diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 1839202..8f9f42a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        rust: [stable, beta, nightly, 1.51.0]  # MSRV=1.51
+        rust: [stable, beta, nightly, 1.61.0]  # MSRV=1.61
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v2
         with: {submodules: true}
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index d1c8ec7..8417cc7 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 [package]
 name = "qoi"
-version = "0.4.0"
+version = "0.4.1"
 description = "VERY fast encoder/decoder for QOI (Quite Okay Image) format"
 authors = ["Ivan Smirnov <rust@ivan.smirnov.ie>"]
-edition = "2018"
+edition = "2021"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = "MIT/Apache-2.0"
 repository = "https://github.com/aldanor/qoi-rust"
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ keywords = ["qoi", "graphics", "image", "encoding"]
 exclude = [
     "assets/*",
 ]
-rust-version = "1.51.0"
+rust-version = "1.61.0"
 
 [features]
 default = ["std"]
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ std = []        # std mode (enabled by default) - provides access to `std::io`,
 reference = []  # follows reference encoder implementation precisely, but may be slightly slower
 
 [dependencies]
-bytemuck = "1.7"
+bytemuck = "1.12"
 
 [workspace]
 members = ["libqoi", "bench"]
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a7de677..315d006 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -51,8 +51,7 @@ this library proved to be the fastest one by a noticeable margin.
 
 ### Rust version
 
-The minimum required Rust version is 1.51.0 (any changes to this would be
-considered to be a breaking change).
+The minimum required Rust version for the latest crate version is 1.61.0.
 
 ### `no_std`
 
diff --git a/src/decode.rs b/src/decode.rs
index b9fb6f2..019dac2 100644
--- a/src/decode.rs
+++ b/src/decode.rs
@@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ pub trait Reader: Sized {
     fn decode_image(&mut self, out: &mut [u8], channels: u8, src_channels: u8) -> Result<()>;
 }
 
-struct Bytes<'a>(&'a [u8]);
+pub struct Bytes<'a>(&'a [u8]);
 
 impl<'a> Bytes<'a> {
     #[inline]
@@ -318,12 +318,13 @@ impl<R: Read> Decoder<R> {
 
     /// Returns an immutable reference to the underlying reader.
     #[inline]
-    pub fn reader(&self) -> &R {
+    pub const fn reader(&self) -> &R {
         &self.reader
     }
 
     /// Consumes the decoder and returns the underlying reader back.
     #[inline]
+    #[allow(clippy::missing_const_for_fn)]
     pub fn into_reader(self) -> R {
         self.reader
     }
@@ -343,7 +344,7 @@ impl<R: Reader> Decoder<R> {
     /// to decode RGB into RGBA (in which case the alpha channel will be set
     /// to 255), and vice versa (in which case the alpha channel will be ignored).
     #[inline]
-    pub fn with_channels(mut self, channels: Channels) -> Self {
+    pub const fn with_channels(mut self, channels: Channels) -> Self {
         self.channels = channels;
         self
     }
@@ -352,13 +353,13 @@ impl<R: Reader> Decoder<R> {
     ///
     /// Note: this may differ from the number of channels specified in the header.
     #[inline]
-    pub fn channels(&self) -> Channels {
+    pub const fn channels(&self) -> Channels {
         self.channels
     }
 
     /// Returns the decoded image header.
     #[inline]
-    pub fn header(&self) -> &Header {
+    pub const fn header(&self) -> &Header {
         &self.header
     }
 
@@ -366,7 +367,7 @@ impl<R: Reader> Decoder<R> {
     ///
     /// Can be used to pre-allocate the buffer to decode the image into.
     #[inline]
-    pub fn required_buf_len(&self) -> usize {
+    pub const fn required_buf_len(&self) -> usize {
         self.header.n_pixels().saturating_mul(self.channels.as_u8() as usize)
     }
 
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 9ef6637..f77506b 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@
     clippy::must_use_candidate,
     clippy::module_name_repetitions,
     clippy::cargo_common_metadata,
-    clippy::doc_markdown
+    clippy::doc_markdown,
+    clippy::return_self_not_must_use,
 )]
 #![cfg_attr(not(any(feature = "std", test)), no_std)]
 #[cfg(all(feature = "alloc", not(any(feature = "std", test))))]
diff --git a/src/utils.rs b/src/utils.rs
index 76ed92a..d0c37a6 100644
--- a/src/utils.rs
+++ b/src/utils.rs
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ pub struct GenericWriter<W> {
 
 #[cfg(feature = "std")]
 impl<W: Write> GenericWriter<W> {
-    pub fn new(writer: W) -> Self {
+    pub const fn new(writer: W) -> Self {
         Self { writer, n_written: 0 }
     }
 }
diff --git a/tests/test_misc.rs b/tests/test_misc.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..720adf4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_misc.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#[test]
+fn test_new_encoder() {
+    // this used to fail due to `Bytes` not being `pub`
+    let arr = [0u8];
+    let _ = qoi::Decoder::new(&arr[..]);
+}
\ No newline at end of file