How do I EXIT the Lists of Contacts?

Press “>” to the right of “iCloud”.

Yes, iOS 16 changes the way it works. What you used to see was All Contacts. Now it lets you see individual lists. Along with this you can now put a single contact into more than one list. What is lost is the ability to show 2 or more lists without showing all lists. You can view one or all only.

Chris Shaker wrote:

That just shows my lists of Contacts

Yes! That’s exactly what you asked in your original post:

”I don’t know how to exit the Lists and get back to the normal contacts app.“

Opening the Contacts app normally shows your list of contacts.

Chris Shaker wrote:

Must have been an artifact of the IOS 16.3 update?

Nope. More likely it’s a remnant or the way you last exited Contacts.

Chris Shaker wrote:

I don't remember …

I understand. That does not mean it didn’t happen.