Apple has ramped up internal testing of iOS 16.6 over the past week, according to Macrumors, a reliable source said. This suggests that the first beta of the update will be rolled out to developers and public testers in the coming days.
It was previously reported that Apple had previously confirmed that iOS 16.5 would be available this week, so the first iOS 16.6 first beta could be available later this week or next week. Reports suggest that Apple has been testing iOS 16.6 internally since at least early April and that this could be the last version of iOS 16, as Apple is expected to release iOS 17 at WWDC next month and shift its development focus to this update.
Given the imminence of iOS 17, iOS 16.6 will likely be a smaller update, but it remains to be seen what new features, changes and bug fixes it will contain. Apple previously announced that iMessage contact key verification will be available in 2023, but it’s unclear exactly when this optional security setting will be available.
The official iOS 16.6 release should be available to the public in the weeks following WWDC, which begins June 5, and there is no indication yet that Apple is testing iOS 16.7.
