Apple’s iOS 16 heads to RC as Sept 7 iPhone launch looms

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Apple has apparently ended iOS 16 development pending launch of the OS as it prepares to introduce iPhone 14 on or around September 7, according to the world’s most cited tech journalist, Mark Gurman.

Apple on track for Q4 launch

The news suggests Apple is on track for the anticipated mid-September appearance of at least some iPhone 14 models but doesn’t mean iOS 16 development ends here – the company will be seeking out bugs and adding features to keep things spicy post launch because that’s what it always does. Though it may be some time until the company gets its Freeform feature right.

We can anticipate another update a few weeks later, likely followed by a second in October when Apple is likely to ship iPad OS 16, macOS Ventura and new iPads and Macs. Again, that’s the company’s customary pattern.

[Also read: Almost half of Android users are willing to switch – survey]

“The iOS 16.0 update, which Apple engineers finished work on this past week, is due to launch in September alongside watchOS 9. Those updates will correspond with the new hardware. The macOS Ventura and iPadOS upgrades, on the other hand, are now scheduled for October (after Stage Manager-related delays to the iPad software) to match the new hardware lineup.” Gurman wrote.

Both Apple and chip supplier TSMC seem resolutely confident the new devices will sell through, even while the wider industry stutters. Meanwhile, of course, sneaking up may (or may not) be the much-anticipated introduction of what on previous form will probably be Apple’s Meta-defeating take on smart AR glasses.

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