Apple, last week confirmed some of the leaks concerning its latest operating system, iOS 16, with the official unveiling of the update at its 2022 Worldwide Developers Conference. While this puts an end to a series of speculations about the operating system, the array of new features previewed by Apple is already generating wild excitement among iPhone users globally.
With the new iOS 16, iPhone users can personalise their Lock Screen, keep family photos in iCloud Shared Photo Library, recall sent messages, schedule mail, and discover more with Live Text and Visual Look Up.
However, unlike the previous updates to the iOS operating system, the iOS 16 is not for all generations of iPhones. Many iPhone users who have expressed excitement about this new update may find it really disappointing that they may not be able to enjoy it until they upgrade their phones.
But the exclusion of a few sets of iPhones does not take the shine off the great features offered by iOS 16. Nairametrics takes a look at some of these features:
Personalised Lock Screen
The Lock Screen gets more personal, beautiful, and helpful with iOS 16. With a new multilayered effect, the subjects of photos are artfully set in front of the time on the Lock Screen, creating a sense of depth. Users can also change the look of the date and time with expressive type styles and colour choices.
The Lock Screen features widgets that take inspiration from Apple Watch complications, making it easy to get information at a glance, such as upcoming calendar events, the weather, battery levels, alarms, time zones, Activity ring progress, and more.
A personalized Lock Screen in iOS 16 shows a mountain peak.
Focus
Focus is more powerful, easier to set up, and now connects to the Lock Screen, offering users a way to tie a Lock Screen wallpaper and widgets to a particular Focus. To activate a Focus, users can simply swipe to the corresponding Lock Screen. With Focus filters, apps like Calendar, Mail, Messages, and Safari can display only the content that is relevant to a user’s Focus, helping them to find better balance.
iCloud Shared Photo Library
iCloud Shared Photo Library gives families a new way to share photos seamlessly with a separate iCloud library that up to six users can collaborate on, contribute to, and enjoy. Users can choose to share existing photos from their personal libraries, or share based on a start date or people in the photos. A user can also choose to send photos to the Shared Library automatically using a new toggle in the Camera app.
Additionally, users will receive intelligent suggestions to share a photo that includes participants in the Shared Photo Library. Every user in the Shared Photo Library has access to add, delete, edit, or favourite the shared photos or videos, which will appear in each user’s Memories and Featured Photos so that everyone can relive more complete family moments.
Updates to messages
Users can edit or recall recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages, and mark conversations as unread so they can come back to them later. In addition, SharePlay is coming to Messages, making it possible to enjoy synced content like movies or songs and shared playback controls all while chatting in Messages.
New tools for mail
Now users can schedule emails ahead of time and are even given a moment to cancel delivery of a message before it reaches a recipient’s inbox. Mail detects if the user forgot to include an important part of their message, such as an attachment. Users also have the option to resurface a message at any date and time with Remind Later and Follow Up suggestions automatically remind users to follow up on an email if they have not received a response.
Live text and visual Look Up enhancements
Live Text uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in images across iOS, and it is now expanding to include video. Users can pause a video on any frame and interact with text. Live Text also adds the ability for users to quickly convert currency, translate text, and more.
Wallet adds Apple Pay Later
Apple Pay Later provides users in the US with a seamless and secure way to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees of any kind. Built into Apple Wallet and designed with users’ financial health in mind, Apple Pay Later makes it easy to view, track, and repay Apple Pay Later payments within Wallet. Users can apply for Apple Pay Later when they are checking out with Apple Pay, or in Wallet. Apple Pay Later is available everywhere Apple Pay is accepted online or in-app, using the Mastercard network.
iPhones excluded from iOS 16
- While it may not come as a surprise that iOS 16 will not work with some of the oldest phones such as the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, both released in September 2015, there are three other iPhones that will no longer update to the latest software.
- These include the iPhone SE (first generation) announced on March 20, 2016, which is more than six years old; iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, which were released in September 2016.
- These devices are being used by millions of people globally. This set of people will not be able to enjoy these new fantastic features in iOS 16 until they upgrade their phones.
