iOS 16.5 and other platforms get beta 2

Apple releases second beta for iOS/iPad 16.5, macOS 13.4, watchOS 9.5 and tvOS 16.5. No corresponding Xcode beta is published.

New beta seem to be focused on administrator users and Matter support in Home app.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

Vendors slowly adopt Matter for their smart home devices

Philips Hue postpones plans to support Matter for their devices til the end of 2023. According to their messaging, firmware update for Hue Bridge takes more time that it was initially expected.

Eve on the other hand announces Matter firmware availability on April 17. And currently Eve already started selling accessories supporting Matter.

Matter smart home standard simplifies hardware development and unifies APIs between multiple smart home solutions. Matter is industry standard which is adopted by multiple venders including Apple. Home app and HomeKit support Matter accessories starting with iOS 16.1.

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tvOS and HomePod software are updated to 16.3 today

Following the yesterday's updates to iOS and other platforms Apple now updates tvOS and HomePod software to 16.3.

Most notable feature would be enabling humidity and temperature sensors in HomePod mini.

HomePod software updates include: 

  • Temperature and humidity sensing measures your indoor climate with HomePod (2nd generation) and HomePod mini
  • Remastered ambient sounds are more immersive and can now be added to scenes, automations, and alarms in the Home app
  • Find My on HomePod now enables you to ask Sir for the location of friends and family, if they have shared it with you
  • Recurring Home automations can be set up using just your voice
  • Siri confirmation tone will now play to indicate when smart home requests are completed for accessories that may not visibly show a change or are located in a different room
  • Audio tuning optimizes spoken content such as podcasts for even greater clarity on HomePod (2nd generation) and HomePod (1st generation)
  • Updated volume controls on HomePod (1st generation) give you more granular adjustments at lower volumes

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Apple pulled out new Home architecture upgrade option in iOS 16.2

Apple now no longer offers users to upgrade Home architecture in iOS 16.2. This follows several reports claiming that home is stuck in upgrading state and couple of other issues including inability to invite residents and some accessory problems.

Existing users who already upgraded the architecture do not have an option to downgrade.

Reference: Apple Pulls iOS 16.2 Option to Upgrade to New Home Architecture

Apple releases iOS 16.2 and other platforms

Following recent RC Apple now releases iOS/iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1 Ventura, watchOS 9.2 and tvOS 16.2. Xcode 14.2 is also released.

HomePodOS received corresponding update (which is required for Home updates and Matter support).

Apple also releases security bug fixes for previous OS releases - iOS 15 and macOS 11 Big Sur and macOS 12 Monterey.

This update brings several important updates:

Apple Newsroom: Apple launches Freeform: a powerful new app designed for creative collaboration

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Just after iOS 16.1 release Apple publishes first round of betas for the next one

Apple provides developers with access to first beta of iOS/iPadOS 16.2, macOS 13.1, watchOS 9.2 and tvOS 16.2.

Beta brings Freeform app which Apple demoed on WWDC22. External display support is also now available for iPads with M1 and M2 chips.

Also new beta brings new Home app architecture aimed to improve stability of smart home management.

Also, iOS 16.2 will have an option to report erroneously triggered SOS calls to Apple. Possibly, this should minimize false calls in the future.

Notably, no new Xcode beta is published. Xcode 14.1 is still in RC2 stage.

Beta download: Operating Systems

Release notes:

Apple Developer: Get ready with the latest beta releases

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iPad will be able to act as Home hub on iPadOS 16, but only for “current features”

Initial beta versions of iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 had noticeable change in Home app. iPad was not eligible to act as Home Hub anymore.

Apple made a comment that iPad could be used as Home hub for "current features" while undisclosed "new features", probably won't be supported.

As of now, it seems that these "new features" are related to Matter standard which HomeKit is adopting.

Reference: iPads Will Work as Home Hubs in iOS 16, But Won't Support New Home Architecture