Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

iOS 16.3.1 fixes major bugs for your iPhone — and introduces a new one

By

Apple just released a new iOS update for your iPhone: iOS 16.3.1. There are also updates for iPadOS 16.3.1 and macOS 13.2.1. All of these are relatively minor updates, but they do patch up an actively exploited code execution vulnerability that was found in WebKit/Safari. A second vulnerability was also patched up, though this second one was not known to be actively exploited.

But that’s not all that iOS 16.3.1 brings. This update also fixes an issue with iCloud settings, where it became unresponsive. Another bug fix corrects an issue with using Siri with the Find My feature, where the request would end up failing. If you have a HomePod, there is a HomePod 16.3.2 OS update that will also resolve some Siri issues, where smart home requests would end up failing.

Lock screen widget for iOS 16.
Nadeem Sarwar / DigitalTrends

In addition, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models with Crash Detection also got improvements with iOS 16.3.1. This update makes some minor adjustments to optimize Crash Detection, so hopefully this helps reduce the number of accidental calls to first responders, which seemed to happen with activities like riding intense roller coasters, skiing, and more.

Recommended Videos

iOS 16.3.1 is bad news for Google Photos users

While all of this is great for the previous issues, iOS 16.3.1 also introduces a brand new problem: Google Photos crashes on launch. If you are a Google Photos user, then you should hold off on updating to iOS 16.3.1 until this problem is resolved.

Related

If you have updated your iPhone to iOS 16.3.1 and use Google Photos, you may have noticed that the app just crashes whenever you try to open it. Rebooting the phone won’t fix it. Many users have complained online about it already, and Google has yet to acknowledge the issue. Even though it was Apple’s update that broke compatibility, it may end up falling on Google’s shoulders to fix it.

In the meantime, if you haven’t updated yet and need Google Photos, hold off on updating to iOS 16.3.1. And if you already did, then hang on tight for a fix, probably on Google’s side. Hopefully, things will be back up and working again sooner rather than later.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Christine Romero-Chan
Christine Romero-Chan
Staff Writer, Mobile
Christine Romero-Chan has been writing about technology, specifically Apple, for over a decade. She graduated from California…
This iPhone prototype has a feature Apple hasn’t released yet
A close-up of the iPhone 14 Pro's camera module.

Before the iPhone 15 Pro launched, a lot of people suspected Apple would ditch its physical buttons in lieu of haptic feedback buttons. As we now know, that didn't happen, nor did any of the iPhone 16 lineup receive this feature. Now, a video of an iPhone 14 Pro prototype has surfaced that shows a working haptic volume and power button — so why didn't it release?

An anonymous source told Android Headlines that Apple isn't yet ready to add the feature into its existing lineup. Haptic controls — supposedly code=named internally as "Bongo" — have been in development for quite some time, even before the launch of the iPhone 13 series. The prototype iPhone 14 is said to have been built in May 2021, and though it does have some interesting features, it isn't fully functional.

Read more
I compared Apple’s and Samsung’s AI photo editing tools. There’s a clear winner
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max's screen.

Apple has joined the AI game with Apple Intelligence, finally catching up to its competitors in that department. And with the iOS 18.1 update in October, most people who have a compatible iPhone can finally use those Apple Intelligence tools, including Clean Up.

The Clean Up tool in the Photos app is basically Apple’s version of Google’s Magic Eraser or Samsung’s Object Eraser. Back when I compared Magic Eraser and Object Eraser, Samsung’s tool was the better of the two. So, how does Apple’s Clean Up compare? Let’s find out.
The limitations of object removal tools

Read more
I took four of the best phones to NYC for a wild camera test. Here are the results
close up photo of cameras on the iPhone 16 Pro, Galaxy S24 Ultra, OnePlus 12 and Pixel 9 Pro

If you’re in the U.S. and looking for a smartphone camera that won’t let you down, there’s a strong chance that you’ll land on a phone from one of four phone makers: Samsung, Google, OnePlus, or Apple.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is widely regarded as having the best smartphone telephoto lens in the U.S., thanks to its 10x zoom. Google continues to work wonders with the triple camera array in its Pixel 9 Pro, while the OnePlus 12 offers outstanding performance at a more affordable price. Then there’s the iPhone 16 Pro, with its 5x telephoto camera, which was exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year.

Read more