Tip: bookmark this page as I’ll keep it updated if/when new issues are found. I will give my final verdict in a week. Apple iOS 16 apple Who is it for? Apple iOS 16.0.2 is exclusive to iPhone 14 models: these are iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple has acknowledged the automatic update delays, so if you haven’t received a notification yet, it’s best to enable the update manually by going to Settings > General > Software Update. If you’re running newer beta software (see “The Road Ahead” section at the end), you must unregister your device before the update appears. Note: this guide does not focus on older iOS, iPadOS, or macOS updates, but I will cover related topics in those guides. You can read our iOS 15.7 Upgrade Guide here. The Deal Breakers Worryingly, a day after its release, iOS 16.0.2 seems to be causing significant issues. These include hypersensitive brightness levels, video lag using the Apple HDMI Lightning adapter, connectivity issues, and severe touch response issues — including those that didn’t have them before. Ironic when the update is specifically meant to fix this problem. Upgraders also report that the update does not fix the camera shake bug that was released specifically to address. There are also isolated reports of issues with popular apps like Halide and Instagram, as well as complaints that most other iOS 16 bugs remain — though that shouldn’t be surprising since the update only lists a small number of fixes. So what do you get? Apple’s iOS 16.0.2 release notes describe the update as providing “bug fixes and important security updates.” The bugs it fixes are as follows:
The camera may shake and cause blurry photos when shooting with some third-party apps on iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max The screen may appear completely black during device setup Copying and pasting between apps can cause a permission message to appear more often than expected VoiceOver may not be available after restarting Fixes an issue where touch input becomes unresponsive on some iPhone X, iPhone XR, and iPhone 11 screens after service
The first of these made headlines, causing the iPhone 14’s main camera to shake violently, so the fix was urgent, but it doesn’t seem to be successful for everyone. Installation, copy/paste and touch response issues were also widely reported — like the camera fix, the latter didn’t work for everyone. iOS 16.0.2 Security Despite the iOS 16.0.2 release notes saying the update contains “important security updates,” Apple’s official security page says there are no patches in the release. This is the first time I’m aware of the iOS release notes being misleading, so I’ll keep watching the security page for updates. The iOS 16.0.2 release notes do not match the information on Apple’s official security page Gordon Kelly Apple iOS 16.0.2 Verdict: A Buggy Release iOS 16.0.2 seems to introduce as many bugs as it fixes, and since it doesn’t contain any security patches, that means it’s unnecessary. My advice would be to only update if you suffer from any of the five bugs that iOS 16.0.2 claims to fix. But for everyone else, there’s no reason to risk the additional problems this update might create. As for those still using iOS 15, stay away, iOS 15.7 is significantly more stable. Note: bookmark this page because I will be monitoring user experiences and deliver the final mle.y verdict in a week. The road ahead iOS 16.1 is now in its second beta and will bring a number of new features that were completed too late to make it to iOS 16. These include: lock screen customizations, support for Matter accessories, “Cleaning Energy Charging”, battery percentage indicator for the status bar, a new UI screenshot and more. If you want early access to iOS 16 updates, join the Apple Beta Software Program. That said, I expect iOS 16.0.3 to arrive before iOS 16.1 is released in mid-late October. Apple still has a lot to clean up.
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