Apple has delayed the introduction of iOS 16’s iCloud Shared Photo Library feature, stating that it will be available “later this year” rather than when the mobile operating system update is released on September 12th. The message regarding the delay was added sometime this week, according to an archived version of the iOS 16 homepages.
When it is released, the feature will allow you and up to five other people to automatically share a collection of images, with the choice of including all photos in your library, photos taken after a certain date, or photos of specified individuals.
It’s not uncommon for Apple to withhold features from the first release – last year, iOS 15 debuted without SharePlay, Universal Control, or improved Find My AirPods compatibility. The features were subsequently released in point releases over the following several months. Though the iPadOS 16 upgrade for Apple’s tablet has been postponed and will instead come as iPadOS 16.1, iOS 16 does not seem to include as many features that are being pushed back.
Apple putting iPadOS 16 on its release schedule have something to do with the feature’s delay — it’s easy to imagine people setting it up on their phones, then being confused about why it’s not showing up on their iPad or Mac (according to Apple’s website, macOS Ventura will be released sometime in October). Or, considering that the function deals with photographs that customers don’t want to lose, the corporation might just be cautious.