Apple can’t wait to get iOS 16.6 out, especially in light of the issues that caused it to try three times to patch a serious WebKit vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS 16.5. Apple was aware of reports that said the flaw was being actively exploited and could cause arbitrary code execution which would allow an attacker to steal your personal data. So out went iOS 16.5.1 and iPadOS 16.5.1. But before you could spell Cupertino, Apple pulled both releases because of some bugs found in the software.
Using its Rapid Security Response system, instead of developing iOS 16.5.2 and iPadOS 16.5.2, Apple released iOS 16.5.1 (a) and iPadOS 16.5.1 (a). But the two updates changed the user agent for mobile Safari. The user agent tells the server all about a device’s browser so it knows what version of the content to serve. For example, it tells the server whether to show the mobile or desktop version of a website or the U.S. or U.K. version of a site. The bugs also prevented iPhone and iPad users from accessing sites like Zoom, Facebook, and Instagram.
Knowing how serious the vulnerability affecting WebKit was, Apple pulled iOS 16.5.1 (a) and iPadOS 16.5.1 (a) and quickly replaced them with iOS 16.5.1 (c) and iPadOS 16.5.1 (c) and that is where we stand at the moment. However, the Release Candidate for iOS 16.6 was released to developers today which means that update is probably less than a week away. The Release Candidate builds give beta testers the opportunity to test the final build of an update before it is released to most users. Apple continues to split its resources between the remaining builds of iOS 16 and the iOS 17 beta which should end in September with the release of stable iOS 17.
Besides the Release Candidates for iOS 16.6 and iPadOS 16.6, Apple dropped the Release Candidates for watchOS 9.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, and tvOS 16.6. All of the updates’ release notes indicate that they will fix minor bugs found on the various OS builds.
You can check for the new update on your iPhone or iPad by going to Settings > General > Software Update. When the update arrives, you will be prompted to press the appropriate buttons. For the Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your iPhone and tap the My Watch tab at the bottom of the screen. Go to General > Software Update. On Apple TV go to Settings > System > System Update.