This coming Monday, September 12, Apple will make iOS 16 available as a free upgrade for iPhone 8 and subsequent models. Numerous new features are included in iOS 16, including the ability to temporarily edit or unsend iMessages and a lock screen that is customisable.
When iOS 16 becomes available, launch the Settings app on your iPhone and select General Software Update. Check out our list of six practical new features to test out after updating your iPhone to iOS 16 below.
Adapt The Lock Screen
With iOS 16, you can customise the Lock Screen with multi-layered wallpapers, widgets, unique fonts for the date and time, and more. This is the main new feature. Additionally, you may choose a collection of images to shuffle on the lock screen all day.
A variety of Lock Screen alternatives are displayed in the new Lock Screen gallery, including a new Weather wallpaper that displays current weather data and an Astronomy wallpaper that offers images of the Earth, Moon, and Solar System. iOS 16 includes support for multiple Lock Screen designs, allowing you to switch between your favourites with a swipe.
Change Or Cancel An iMessage
With the release of iOS 16, users may now temporarily modify or unsend iMessages and designate chats as unread after opening them.
Up to five revisions are permitted per message, and Apple permits you to make changes to an iMessage for up to 15 minutes after you send it. On smartphones running iOS 15 or earlier, modified messages are received as a new message that states “Edited to [new message],” and recipients are able to see a record of alterations made to the message.
Simply press and hold on to a message bubble and choose the relevant choice from the menu that displays to modify or unsend the message. Edited iMessages are identified by the word “edited” beneath the message bubble. Messages sent by SMS (green bubbles) cannot be changed or cancelled.
Play Music On The Full-Screen Music Player
With huge album art and a colour-coordinated backdrop, the full-screen music player from iOS 16 is once again available on the Lock Screen.
In iOS 10 from 2016, Apple last provided a full-screen music player on the Lock Screen. Tap on the bottom of the screen to minimise the music player and return to your default Lock Screen wallpaper if you don’t like the functionality.
Play Nintendo Joy-Con Games
On iOS 16, iPhones may accept a large number of extra Bluetooth game controllers, including the Joy-Cons and Pro Controller for the Nintendo Switch. With iOS 16, iPhones may use a single left or right Joy-Con or both at once to create a single controller.
This is in addition to the iPhone’s already-existing support for Xbox Series X and PS5 DualSense controllers since the introduction of iOS 14.5 last year.
Track a Pay with Apple order
For online orders placed with Apple Pay, iOS 16’s Wallet app now includes new built-in order tracking data. The tracker shows when a shipment is available for delivery and offers an anticipated delivery date for an order.
Without An Apple Watch, Close Your Rings
With iOS 16, everyone with an iPhone, including those without an Apple Watch, may now use the Fitness app. The software has a daily Activity ring that calculates a user’s daily steps and calorie burn using the iPhone’s motion sensors.
Apple said that its Fitness+ programme will be accessible to iPhone users without an Apple Watch in the 21 nations where it is now offered later this year at its iPhone 14 launch. Fitness+ costs $79.99 per year or $9.99 per month.
