iOS 16.5 Beta 3 brings new sports-related features, a new system location restriction, and general improvements

According to 9to5Mac, Apple is working on a new, smarter system to restrict specific features on iOS based on the user's location. Currently, most restrictions are tied to a device's region, but the new system, called "countryd," combines multiple data to precisely determine the user's country. It is designed to set restrictions determined by government regulators and could be used to enable sideloading on iOS in Europe, as Bloomberg reported in December. While sideloading won't be available outside Europe with iOS 17, the system could easily determine if a device is being used in an EU country to allow sideloading. Additionally, iOS 16.2 revealed that Apple is working on a new "Custom Accessibility Mode" for iPhone that may be announced with iOS 17.

On the other hand, Apple released iOS 16.5 beta 3 to developers, which includes a new sports tab in Apple News, screen recording via Siri and overall improvements. The update adds new screen recording commands to Siri and a dedicated Sports tab to the Apple News app. It doesn't include many notable changes as attention shifts to iOS 17, which is set to be introduced at WWDC in June. Apple is also rolling out new betas for iPadOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, and macOS Ventura 13.4 to developers. The company will likely release iOS 16.5 to the general public sometime in May, after further beta testing.