Apple unveiled a new version of iOS for the iPhone tonight. iOS 16 includes several improvements and innovations, including widgets on your unlock screen and the ability to edit or delete messages in iMessage. In this article you can read everything you need to know about iOS 16.
Lock Screen with widgets
Perhaps the biggest and most striking improvement we see on the Lock Screen, or the unlock screen. Very little has happened here for years, but with the arrival of iOS 16 you get the opportunity to change that. You can add widgets to the screen and even change the font or color of those widgets. Apple offers small widgets of its own functions, such as the clock, weather or calendar, but third-party apps can also be added to the Lock Screen, if the developer supports this.
In addition, it is possible to create multiple unlock screens and switch between them, from the same unlock screen. You can also have a specific screen shown based on your location, the time or your Focus mode. The background of the screen can also be adjusted. Apple itself offers various options, including dynamic (moving) backgrounds. You can find these in the Wallpaper Gallery.
iMessage messages
For those who use iMessage a lot, it’s good to know that with iOS 16 you can edit and delete messages if they have already been sent. SharePlay is also coming to the Messages app. So you no longer need to initiate a FaceTime call to use the feature. In addition, voice typing has been improved according to Apple and it is possible to mark messages as unread.
Media and notifications
Something you may immediately notice is that with iOS 16 notifications come in more often from the bottom of the screen. Apple is making this change so that you can still do a lot with one finger, especially on the ever-growing screens. Controlling the media player is now also located in the lower half of the screen, also so that you can access it faster and easier.
Completely new is Live Activities. This is a block with live notifications that you can pin to the screen. If you want to stay informed of certain events, competitions or other developments while browsing, watching a movie or working, you can pin such a block on your screen.
Apple has developed the Dynamic Island especially for the latest iPhones. This is the notch (black hole) at the top of the screen, in which the camera is located. Apple uses this space creatively by displaying an ever-changing “island” displaying background activities. For example, a timer, music, a phone call or a payment. You always see what is happening, and with a tap on the island you get to see a bigger island, with more options. You can also proceed directly to the app. If several tasks are active in the background, the island will split into two parts.
Typing with feeling
You probably remember it; a vibrating phone when you type an email or message. That was a thing of the past with the iPhone, but Apple is now introducing a new form of haptic typing. Simply put, this means that the phone gives a subtle feedback to the letters you type. Contrary to the past, this is no longer a disturbing and noisy vibration but a light, subtle vibration so that you know that a key has been pressed. You do have to enable this function yourself in the settings.
photos
In the field of photos, Apple has also made some important changes. From now on, photos can be quickly shared with others via iCloud, for example someone who is visiting you or standing next to you in the pub. When taking a photo or video, you can choose where you want to save it in the Camera app: in your own library, or in the shared library.
In addition, you will never again suffer from duplicate photos in your photo library. You can find and remove duplicates with iOS 16. Photo albums can also now be locked with Face ID or Touch ID. Finally, it is possible to automatically cut people, animals and things from photos. With this you can make nice adjustments to photos or remove a specific person or object from a photo.
Apple Home
Apple is also renewing the Home app in iOS 16, better known by some as HomeKit. The interface has been renewed with one overview of the most important accessories per room, a pop-up menu for each tile and the possibility to adjust icons to your own liking. Home offers additional widgets for the unlock screen and Apple has added several new categories in which to place your devices. Also, the support of Matter rolled out within the Apple ecosystem.
Apple Mail
Mail also gets a few improvements, such as a better search function so you can quickly find older emails, and the ability to schedule emails at a specific time. In addition, you can unsubscribe an email within 30 seconds, it is possible to temporarily snooze incoming emails so that you are reminded of them later and Mail can warn you if it thinks you forgot to add an attachment to an e-mail. Furthermore, your emails look more visually appealing due to enriched content. Add a link, and you get a preview.
Minor improvements
Apple has made many more small improvements in iOS 16. Below is a point-by-point overview.
- It will be possible to view and share your WiFi password. Very handy and no more hassle with retrieving passwords.
- The ‘Translate’ app also supports Dutch from iOS 16, so that you can automatically narrate words, sentences or entire web pages in Safari.
- Do you often take screenshots but is it annoying that they are saved? When you take a screenshot in iOS 16, a new option appears in the “Copy and Delete” menu. This won’t save the screenshot, but you can quickly share it with someone.
- Apple Maps is also getting a small update in iOS 16. You can now add stops, both before and during navigation. In total you can enter up to 15 stops.
- We all know CAPTCHA when we have to prove once again that we are not a robot but human. According to Apple, it can be easier. In iOS 16 you will now find the function Private Access Tokens (Automatic Verification in Dutch) with which iCloud and your Apple ID can always guarantee that you are human, making the CAPTCHAs a thing of the past. Developers still have to build this into apps and websites.
- Passwords are also a thing of the past, at least soon. Apple is going to work with so-called Passkeys, something that Google and Microsoft also support. Identification takes place via fingerprint or your face and the device (or iCloud) ensures that you never have to create or search for a password again. Everything is automatically secured and saved. However, Passkeys is not yet widely supported so for now we have to wait for websites and services that will support it. Read more in our background article about login without passwords.
- A nice new function makes it possible to tailor the audio playback of your (new) AirPods to yourself. To do this, you need to scan your ears with your iPhone’s Face ID scanner.
- The battery percentage is back! At least on the larger iPhones. You will then see the battery percentage in the battery icon, if you activate that option in the settings.
Download iOS 16
The final release of iOS 16 is September 16. From that moment on, iOS 16 can be downloaded and installed automatically on your (compatible) iPhone.
Which iPhones will get iOS 16?
Apple is of course known for its long support of iPhones and so is this year. All iPhones from iPhone 7 onwards will be able to download iOS 16. Older devices are unfortunately excluded. Below you will find an overview of all devices that are compatible with iOS 16.
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone SE (2020)
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
