The final version of iOS 16 is now available for iPhone users to download. I’m sure you’ve been waiting for this day for a long time, especially if you haven’t tried the beta or public test version of iOS 16. There are a ton of new features to try, and the biggest highlight is naturally the new lock screen. Apple first previewed iOS 16 in June, and it has been undergoing testing by app developers and public project members for the past few months.
iOS 16 brings major new features to core iOS apps and the overall iOS experience.
The most striking change in iOS 16 is the completely redesigned lock screen. The new lock screen allows customers to customize a variety of visual elements to create their perfect lock screen. Customers can choose different fonts and colors for time, add widgets, add new wallpapers with depth effects, subtly overlay time, filters, color tones, and more.
In addition to the newly designed lock screen, Apple has brought much-anticipated features to Messages. iOS 16 users can now edit messages up to 15 minutes after they are sent and can unsend them up to 2 minutes after they may have accidentally sent them. Improvements to SharePlay and collaboration in Messages are also part of iOS 16.
In other core applications such as Mail and Safari, Apple is also improving features such as Spotlight search and adding new features such as Mail undo and scheduled delivery, shared tag groups, Safari Passkeys, and more. apple Maps has also gained noteworthy features including multi-stop routing and transit card support.
Unlike previous years, Apple will not release iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 at the same time. while iOS 16 will be available to iPhone users on September 13, iPadOS 16 will be available later this fall.
iOS 16 is compatible with a wide range of devices, but this year Apple has dropped support for some iPhones, including the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7. Before you open your iOS device’s settings page to proceed with the download, make sure your device is on the following list.
Complete list of updates:
Lock Screen
The lock screen has been redesigned to let you personalize the lock screen in new ways, including displaying your favorite photos, customizing the font style and showing widgets, and more
Create multiple Lock screens and switch between them easily.
Lock Screen Gallery provides personalized suggestions and Apple favorites for Lock Screens.
Multiple font and color options to help you customize the appearance of the date and time on the Lock screen
Widgets on the Lock screen provide at-a-glance access to information such as weather, battery levels, and upcoming calendar dates.
New photo effects that put the subject of the photo before the time (available on iPhone XS and later models)
Lock screen photos have color filters, tones, and font styles that change with the style of the photo, allowing elements to complement each other
Notifications appear at the bottom of the lock screen and can be displayed in expanded list view, stacked view, or counted view
Focused mode
Lock screen association associates a lock screen with a focus mode, which can be activated by switching to the corresponding lock screen
Focus mode filtering hides distracting content in Calendar, Mail, Messages, Safari and third-party apps
Streamlined settings make it easier and faster to get started with focus mode, while personalized lock screen and home screen suggestions include apps and widgets related to the set focus mode
Messages
Messages remain editable for 15 minutes after they are sent, and recipients can see the edit history
Undo Send allows you to withdraw a message within 2 minutes of sending it
Mark as unread allows you to easily return to the conversation later
Share in Messages lets you and your friends watch movies, listen to music, play games, and enjoy great activities while you’re messaging
Collaboration lets you easily invite others to collaborate on files through Messages, and get activity updates in conversations when someone edits a shared item
The improved search function gives more accurate and complete results and provides suggestions as soon as you start typing
Undo Send allows you to unsend an email within 10 seconds of hitting send
Scheduled sending allows you to send emails on a specific date and time
“Remind Me allows you to set a date and time to get reminders for specified emails
Safari browser and passkeys
Shared Tab Groups lets you share a set of tabs with others and instantly view tab group updates during collaboration
Tab group starters allow you to add different background images and personal favorites to each tab group
Fixed tabs in tab groups let you fix frequently visited sites for each tab group
Safari browser web translation adds translations for Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian and Dutch web pages
Passkeys support a simpler, more secure way to sign in, replacing passwords
Sync passkeys with the iCloud keychain so they work on all Apple devices while maintaining end-to-end encryption
Live Text
Live text video support lets you interact with the text in video frames as they pause to copy, translate, query, share, and more (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later)
Quick Actions lets you tap to perform actions on detected data in photos and videos to track flights or logistics, translate foreign languages, convert currency, and more (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and later)
View Image Search
Extracting subjects from the background separates them from the image for copying and pasting into apps like Mail and Messages (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later)
Siri
Easy shortcut settings allow you to run shortcut commands directly from Siri after downloading the app without pre-setting (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later)
New settings allow you to send messages directly without Siri asking you to confirm before sending
“Hey Siri, what can I do?” Discover what Siri can do in iOS and apps with one easy question (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later)
Simply say “Hey Siri, hang up” to hang up calls and FaceTime calls with Siri (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later)
Dictation
New dictation experience with voice and keyboard to enter and edit text (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later)
“Automatic punctuation” to insert commas, periods and question marks with dictation
Emoji support to insert emojis using your voice (available on iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR and later models)
Maps
Multi-destination routes support adding up to 15 stops along the driving route in Maps
Add a transit card to your Wallet to see when your balance is low and recharge your card without leaving Maps
In the San Francisco Bay Area, London, New York, and San Diego, transit fares will show the cost of the trip
Apple Pay and Wallet
Receive detailed receipts and order tracking information in Wallet with Apple Pay order tracking after making an Apple Pay purchase at a partner merchant
Family
“Family app redesigned to browse, organize, view and control
This version includes more features and improvements.
Some features may not be available in all regions or on all iPhone models.
