Less than a week after Apple released iOS 16.1 Beta 2, the company is back with iOS 16.1 Beta 3. Admittedly, there aren’t nearly as many changes this time around, which makes more sense when you consider that Apple has released two minor bug fixes since the launch of iOS 16.
The first, iOS 16.0.1 was available for iPhone 14 users who had issues activating their new iPhone models and experienced iMessage problems. The second, iOS 16.0.2, fixed a random bug that continuously prompted users to “Allow Paste” when copying text, images, or files in between different apps. So let’s dive a bit deeper to see what’s available with iOS 16.1 Beta 3 for iPhone owners.
What’s New In iOS 16.1 Beta 3?
Changes to Wallpaper Settings
The biggest change to iOS 16.1 in Developer Beta 3 is a change to the layout when you want to change your wallpaper in the Settings app. Until now, when you wanted to change your home screen wallpaper, you would have to play a bit of gymnastics. In fact, it felt as though it was impossible to only change the Home Screen wallpaper without also changing (and linking) the Lock Screen wallpaper.
With iOS 16.0.2 on our iPhone 14 Pro Max, navigating to the Wallpaper settings shows two Customize buttons beneath the Lock Screen and Home Screen. There’s also an additional “Add New Wallpaper” button below both of those preview windows. After updating to iOS 16.1 Beta 3, there’s now a Customize button overtop the Lock Screen and Home Screen previews, while the “Add New Wallpaper” button has been moved into the same section.
Additionally, this update makes it possible to customize your wallpaper sets from the Settings app, as opposed to needing to do so from the Lock Screen. As pointed out by Federico Viticci of MacStories, this also introduces a new Shortcut that can be used to “jump directly into Wallpaper settings and pick one.” If you want to download this for yourself, you can hit the link below.
When Apple released iOS 16.1 Beta 1, users quickly spotted a new option within the Settings app named “Matter Accessories”. Presumably, this will provide easy access to smart home accessories that are compatible with the upcoming ‘Matter’ protocol. For those who are unaware, Matter is a new initiative, of which Apple is a part of, designed to improve the smart home experience, providing better compatibility across different accessories.
Once Matter is officially rolled out, this should theoretically make it so your HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and other accessories work together. Unfortunately, with iOS 16.1 Beta 3, Apple has removed the Matter Accessories section entirely. So we’ll have to wait to learn more about the progress of this initiative whenever Apple and the other companies are ready to provide the necessary information.
When Is iOS 16.1 Being Released?
As is the case with Apple’s “point” software updates, the company rarely provides a timeline for when these will be released. And since Apple has already released two bug fix updates for iOS 16, we’re not expecting this to be available for a little while longer. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Apple waited until it’s ready to release the final version of iPadOS 16/iPadOS 16.1, which is expected to arrive sometime in October.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
I like to rotate Lock Screen photos and separately rotate Home Screen wallpapers daily. I do this via shortcuts but cannot so it in iOS 16 and still avail myself of the custom Lock Screen fonts and widegets. It is either no do font/widget on lockscreen but rotate screens independent of each other via shortcuts or get the lock customization but be locked to a single Home Screen
Edward Harris says
I like to rotate Lock Screen photos and separately rotate Home Screen wallpapers daily. I do this via shortcuts but cannot so it in iOS 16 and still avail myself of the custom Lock Screen fonts and widegets. It is either no do font/widget on lockscreen but rotate screens independent of each other via shortcuts or get the lock customization but be locked to a single Home Screen