Apple isn’t very modest when it comes to its own products. About the new iPhone operating system, the manufacturer claims: “iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the iPhone experience”.
But there is one drop of bitterness: Apple is killing two iPhone generations at the same time and throwing iPhone 6S and iPhone 7 out of support, i.e. both models no longer get iOS 16. The iPhone SE (2016) is also no longer supported, at least the second SE generation is required for iOS 16.
All compatible iPhones can be updated free of charge using the integrated update function.
There are many innovations for iOS 16, we have picked out the 16 most exciting ones for you.
iOS 16 innovations: The 16 most exciting features
1. Lock screen:
The main novelty of iOS 16 concerns the lock screen. It can finally be customized. This means you can put widgets on the lock screen, rearrange the time and date, and add photo motifs with depth effects. This should not only look good, but also be useful, for example with current weather information, appointment display or completely changeable lock screens.
2. Notices:
Notifications are also an important topic on the lock screen. With iOS 16, Apple restructured how notifications are displayed and now runs them from bottom to top. This should provide more clarity on the personalized lock screen and make it easier to use with one hand.
3. Live Activities:
What’s happening in real time is what the new live activities aim to bring to the lock screen. Examples are live sports tickers, ongoing training courses or ordered driving or delivery services.
4. Focus:
Work is work and personal life is personal life, the Focus feature on iPhone is designed to separate different areas of life. The lock screen is now included in this separation, so you can use different lock screens. You can use the focus filter to ensure that apps only bring the relevant content to the lock screen.
5. Photos:
Many cell phone users may have a WhatsApp group for family photos. With the shared iCloud photo library, Apple is now building such a function directly into iOS 16. This should enable smooth sharing of photos in the family with up to six users. But of course that only works if the family is completely equipped with iPhones.
6. News:
As of iOS 16, you have the option of editing sent messages or recalling them completely. You can also recover recently deleted messages and mark conversations as unread to come back to them later.
7. Mail:
E-mails are also more convenient on the iPhone. For example, you can schedule them in advance and the Mail app even gives you a moment to undeliver a message before it reaches your inbox.
8. Medicines:
If desired, the health app now also manages a medication list including a schedule and reminders.
9. Passkey:
Apple wants to get rid of passwords and the new function Passkey should do that. It uses Touch ID or Face ID for biometric verification and iCloud Keychain for syncing across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV devices with end-to-end encryption. Passkey also works in apps and on the web, allowing users to sign in to websites or apps on third-party devices using just their iPhone.
10. Live Text:
Live Text has been around for a long time to recognize text in images. Now new: The detection also works in videos. Simply pause a video at the appropriate point and interact with the text. Live Text makes it possible, for example, to quickly convert currencies or translate texts.
11. Dictate:
Dictate or type yourself, the updated dictation function combines both. Users can type with the keyboard, type in the text field, move the cursor, and use QuickType suggestions—all without stopping dictation. In addition, the dictation function can automatically insert punctuation marks and emojis.
12. Faster Updates:
Updates always require a restart on the iPhone. That could soon change or at least be reduced, because with a technology called Rapid Security Response it should be possible to deliver smaller updates between major updates, which can then be imported during operation.
13. CarPlay:
For many users it is standard. The smartphone must be connected in the car. At Apple, the function is called CarPlay and it should get a major update with iOS 16. Finally, multiple displays should be supported in the car. Radio and air conditioning should also be able to be controlled directly and Apple also wants to process more vehicle data, such as speed, tank filling (charge level) or temperature. But it will be a while before you can really use the innovations. Supported vehicles will not be announced until the end of next year.
14. Data protection:
The new data protection tool Safety Check makes it possible to quickly revoke granted access for other users.
15. Clipboard:
Copy and paste is also important on the iPhone, but from a security perspective you should at least know which apps are allowed to access the cache. iOS 16 asks for permission to do this.
16. Blocking Mode:
With the so-called lockdown mode, in German iOS 16 it will be called blocking mode, Apple wants to protect users from targeted attacks. This involves sophisticated attacks that are carried out with spyware, for example, by state-supported hackers. The gaze mode is intended to reduce the iPhone’s attack surface, i.e. harden the smartphone. Among other things, most message attachments are banned, wired connections with the iPhone are blocked or Internet surfing is restricted.
