Apple just released a new iOS update for your iPhone: iOS 16.3.1. There are also updates to iPadOS 16.3.1 and macOS 13.2.1. These are all relatively minor updates, but they do fix an actively exploited code execution vulnerability that was found in WebKit/Safari. A second vulnerability has also been patched, although this second vulnerability 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 becoming unresponsive. Another bug fix corrects an issue where using Siri with the Find My feature, the request ends up failing. If you have a HomePod, there is an update to HomePod OS 16.3.2 which will also fix some issues with Siri, where smart home requests end up failing.
In addition, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models with Crash Detection also got improvements with iOS 16.3.1. This update makes some minor tweaks to improve crash detection, so hopefully this helps reduce the number of accidental calls to first responders, which seem to happen with activities like intense rollercoaster rides, skiing, and more.
iOS 16.3.1 is bad news for Google Photos users
While all of this is great for previous versions, iOS 16.3.1 also introduces a whole new problem: the Google Photos app crashes on launch. If you are a Google Photos user, you must postpone updating to iOS 16.3.1 until this issue is resolved.
If you updated your iPhone to iOS 16.3.1 and used Google Photos, you might have noticed that the app crashes as soon as you try to open it. Restarting the phone won’t fix it. Many users online have already complained about it, and Google has yet to acknowledge the problem. 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, wait for the update to iOS 16.3.1. And if you’ve already done so, you’re waiting desperately for a solution, possibly from Google’s side. Hopefully, things will be back up and running again sooner rather than later.
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