Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks at Apple’s annual global developer conference in San Jose, California on June 6, 2022.
Pere Dasilva | Reuters
Apple announced this week the biggest iPhone software update of the year.
The software, unveiled Monday at Apple’s World Developers Conference, includes the biggest change to the look of the iPhone lock screen since 2014 and improvements to commonly used applications such as Messaging, Mail and Maps.
It will be available to everyone with an iPhone released in 2017 or later. The oldest compatible device is the iPhone 8. So if you want these features and still have this phone, it might be time to upgrade this fall.
IOS 16 is now available for people with an Apple Developer account. It will be released as a beta release to the public next month and will be released to everyone along with the new iPhones in September or October.
Here are some of the most important changes you should make:
Customizable lock screens. Users will be able to add smaller widgets with real-time data such as the weather forecast to the lock screen, and even change the font of the clock for the first time. Some apps may display custom widgets with information such as sports scores or how far your Uber is. Apple also introduced several new lock screens with images as an interactive planet Earth. Notifications now appear at the bottom of the screen instead of at the top.
Send and edit iMessages. The new version of iOS will include several major updates to the Messages app, which sends SMS (green bubbles) and iMessages (blue bubbles) text. When you do iMessaging with another Apple user, you’ll have 15 minutes to send a message to edit. or undo it. The other user will not receive a notification, but will see that the message has been edited or retrieved. Users will also be able to mark texts as unread.
Best group texting with Android users. IPhone owners who send text messages with Android users may be familiar with how SMS handles Apple tapbacks, thumbs up, thumbs down, or heart emojis that you can add to a text. Right now, you’ll see text announcing that a user liked or highlighted a text. In the new iOS, these reactions are attached to SMS messages in the same way as an iMessage.
Schedule emails for the future. The Mail app built into iPhones is also getting improvements, such as a more functional search feature, as well as the ability to schedule an email to be sent for a time in the future, such as tomorrow morning at 9 p.m. in the morning.
Shared photos from Apple
Source: Apple
AI automatically sorts, edits, translates, and shares photos. IPhones have had the ability to create photo albums based on places or people in recent years. But now the app uses artificial intelligence to automatically share photos with up to six people depending on who is in the photo, such as children or family members. This means, for example, that you can set it up so that every time you take a picture of your child, your partner also has the picture. Apple is also adding artificial intelligence features that can translate text into photos or videos that the user takes. The most interesting AI feature is called Visual Look Up, which can crop a dog or person from a photo and place it in images or other applications as a sticker.
Keys from Apple iPhone to Wallet
Source: Apple
Short-term loans in Apple Wallet. Apple’s Wallet app, which contains passwords, credit cards, and other digital passwords, remains a focus for Apple. Apple wants the Wallet app to replace everything currently in your wallet, including cash and IDs. This year, Apple introduced a purchase feature now, later paid called Apple Pay Later. You can use it to shop anywhere Apple Pay is accepted and then pay your balance in four installments over six weeks. Apple Wallet in iOS 16 will also make it easier to share your digital car or home keys via email.
Apple Maps can add multiple stops to a route. Apple Maps will receive an update that will allow you to add different stops to a route. So if you’re driving somewhere and plan to pick someone up along the way, you can add their home as a first stop on the way to your destination. It means you don’t have to go into one place and then go into a second place later. This is perfect for planning a summer road trip and a must for people with electric cars who need to find chargers. Separately, next year, Apple will unveil an updated version of its car software, CarPlay, which will take advantage of this map update and integrate more closely with the car’s built-in hardware.
More ways to control notifications. Starting last year’s Focus mode, Apple now allows users to have completely different wallpapers or app settings for different times of the day, such as when the user is at work or sleeping. Individual applications, such as Calendar, Mail, and Messaging, now allow users to customize which notifications and content belong to each Focus mode.
“Hello Siri, hang up.” Siri will soon help you hang up a call or FaceTime.
Apple’s Home app is redesigned. Apple also said this week that it supports Matter, an open standard for smart home hardware such as locks, lights and shutters. He also redesigned the Home app to better show things like multiple cameras in and around your home in a side-by-side display mode.
Apple Watch Medications
Source: Apple
Monitoring of medications and sleep in the health application. Apple’s health app now allows users to enter their medications and how often they have been taken. Users can add medication simply by taking a picture of the bottle, Apple said Monday. The app can even remind users when it’s time to take their medication and warn them of possible interactions. In addition, Apple Watch owners will need to control sleep and heartbeat in the iPhone health app.
Security check. A new feature called Safety Check allows users to quickly disable all services and applications that are shared with the user’s family, such as location. Apple said the feature has been designed in collaboration with women’s groups and is specifically designed to facilitate deprivation or protect personal data and security when an abusive relationship is left.
Use your iPhone as a webcam. The iPhone has an excellent photo-quality camera that can record in 4K or 8K. Wouldn’t it be better to mark a Zoom call with this instead of your laptop’s low-quality camera? With iOS 16 and the new version of macOS, users can now use their iPhone as a webcam in a feature called Continuity Camera with the right support for laptops.