iOS 16.1 Beta 2 & iPadOS 16.1 Beta 3 Released for Testing

iOS 16.2 beta 2 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 3 have been released by Apple to users participating in the beta testing programs.

As usual, the betas are first available for developers and soon become available as the same builds for public beta testers.

iOS 16.1 beta includes a few minor changes and additions, like bringing the status bar battery percentage indicator to more iPhone models, and support for a feature called Live Activities which allows you to see real-time data on things like sports scores from the iPhone lock screen. It also is likely to include a fix for the “Allow Paste” popup bug, though a separate bug fix release will be available sooner for that.

iOS 16.1 beta 2 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 3 can be downloaded right now by anyone actively in the beta testing program.

Go to Settings app > General > Software Update to find the latest beta updates.

If you’re seeing this beta version and you don’t want it, perhaps because you joined the beta testing to get an early look at iOS 16 and have now installed the final version and now want to stay put on stable releases, you can stop getting the beta iOS 16 updates by leaving the beta program. Leaving the beta program will prevent you from getting future beta updates.

Some iOS 16 features were withheld from the initial launch of iOS 16, including support for iCloud Shared Photo Library and Live Activities, and it’s possible that iOS 16.1 will include those features.

Apple usually goes through a variety of beta builds before issuing a final version, so it’s probable that iOS 16.1 and iPadOS 16.1 will be released at the same time sometime next month.