Apple Announces iOS 16: First Look at New Features

Apple today previewed iOS 16, the company's next major update for the iPhone, featuring a redesigned, customizable Lock Screen, new sharing and personalization capabilities, and more.

Lock Screen, Notifications, and Focus

An all-new, fully customizable Lock Screen allows users to edit a large number of design elements for a more personalized look. The new Lock Screen also includes widgets and Apple says that there are millions of combinations possible. Users can create multiple Lock Screens and switch between them.

Notifications now start at the bottom of the screen and can easily be hidden. Live Activities make it easier to keep track of events in real-time, such as playing music or working out.

Focus Modes have been refined, now allowing users to tie Focus Modes to a specific customized Lock Screen. Focuses can also be activated by swiping between Lock Screens. Focuses filters allow users to filter out distracting content inside apps, such as tab groups in Safari, events in Calendar, or conversations in Messages.

Messages

Messages now includes the ability to edit and delete sent messages, as well as the ability to mark messages as unread. A new Shared With You API allows developers to integrate shared experiences directly in their apps. SharePlay has also been refined, including the ability to start a session in Messages.

Dictation, Siri, and Live Text

A new dictation experience allows the keyboard to remain open when speaking, allowing users to use a combination of speech and typing in real-time. Dictation also now automatically adds punctuation and emoji detection to messages, including via Siri. A new App Intents API allows ‌Siri‌ Shortcuts to start working with no setup.

Live Text is now expanded to video, allowing users to select text in video. New quick actions in selected Live Text can provide relevant action such as currency conversion, and there is the ability to translate text directly in the camera view. There are improvements Visual Lookup improvements. Touching and holding on to the subject of an image allows users to pull out subjects from images and drag them elsewhere.

Apple Pay and Wallet App

The Wallet app now allows users to share keys via a message. Apple Pay Later is a new service that allows users to pay in four installments over six weeks with zero interest and no fees. ‌Apple Pay‌ Later is available with every ‌Apple Pay‌ purchase. ‌Apple Pay‌ Order Tracking makes it easier for users to keep track of purchases from retailers like Shopify.

Maps

Enhanced Apple Maps are expanding to many more countries and cities around the world. Multistop routing allows users to plan up to fifteen stops ahead of time. Users can plan a trip on Mac and send it to ‌iPhone‌, and also add stops to a journey using ‌Siri‌. Transit allows users to see the cost of a journey, and transit cards can be integrated more closely in Wallet, with the ability to see when balance is low.

Sports

The Apple TV app can now display information about sports games via Live Activities. Apple News allows users to follow their favorite teams and leagues for a dedicated view. The new sports features are available in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia.

Family Sharing

Family Sharing includes easier ways to manage accounts for kids, including quicker ways to set age-appropriate restrictions and setup new devices. There is a simpler device setup experience with parental controls with Quick Start, Screen Time requests in Messages, and Family Checklist feature that allows users to be reminded about reviewing parental controls, and more.

iCloud Shared Photo Library allows families to contribute to an additional iCloud Photos Library. A switch directly in the Camera app can share new photos directly to the shared family library, and intelligent sharing suggestions make it easy to add new photos. All members have equal permissions and photos will appear in everyone's memories and widgets.

Safety Check

‌iOS 16‌ includes new privacy and safety features. Safety Check is a new section in Settings to review and edit any access granted to other users, providing a way to manage and revoke access quickly, reset privacy permissions, protect access to messages, and stop sharing location data.

Home App

The Home app is completely redesigned in ‌iOS 16‌, featuring a new main tab view to see the entire home in one place. There are new dedicated categories along the top for climate, security, and more, while large, distinctive tiles ensure that accessories are more recognizable.

‌iOS 16‌ also brings underlying improvements to the Home app to make it more reliable, and supports the Matter standard. The new Home app is available across the ‌iPhone‌, iPad, and Mac.

Other Features

‌iOS 16‌ also includes improvements to Spatial Audio with AirPods, allowing users to use the TrueDepth camera on ‌iPhone‌ to create a more precise listening experience, QuickNote on the ‌iPhone‌ for the first time, Rapid Security Response, the Fitness app on the ‌iPhone‌ with no need for an Apple Watch, Spotlight in the dock, additional Memoji customizations, and more.