At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday, the Cupertino-based tech giant unveiled a cornucopia of updates for iOS 16, including giving users the ability to unsubscribe and edit texts in Messages.
Keep in mind that no everything IPhone users will have the luxury of enjoying the latest iOS 16 goodies. If you have an iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, or original iPhone SE released in 2016, you are out of luck. Only iPhone 8 or later will receive support for iOS 16. Now that you know if your device is eligible for iOS 16, let’s break down all the direct benefits to your iPhone.
iOS 16: Best new features coming to iPhone
Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President Software Engineering, the man driving the development of iOS, bragged that iOS 16 will offer new intelligence, sharing and communication features that will improve the lives of iPhone users. Federighi added that the new customization benefits are heading towards iOS 16, allowing users to tweak the lock screen to their liking.
An updated customization tool will allow you to change the background, color filter, and lock screen font for the time. There are also minor updates for Notifications and Focus. While it’s all great and dandy, we feel there are more noteworthy features coming to iOS 16 that are far more exciting. Below, check out the best new features coming to iPhone.
1. Cancel sending and edit text messages
A much needed feature for those careless (or late night drunk) moments filled with typos, iPhone users can now recall and edit texts in Messages, even if you’ve already sent them.
According to the WWDC livestream, you can long press the lyrics to bring up a menu and tap “Cancel Send” to bring up the lyrics. To edit, simply tap on the target text, which will bring up a slider. Add or remove text to your liking and voila, you have edited an already sent message.
2. SharePlay updates
SharePlay is a beloved feature introduced to iPhone users in late 2021. As the name suggests, it facilitates shared experiences on FaceTime, allowing users to remotely listen to music, watch TV shows and enjoy movies with friends, family and loved ones .
How has Apple improved SharePlay? With a simple tap, the Cupertino-based tech giant made it easier for users to access all SharePlay-supported experiences within the FaceTime app. Apps that support SharePlay include Apple TV +, Spotify, NBA, Twitch, Vimeo, Tubi, Hulu, Disney +, and more.
Additionally, Apple is also bringing SharePlay to Messages. “Now, when you want to find something you want to share, like a Disney + movie, you can kick off SharePlay […] while chatting in Messages. “For example, you can watch Encanto with your friend, in sync, by simply starting SharePlay in Messages.
3. Changes to the dictation
Dictation allows users to type text using their own voice. Apple has made some useful updates to Dictation; the keypad now stays open as you switch between touch conversation. And most importantly, you can highlight the text and replace it with vocalizations.
As a bonus, punctuation is automatically added to your sentence, so you don’t have to go through the tedious chore of revisiting what you just dictated to make sure all your sentences are in place.
4. Real-time text in the video
Live Text is a great Apple feature that allows iPhone users to interact with text in photos. For example, with Live Text, you can turn handwriting on a photo into digital text on your phone. Now Live Text also works on videos.
According to Robby Walker, Senior Director of Siri and Language Technologies, thanks to Live Text “you can pause a video on any frame and interact with the text, just like you can with photos”. Apple has also added Quick Actions to Live Text to make things easier. For example, if you take a photo of a price tag in euros, you are just a tap away from converting it to dollars.
5. Apple Wallet IDs and official documents
The US states of Maryland and Arizona are early adopters of driver’s licenses and state IDs in Wallet and, as Apple mentioned at WWDC, are looking to expand to 11 more states.
One of the first places to accept Apple Wallet IDs is TSA security checks. As such, iPhone users no longer need to fumble for their ID to show TSA officials; they can simply take out their device, show the digital incarnations of their ID and continue. You can also send your IDs to apps that require age verification and KYC.
Apple Wallet also allows users to store home, car, hotel and office keys, but thanks to iOS 16 you can share them more easily via Mail, Messages and WhatsApp. For example, when a friend receives a key from you, he can add it to their wallet with a simple touch. To allow sharing of keys with users who don’t have an iPhone, Apple says it is working with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to make it an industry standard.
