During a feature-packed keynote at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple announced iOS 16, making a beta of the upcoming software available today for registered developers. It is slightly odd referring to iOS 16 as its own platform as it is available exclusively on the iPhone ever since iPadOS branched off into its own platform and the iPod has been discontinued. Here are the biggest announcements for iPhone users.
iOS 16 brings customizable lock screen
iOS 16 introduces a new Lock Screen, featuring customizable widgets and reimagined notifications. Glancing down at your phone for the status of an Uber, transit ride, group chat, or the next track or playlist in Apple Music ought to be much faster and more convenient than ever before. A new Widget Kit will be available for developers to introduce their own widgets.
Maps improvements
Maps in iOS 16will see a refresh as well, with new cities and countries being rolled out with updated cycling and transit directions, as well as 3D renderings of popular tourist destinations. And, trips can now be sequenced with multiple stops.
Messages
The Messages app now allows you to edit or even completely recall recently sent iMessages. You can also mark conversations as unread and can come back to them later.
Family Sharing
Family sharing is to receive a refresh that brings along easier to implement parental controls for gatekeeping device usage and content restrictions for children. While other platforms have similar features in this area, Apple’s implementation looks the slickest and easy to use.
Live Text Gets Even Stronger
Live Text has also received several big updates that make for a really cool demo. Introduced with iOS 15, Live Text previously allowed users to copy and paste any text captured by the Camera app in a still photo. The improved Camera app in iOS 16 now allows text to be translated, converted, or processed for easier localization. For instance, translating a sign or converting a price from £ to $. As someone who lives in a country with a combination of both metric and imperial measurement systems in daily life, I would absolutely use this.
Apple has also expanded these capabilities to videos as well. Now you can pause a video and select text from a single frame—a projected slide from a presentation you’re filming, for example.
iOS 16 supported hardware
Here’s a list of all the devices that will be able to take advantage of these new features. Sadly, the 7th Generation iPod Touch, which we said goodbye to last month, did not make the cut.
- iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation)
- iPhone 8 (and 8 Plus)
- iPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max
- iPhone 11 (and Pro, and Pro Max)
- iPhone 12 (and mini, Pro, and Pro Max)
- iPhone 13 (and mini, Pro, and Pro Max)
Let’s hope they fix the bug introduced with iOS 15.
In Focus settings, my Share Across Devices” is LOCKED to OFF because I do not use Two-Factor Authentication. I cannot turn it on. I’m fine with that, I want it to be off. In Focus settings, it reads “Focus syncing REQUIRES Two-Factor Authentication.
Nevertheless, Focus IS syncing with my other devices anyway. Sharing the Focus settings across my devices is a major inconvenience for me. I am now FORCED to use the silent switch on my iPhone. This means that emergency calls, and Favorites cannot get through to me.
sounds like an annoying problem, Bob!
have you checked out the newer focus setting profiles such as “work” and “sleep”? you may be able to customize exactly what gets through when focus is turned on, so that you don’t miss any calls. Also — two factor authentication, while annoying, offers a very good level of protection against potential hackers.
There one item in all the updates that truly interests me: the ability to mark a message as unread after being read. My issue is that Ihave an iPhone 13 Pro but an mid-2015 Mac. So my iPhone will support iOS 16 but my Mac will not support Mac OS Ventura. My messages are coordinated between the two via iCloud. So, it looks like I can remark as unread on my iPhone but not on my Mac. BUT, if I do change a message on my iPhone as unread, will it also show that was on my Mac as well?
Good question on Messages… I want to say yes but I can’t confirm. I’m running both the macOS beta and the iOS beta at the same time, currently.
I also love mark as unread when I need a basic to-do list to start my day.