iOS 16.1 to Feature iCloud Shared Photo Library, Key Sharing in Wallet App, and Apple Card Savings Account

Apple today seeded the iOS 16.1 Release Candidate to developers ahead of the update's expected release next week. The release notes for the update confirm that iOS 16.1 enables iCloud Shared Photo Library, the ability to share keys in the Wallet app via apps like Messages and WhatsApp, and the Apple Card's new savings account option.

iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library will make it easier for you to share photos with your family members or friends in the Photos app. The feature will let you and up to five other people add, edit, or remove photos in a shared library accessible via iCloud.

Last week, Apple announced that Apple Card users will be able to open a new "high-yield" savings account from Goldman Sachs and have their Daily Cash cashback rewards automatically deposited into it, with no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements. Users will be able to manage the savings account in the Wallet app.

iOS 16.1 also features Live Activities support in third-party apps, a Clean Energy Charging option in the United States, support for Matter accessories in the Home app, Apple Fitness+ workouts without an Apple Watch, Reachability support for the Dynamic Island, bug fixes for the Messages app and using a VPN with CarPlay, and more.

Apple's full release notes for iOS 16.1:

This update introduces iCloud Shared Photo Library making it easy to keep your family photos up to date. This release also adds support for third party apps in Live Activities, support for Apple Fitness+ on iPhone even if you don’t have an Apple Watch, and includes other features and bug fixes for your iPhone.

iCloud Shared Photo Library
- Separate library for seamlessly sharing photos and videos with up to five other people
- Setup rules allow you to easily contribute past photos based on start date or people in the photos when you set up or join a library
- Library filters for quickly switching between viewing the Shared Library, your Personal Library, or both libraries together
- Shared edits and permissions let everyone add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete photos
- Sharing toggle in Camera lets you choose to send photos you take straight to the Shared Library, or enable a setting to share automatically when other participants are detected nearby using Bluetooth

Live Activities
- Live Activities from third party apps are available in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen for iPhone 14 Pro models

Fitness+
- Apple Fitness+ is supported on iPhone even if you don’t have an Apple Watch

Wallet
- Key sharing enables you to securely share car, hotel room, and other keys in Wallet using messaging apps such as Messages and WhatsApp
- Savings account enables Apple Card customers to grow their Daily Cash by depositing it in a high yield savings account

Home
- Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard, is supported enabling a wide variety of smart home accessories to work together across ecosystems

Clean Energy Charging
- New setting that can try to reduce your carbon footprint by selectively charging when lower carbon emission electricity is available

Books
- Reader controls are automatically hidden as you start reading

This update also includes bug fixes for your iPhone:
- Deleted conversations may appear in the conversations list in Messages
- Dynamic Island content is not available when using Reachability
- CarPlay may fail to connect when using a VPN app

iOS 16.1 is expected to be released on Monday, October 24 alongside iPadOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura.