Apple’s newest update to its iPhone operating system, iOS 16.1, will be available on Monday, the company announced in a press release Thursday.
It will launch for iPhone users with an iPhone 8 or newer models, and it adds quite a few features that weren’t available when iOS 16 launched back in September.
Here’s what’s coming.
Access Apple Fitness+ without Apple Watch
Apple Watch Fitness
Source: Apple Inc.
IPhone users with iOS 16.1 will be able to subscribe to and access Apple Fitness+ even if they don’t have an Apple Watch.
Fitness+ is a subscription service with guided workouts and meditations that costs $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Apple is offering three months of Fitness+ free with the purchase of a new iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
If you work out on Fitness+ without an Apple Watch, you won’t be able to see metrics like calories burned, or your real-time heart rate.
Clean energy iPhone charging
Clean Energy Charging will be available with iOS 16.1
Sofia Pitt
The iOS 16.1 update will also include Clean Energy Charging. Apple says this will let users optimize charging for when cleaner energy sources are available, helping to decrease your iPhone’s carbon footprint.
Clean Energy Charging is an option you can select in Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. Under the Clean Energy Charging option, Apple says, “In your region, iPhone will try to reduce your carbon footprint by selectively charging when lower carbon emission electricity is available. iPhone learns from your daily charging routine so it can reach full charge before you need to use it.”
iCloud shared photo library
Apple Shared Photo Library
Apple
IOS 16.1 will let you create an iCloud Shared Photo Library instead of a standard shared iCloud album.
This will allow you to invite up to five other people, or six in total, to a library where you can all add, delete, edit or favorite photos and videos.
The Camera app will offer a new toggle that allows users to choose to send photos to the shared library automatically. So, if you’re on vacation and taking a bunch of pictures at the beach with a group of friends, everyone can snap pictures with this option turned on and see all of the photos in the shared album.
Live Activities for third-party apps
Once you update to iOS 16.1 your lock screen will feature Live Activities, which shows information from sports games, ride-sharing apps like Uber, or updates on a food delivery order. So, you might see how long it’ll take for dinner to arrive at your house, with information on how soon it’ll arrive. Or, as the screenshot below shows, the score, inning and count of a baseball game with updates on plays. It’ll be most useful on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, which have always-on displays so you can glance to see new information. You’ll start to see some apps on Monday but it requires developer adoption, so additional apps will come later.
Here’s what it looks like:
Live Activities on iOS 16.1.
Apple
Support for Matter accessories in the Home App
IOS 16.1 will add support for new Matter accessories to the Home app, which lets users control smart home accessories.
Matter is a new connectivity standard that’s trying to make it easier to use all of your smart home accessories, together, no matter who designed them. The idea is to let smart home devices connect with home hubs, whether the hub is made by Apple, Google or Amazon. It means you should be able to go to the store and buy a smart bulb, for example, without worrying if it’ll work with your system at home, so long as it supports Matter.
Cybersecurity startup Armis has raised $435 million in a funding round that values the company at $6.1 billion.
“The need for what Armis is doing and what we are building, in this cyber exposure management and security platform, is just increasing,” CEO and co-founder Yevgeny Dibrov told CNBC. There’s “very unique and huge demand right now, and we are continuing to grow.”
Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ growth equity fund anchored the investment, with participation from CapitalG, a venture arm of Alphabet. The security firm brought on Evolution Equity Partners as a new investor.
Armis helps businesses secure and manage internet-connected devices and protect them against cyber threats. The company chose Goldman’s growth fund due to its strong track record helping companies accelerate growth toward initial public offerings, Dibrov said.
“This is the partner for us to go to the next stage and continue to build here a real generational business to get to the Hall of Fame of cyber and SaaS businesses,” he said.
In September, Bloomberg reported that the company was exploring as much as seven stake offers. Dibrov told CNBC the funding round was an outcome of those talks.
Armis raised $200 million in an October 2024 funding round with General Catalyst and Alkeon Capital. Previous backers have included Sequioa Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. Armis also raised $100 million in a secondary offering in July.
Dibrov said Armis is aiming for an IPO at the end of 2026 or early 2027, but he said he’s in no rush and is waiting on “market conditions.” The company’s primary goal is to hit $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, he said.
Axon Enterprise‘s stock plummeted 17% after the TASER maker missed Wall Street’s third-quarter profit expectations as it grapples with tariff constraints.
Adjusted earnings totaled $1.17 per share adj., falling short of a $1.52 per share forecast from LSEG. Adjusted gross margins fell 50 basis points from a year ago to 62.7%, which Axon attributed to tariff impacts.
Axon’s connected devices business, which includes its TASER and counter drone equipment, felt the biggest pinch during the first full quarter with tariffs. The business segment accounted for over $405 million in revenues, increasing 24% year over year.
“As long as tariffs stay in place, I view that as sort of a one-time adjustment,” finance chief Brittany Bagley said during the earnings call. “Now that’s baked into the gross margins.”
Bagley expects growth in the company’s software business to eventually offset margin losses long-term. Software and services revenues jumped 41% from a year ago to $305 million.
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Total revenues grew 31% from a year ago to $711 million, topping the $704 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG. The U.S. accounted for 84% of sales.
The Arizona-based company reported a net loss of $2.2 million, a loss of 3 cents per share, versus net income of $67 million, or 86 cents per share in the year-ago period.
Axon lifted its full-year revenue outlook to $2.74 billion, from between $2.65 billion and $2.73 billion. FactSet analysts expected $2.72 billion at the midpoint.
The company expects revenues between $750 million and $755 million during the fourth quarter, which was above LSEG analyst expectations of $746 million.
Along with the results, Axon said it is acquiring Carbyne in a deal that values the emergency communications platform at $625 million. The deal is expected to close next year in the first quarter.
Axon shares have jumped more than 60% over the last year and are up 18% year to date as demand for its security tools accelerates.
“We are building an elite business that is still nowhere near its ultimate potential, and we are doing it with a team that is rapidly bought into the mission,” said Axon’s president Josh Isner on the earnings call.
Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 4, 2022.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Digital assets and infrastructure company Ripple said Wednesday it has raised $500 million in funding, lifting its valuation to $40 billion.
The fundraise comes after a slew of acquisitions and as the company expands its product base beyond just payments.
Crypto and digital asset companies are trying to take advantage of what is seen by the industry as a more favorable environment in the U.S. after the election of President Donald Trump and the passing of a landmark stablecoin law known as the GENIUS Act.
Ripple, which is closely linked to the XRP cryptocurrency, said the funding round was led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, affiliates of Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace.
‘Record year of growth’
“The decision to accept $500 million in new common equity reflects the strategic value of deepening relationships with financial partners whose expertise complements Ripple’s expanding global suite of products,” Ripple said, adding that it is continuing its “record year of growth.”
Ripple has looked to position itself as a fintech firm bringing crypto and digital assets technology to institutional clients.
When Ripple launched in 2012, the company initially focused on using blockchain technology to facilitate cross-border payments. The token XRP was used to move fiat currencies quickly.
Since then, Ripple has bolstered its payments business and expanded into new areas through aggressive acquisitions. In just over two years, Ripple said it has completed six acquisitions.
Last year, the company launched its own stablecoin, a type of digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by real-world assets. Stablecoins are seen as a key way to move money quickly around the world as they can operate 24 hours a day. This year, Ripple acquired an enterprise-focused stablecoin platform called Rail.
Beyond payments, Ripple has pushed into other lines of business including custody of crypto assets, prime brokerage and corporate treasury management.
Ripple’s funding comes as cryptocurrency markets remain volatile. This week, bitcoin fell below the $100,000 mark for the first time since June with billions of dollars being wiped off the overall market.