diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 7be64c00..c4b9c971 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 project(
   'PyWavelets',
   'c', 'cython',
-  version: '1.6.0rc1',
+  version: '1.7.0.dev0',
   license: 'MIT',
   meson_version: '>= 1.1.0',
   default_options: [
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index e419f090..5498a4d3 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,10 +8,7 @@
 build-backend = "mesonpy"
 requires = [
     "meson-python>=0.15.0",
-    # The upper bound on Cython is pre-emptive. The conditional compilation
-    # with IF we use in Cython code is deprecated and will be removed from
-    # Cython at some point.
-    "Cython>=3.0.4,<3.1",
+    "Cython>=3.0.4",
 
     # numpy requirement for wheel builds for distribution on PyPI - building
     # against 2.x yields wheels that are also compatible with numpy 1.x at
@@ -19,12 +16,12 @@ requires = [
     # Note that building against numpy 1.x works fine too - users and
     # redistributors can do this by installing the numpy version they like and
     # disabling build isolation.
-    "numpy>=2.0.0b1,<2.3",
+    "numpy>=2.0.0b1",
 ]
 
 [project]
 name = "PyWavelets"
-version = "1.6.0rc1"
+version = "1.7.0.dev0"
 # TODO: add `license-files` once PEP 639 is accepted (see meson-python#88)
 #       at that point, no longer include them in `py3.install_sources()`
 license = {file = "LICENSE"}
diff --git a/util/version_utils.py b/util/version_utils.py
index bdf7a4b3..3cad9b86 100644
--- a/util/version_utils.py
+++ b/util/version_utils.py
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 import subprocess
 
 MAJOR = 1
-MINOR = 6
+MINOR = 7
 MICRO = 0
-ISRELEASED = True
+ISRELEASED = False
 VERSION = '%d.%d.%d' % (MAJOR, MINOR, MICRO)