Apple Releases iOS 16.7.1 for Older iPhones and iPads - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Releases iOS 16.7.1 for Older iPhones and iPads

Apple today released iOS 16.7.1 and iPadOS 16.7.1, new software updates that can be downloaded on iPhones and iPads that are not able to run iOS 17, or those that have not yet been updated to the new operating system. iOS 16.7.1 comes a few weeks after Apple released iOS 16.7.

iOS 16
The software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.

With iOS 17 now out, iOS 16 updates are limited to security improvements and performance optimizations. New features will be added to iOS 17 rather than iOS 16.

The iOS 16.7.1 update likely addresses the same kernel vulnerability that Apple fixed in iOS 17.0.3 last week. The issue was exploited on versions of iOS before 16.6, according to Apple.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...

Top Rated Comments

34 months ago
This is good, but the fact that there’s still no iOS 15 security update is inexcusable.
macOS Monterey is from the same year and it’s still getting security updates
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TigerNike23 Avatar
34 months ago

This is good, but the fact that there’s still no iOS 15 security update is inexcusable.
macOS Monterey is from the same year and it’s still getting security updates
Yeah I’m pretty ticked off at Apple over stuff like this. They supported iOS 12 for years. My grandmother has a 6S, and it’s not cool to know there’s exploits that are unpatched. (And no, she won’t pay $400 for a new phone.)

So, when I hear the usual refrain “if Apple drops support, they’ll still get security updates for a few years”, I get a little hostile.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Westside guy Avatar
34 months ago

The cynic might dream up the crazy idea that  themselves creates these vulnerabilities in order to ‘fix’ them later to march forward the iOS update train
Having been a user of Apple's various OS offerings for many years, believing their current OS development staff to be even remotely capable of this would strain credulity to the breaking point.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
34 months ago

The cynic might dream up the crazy idea that  themselves creates these vulnerabilities in order to ‘fix’ them later to march forward the iOS update train
It’s been dreamed up many times. It’s been disproven by countless examples of the fact that humans don’t need help to write buggy code. It’s considered to be essentially impossible to make any complex software entirely bug free.

There are instances of obvious intentional backdoors, and a few cases of grey areas where a bug has seemed awfully convenient, but it’s not a safe default assumption.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spartan1967 Avatar
34 months ago
Updating on my 13 Mini right now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
34 months ago
Genuinely happy to see regular updates for the older versions of iOS...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)