iOS 16: Top 5 New Features
iOS 16 will drop in the fall. Here are the 5 features I'm most looking forward to.
1. New Lock Screen Options
Some of us check our phones hundreds of times a day. Every time we do, we look at the lock screen. On iOS 15, it shows a photo and important info: time & date, network and WIFI info, battery life, and some notifications. In iOS 16, you’ll be able to fully customize the look and feel, and add just about anything via widgets!
iOS can now intelligently remove subjects from their backgrounds in photos (and videos), and this is put to great use with the new lock screen options. Notice how the time disappears behind the subject in the photo on the far left above. Neat! You can also customize the typeface and colour of the text.
There is a spot for widgets, so you can see the weather, calendar events, your Activity rings, alarms and more - including widgets that will be developed by creators of your favourite apps.
You can also create multiple lock screens, so you can change them depending on your mood. Or use iOS Focus features to automatically switch lock screens at a certain time or location.
Lastly, Live Events will be super useful - a constantly-updating widget at the bottom of the screen for sports scores, your Uber car, your food delivery, etc.!
2. Shared Photo Library
Families rejoice! You can now have a shared photo library that everyone in the family can contribute to, access, and edit.
You can choose what to include based on a start date or the people in the photos. Once the shared library is set up, you can share photos instantly right from Camera, choose to share automatically when other shared library members are nearby, and get smart suggestions for adding photos to the shared library in For You.
Everyone has equal permissions for adding, editing and deleting photos in the shared library. Favourites, captions, and keywords sync too, so if one person organizes the collection, everyone benefits.
These changes will be huge for families keeping all their memories together in one place.
3. Small But Mighty Changes to iMessage
I’ll keep this brief. Three features coming to iMessage that we’ve been waiting a long time for.
You can now:
Unsend messages
Edit messages
Mark messages as unread
4. Passkeys
This is the future of passwords. Passkeys introduce a new sign-in method that is end-to-end encrypted and safe from phishing and data leaks. This makes passkeys stronger than all common two-factor authentication types. They also work on non-Apple devices.
This is part of the FIDO Alliance. Moving towards passwordless sign-ins reduces phishing, hacks, ransomware and data loss.
5. Massively Improved Dictation
I use dictation all the time, and Apple has taken it to the next level in iOS 16. The two big changes are:
Automatic punctuation
Use dictation and keyboard together
This means you can stop talking, make changes with the keyboard, and the resume speaking with dictation continuing right along - complete with punctuation!
Quick Hitters
Add multiple stops in Maps directions
Protect Hidden and Recently Deleted photo albums with FaceID
Live captions in FaceTime
ScreenTime requests from kids can now be answered in iMessage
Lift subjects from backgrounds in photos and videos
iOS 16 will drop in the fall and will be available for the iPhone 8 and newer. More on iPadOS and macOS to come!