11 New iOS 16 Features That Change How You Use Your iPhone

Apple is bringing the biggest update ever for the Lock Screen. (photo; doc. apple)

JAKARTA - Today in Apple's biggest annual celebration, WWDC 2022 the latest version of iOS 16 was introduced to the public. The company brings many improvements and features as a new way of users to use their iPhone.

Apple brings the biggest-ever update to the Lock Screen, new sharing, communication, and intelligence features that together change the way users enjoy iPhone.

iOS 16 also introduces iCloud Shared Photo Library for seamless sharing of photo collections with family, Messages, and Mail updates that help users stay connected easily, and powerful improvements to Live Text and Visual Look Up.

For information, Apple hasn't officially released iOS 16 yet, the public beta of iOS 16 will launch next July and the full rollout is likely to happen between September and October.

Citing Apple's official page, Tuesday, June 7, here are the details of improvements and new features in iOS 16.

New Lock Screen

iOS 16 completely redesigned the lock screen, sliding notifications to the bottom of the screen to leave more room for photos. Here, for the first time Widgets is getting support, allowing users to view the weather, calendar appointments, or AirPods battery status on the screen without having to unlock the phone first.

Users can also choose fonts and colors for the time and date, with some smart depth effects that allow the subject of the phone's lock screen photo to slightly overlap the graphic. The built-in photo filter automatically changes the font as the user swipes, for a quick way to give the phone a more unique look.

Lock Screen also now works with the Focus feature, allowing users to set different lock screens based on whether they are at work, traveling, or sitting at home.

Apps that used to bombard with tons of notifications can now use Live Activities to place one hybrid notification/widget that updates automatically on the iPhone lock screen.

Updates for Messages

Users can edit or remember recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages, and mark conversations as unread so they can come back to them later.

Additionally, SharePlay will be coming to Messages, allowing users to enjoy synced content such as movies or songs and control shared playback while chatting in Messages.

New Tools for Mail

Now users can schedule emails ahead of time and are even given time to unsend messages before they reach recipients' inboxes. Mail detects if a user forgot to include an important part of their message, such as an attachment.

Users also have the option to recall messages at any time and at any time with Remind Later, and Follow Up suggestions automatically remind users to follow up on emails if they haven't received a response.

Mail also includes the biggest overhaul of search, and uses advanced techniques to provide more relevant, accurate, and complete results. Users see recent emails, contacts, documents, and links when they start searching for emails.

Live Text and Visual Look Up

This time Apple brought Live Text to use on-device intelligence to recognize text in images across iOS, and now it's expanded to include video.

Users can pause the video at any frame and interact with the text. Live Text also adds the ability for users to quickly convert currencies, translate text, and more.

Meanwhile, Visual Look Up can take photos even further by introducing a new feature that allows users to tap and hold on the subject of the image to lift it from the background and place it in apps like Messages. Visual Look Up is also expanded to recognize animal objects such as birds, insects, to statues.

Easy Photo Sharing

Sharing photos with family members just got a lot simpler in iOS 16. Instead of sharing individual photos or albums, users can now have one iCloud Shared Photo Library and up to give other contributing iCloud accounts.

Once set, users can manually select photos from their camera roll, or use smart face-recognition suggestions to recommend photos that others might want to see. All members of the shared photo library have the same permissions, so edits, favorites, and deletions are synced across all devices.

Apple Wallet Becomes Smarter

Residents of Maryland and Arizona will be pleased to know that Apple Wallet now supports their state driving licenses. Apple says 11 more states are coming soon, and can be used in apps without sharing specific birthdates. But only if the user is of legal age to purchase the desired item.

Tap-to-pay is also coming to the US, allowing small businesses to accept payments on their smartphones without having to buy special hardware to read cards.

Furthermore, digital keys are now easier to share, with Messages and Mail support along with third-party integrations including WhatsApp. Support is still limited at the moment, and is likely to be found in high-end hotels, but automakers are also slowly starting to join in.

Apple Pay Later is another piece of the puzzle, allowing users to split a larger payment into four equal payments, then pay it back over six weeks, with no interest.

The wallet will remind users when to pay, and provide the option to pay the balance in full at any time. There are no further reports as to whether it will only be available in the US at this time, or in other countries as well.

Apple Maps Competes With Google Maps

Apple really put the work in 3D maps this year, with coverage rolling out to Las Vegas and Chicago as well as other major cities. The virtual aerial view works in both light and dark themes, and can be used by developers to direct users to where they can find rental scooters, taxi pickups, and package drop-off points.

Navigation is also evolving with multi-stop routing, allowing users to plan trips with multiple stops. It will show the price of public transport when selected, and allow users to pay within the Maps app using Apple Pay if the network supports NFC and ticket payments.

Safety Check for Victims of Violence

This is one useful feature, where the Safety Check feature is aimed at victims of domestic violence, allowing them to immediately delete any information they have shared with their partner, including calendar appointments, app and website passwords, and information. location.

The New Generation of CarPlay

CarPlay has fundamentally changed the way people interact with their vehicles, and the next generation of CarPlay goes a step further by integrating deeply with car hardware. CarPlay will be able to provide content for multiple in-vehicle screens, creating a unified and consistent experience.

Deeper integration with vehicles will allow users to do things like control the radio or change the climate directly via CarPlay, and using vehicle data, CarPlay will seamlessly display speed, fuel level, temperature, and more in the instrument cluster.

Users will be able to personalize their driving experience by choosing different gauge cluster designs, and with added support for widgets, users will have at-a-glance information from Weather and Music directly on their car dashboard.

Siri Has New Capabilities

Apple added the ability to run shortcuts as soon as the app is downloaded without requiring any upfront setup on Siri. Users can add emojis when sending messages, choose to send messages automatically, skip confirmation steps and hang up and completely hands-free FaceTime calls by simply saying “Hey Siri, hang up.”

FaceID In New Mode

FaceID will now work in landscape mode. The on-screen keyboard is getting haptic feedback now. However, this feature can work if the user allows it, so it is necessary to ask before accessing the user's clipboard.