in the regions where Apple News is available, which includes select countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Support for Sports Multi-View in Apple TV App

While this is not a feature that is live yet, the source code of the first iOS 16.5 beta indicates that a more immersive sports viewing experience may be on the way for Apple TV app users. The company is reportedly working on the Multi-view feature. This feature, as per Steve Moser, may support up to four simultaneous streams in a grid layout, allowing users to watch multiple games at once.

Currently, the Apple TV app offers live-streaming of sports games such as MLS and MLB Friday Night Baseball, and it is said that Apple is in talks to acquire more sports streaming deals in the future. The potential Multi-view feature could significantly improve the overall user experience, particularly for sports enthusiasts who wish to monitor multiple games simultaneously.

Longer Beats Studio Buds+ Animation

Beats Studio Buds + animation:
LMK if you want more. pic.twitter.com/eia2SNoV8d

— Steve Moser (@SteveMoser) March 29, 2023

Lastly, in addition to the above changes, iOS 16.5 also includes a longer animation for the upcoming Beats Studio Buds+. This indicates that the earbuds could launch anytime soon. Beats Studio Buds+ will sport a similar design as the first-generation product, but it will come with a proprietary chip that will enable features such as audio sharing, automatic device switching, and Hey Siri. These features are currently only available on Apple AirPods.

Have you installed iOS 16.5 Beta 1 on your iPhone? What other changes have you noticed? Let us know in the comments section below!