Apple’s iOS 16.1 public beta starts rolling out: Here are 5 exciting features to expect

Apple’s iOS 16.1 is next update to its latest operating system and the public beta for the same has started rolling out. The developer beta was already available. If your iPhone is on a beta version of iOS 16, the update should be visible in the Software Update section. Apple tends to roll out new features with each additional update to iOS and the same holds true for iOS 16.1. Of course, this is a version bump, so the l of new features is limited. But it does come with some important changes. Here’s a quickly look.
Battery percentage tweaks
Perhaps one of the most easily noticeable changes on iOS 16 is the new battery icon which finally displays the percentage. It was pretty great already, but iOS 16.1 now enhances it a bit making the text larger and therefore more readable. A few iPhone models like the iPhone XR, 12 mini, and 13 mini were left out of the battery percentage party, presumably due to their smaller displays. The iOS 16.1 update now enables support for those models too, meaning all iPhones running the latest version of the OS can now benefit from the feature.
Clean Energy Charging
Enabled default, Clean Energy Charging selectively charges when lower carbon emission electricity is available in an effort to reduce your carbon footprint. Keeping it on shouldn’t affect how you use your phone, though, since Apple says that your iPhone “learns from your daily charging routine so it can reach full charge before you need to use it.” The feature can be accessed from Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging > Clean Energy Charging.
Live Activities
Live Activities displays real-time information from apps in a dynamic notification, is finally coming with iOS 16.1. The feature was available for developers earlier, but didn’t make it to the public version of iOS 16. Examples include Uber using the Live Activities notification to show the estimated time of arrival for its cabs and sports apps displaying game scores in real time – right on the lock screen itself.
Fitness+ without Apple Watch
Apple’s home workout program Fitness+ required an Apple Watch to work before iOS 16.1, but that condition has now been done away with. You can now follow your workout session from an iPhone as well, although you’d obviously be missing out on health and fitness metrics that require the Watch to be measured. The Fitness+ service is not yet available in India.
Volume Swipe toggle for AirPods Pro 2
If you for some reason felt that the Volume Swipe gesture on your AirPods Pro 2 was annoying – maybe you kept messing up the volume levels on accident – then you will welcome this feature addition. iOS 16.1 adds a new switch to the AirPods Pro 2’s settings using which you can disable this particular gesture. Turn it off and swiping will no longer do anything.