Apple has ramped up internal testing of iOS 16.6 over the past week, according to a reliable source of information. This indicates that the first beta version of the update will be distributed to developers and public beta testers in the coming days.


Apple has confirmed that iOS 16.5 will be released to the public this week, so it’s likely that the first iOS 16.6 beta will be made available either later this week or next week. Apple has been internally testing iOS 16.6 since at least early April, and it will likely be one of the final updates in the iOS 16 program cycle, as Apple is expected to announce iOS 17 at WWDC next month and shift development efforts towards this update.

iOS 16.6 will likely be a smaller update since iOS 17 is on the horizon, but it remains to be seen what new features, changes, and bug fixes will be included. Apple previously announced that calling key verification in iMessage will be available in 2023, but it’s unclear exactly when the optional security setting will be turned on.

iOS 16.6 should be released to the public in the weeks following WWDC, which starts on June 5th. There’s no sign of Apple testing iOS 16.7 yet, but it’s still early days.

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