iOS 16 is officially here, but what can iOS 16 do?
A whole lot, it would seem, including major changes to your lock screen, notifications,
and more.
These are the best iOS 16 features.
Hey friends, I’m Tasia Custode, and welcome back to my YouTube Channel where I share tech
tips and app reviews.
Today, we’re breaking down the top 10 iOS 16 features, with a little bonus for you at
the end of course.
So come on, there is a lot to cover!
First, and most importantly, is your iPhone compatible with iOS 16?
iOS 16 will support iPhone 8 and up.
And there are a couple of features that will only be available on iPhone 13 and 14, but
we won’t be covering those today.
So, onwards!
iOS 16 feature number 1: an all-new customizable lock screen.
This is something the people have been waiting for and now, the people finally get it, a
completely redesigned lock screen on iOS 16.
To redesign your current lock screen, hold down on your lock screen and tap on the plus
symbol to the right of the customize option.
Here, there are a ton of featured options from Apple, or you can even pull from the
suggested photos, or at the top, you can select your own photo, make the wallpaper a photo
shuffle, select an emoji background, make the weather your background, there are so
many pre-set wallpaper options.
So, once you make your background selection, you can tap on the time to change the font
and color of it.
You’ve got 8 font choices to choose from here and legit so many colors.
Like you can even select custom colors using a color picker.
So you could pull a color from your lock screen image.
You can also adjust the wallpaper sizing and crop simply by pinching with two fingers and
moving it around while in this edit screen.
And, if you selected a portrait photo as your wallpaper, it becomes dynamic wallpaper, So,
the head of the subject appears over the time.
You can adjust that by resizing or dragging it to where you want, maybe more or less overlap.
But if you try to go too high over the time, it’ll correct and put the image underneath
the time so you can still read the time.
Also, if you don’t want this overlap to happen, you can tap on the three dots in the
bottom right and toggle off the depth effect.
But I think it’s cool so I’ll put it back on.
You can even swipe left to adjust the wallpaper color and filters.
By the way, if you choose one of Apple’s pre-selected wallpapers like the emoji one,
you can swipe through for different sizing and design options.
And now, if you tap on the widgets option, you can add some widgets to your lock screen.
Including Google widgets that are coming soon - Gosh I love cross-product integration - but
more on Google specific widgets in a different video.
To add widgets to your lock screen on iOS 16, tap on the rectangle below the time or
near where it says ‘add widgets’.
Here, you can add some pre-set widgets like the weather, apple watch stats, stocks, news
and more.
So you can tap to add whichever ones you want.
It should be noted though that you lose that depth effect on the image.
Or at least I do, which makes sense since with depth effect you wouldn't be able to
see the widgets.
Once you have everything set like you want, tap on add in the top right, then select ‘set
as wallpaper pair to add your new lock screen.
Alright, that was a lot in feature number one, so moving on to iOS 16 feature number
2: a couple of great Home Screen updates you may notice.
First, you’ll notice that your search bar is now at the bottom of your homescreen, and
it’s a lot smaller.
And, as you swipe through your home screens, the search bar changes to indicate which page
of your home screens you are on but then changes right back to the search bar.
You can just tap on the search bar to search on your iPhone.
But that is not the only homescreen update.
But you can also blur the home screen background too.
So, if we tap and hold on our lockscreen, then swipe to whichever wallpaper you want
to edit, tap on customize and this time when you tap on done, tap on ‘customize home
screen’.
Here, there are a bunch of homescreen options, including gradient and adding photos, but
to the right is a blur option.
When that’s toggle on, it blurs the wallpaper behind your homescreen so that you can see
the apps on your screen better.
I love it, though I do wish and I hope with future iterations of iOS 16 that you’ll
be able to adjust the strength of the blur either up or down.
But, we’ll have to wait and see.
Number 3 on my top iOS 16 features list is to link your lock screen to a focus.
This is such a handy, time-saving tip.
So, when you tap and hold on your lockscreen, you’ll notice that any screens you created
will have a little focus icon on them.
If you tap on that option, you can select a focus to turn on with that particular lock
screen.
So, I could link this one to do not disturb.
With a focus linked, when you switch over to that lock screen, you’ll instantly be
put into that focus, with just a couple of taps.
Feature number 4: you can now unsend, edit, and mark a message unread.
Yes, finally!
So here’s how to unsend a message.
From a Message thread, tap and hold on the message you just sent.
Then, select ‘undo send’.
I believe you have 15 minutes to undo send on iOS 16.
So, when you do that, the message will be marked as unsent so the person you sent it
to will know it’s been unsent.
And if the person you’re messaging doesn't have ios 16, they still might see that message.
And by the way, undo send only works for new messages, you can’t go back and unsend old
ones and if someone has already seen the message, then obviously, they’ve seen it.
There’s nothing you can do about that unless you know how to wipe someones memory.
And if you do, something tells me you’re not human.
You can also edit messages.
Gone are the days when you have to send another message with a little asterisk and the correct
spelling or info.
So to edit a message, tap and hold on the message and tap on ‘edit’.
Here you can make your edits.
Just like with unsend, the receiver will be able to see you’ve edited the message.
Actually, if you tap on ‘edited’ you can see what the original message was.
Pretty neat.
But you can also mark messages as unread.
Message threads, that is.
This is done from the message thread itself, not an individual message in your conversation.
So, from the thread, hold down and tap on the ‘mark as unread’ option.
Now, you’ll never forget to respond to that message again.
iOS 16 update number 5 includes a few handy Mail app updates.
You can now schedule emails, undo send - hello Gmail feature we know and love - and follow
up on reminders.
To schedule an email from the Mail app, rather than just tap on the send arrow in the top
right, you’ll actually tap and hold on the arrow.
Here, you’ll get the option to send now, send at pre-set times, or you can select ‘send
later’ to schedule a custom time for that email to be sent out.
You will have to ensure your device will be online at the scheduled time in order for
the message to go out.
But, if you send an email in error, you can now undo send.
So, let’s say you meant to schedule that email but instead of holding on the send arrow,
you just tapped it.
You’ll notice an undo send option on the bottom of your screen.
I counted and it’s about 8 seconds you have to undo that send.
Just tap on undo send and you’ll be brought back to the email, where you can make your
edits before sending it out.
Alternatively, you can also shake your device and a pop-up will appear asking you if you
want to undo send.
Last in the Mail app, you can now set follow-up reminders.
Boy, they are really, finally getting with the Gmail game on this one, arent’ they.
So on certain emails in your Mail app, where you’ve indicated you’re waiting for a
response, you’ll have a little ‘follow up’ option.
If you tap that option, you’ll be taken to a compose window with that person’s email
address already ready to go.
Then, you can just type your follow up response.
iOS feature number 6: Updated notifications.
Much like your home screen search bar, they’ve been moved.
So now, you’ll notice your notifications are on the bottom of the screen, assuming
for easier access with your thumbs.
You can swipe up to access the notification stack.
Or tap on a notification to open it in the corresponding app.
However, if you head to your settings, then select notifications, there are three options
at the top here.
The default is stack view, but you can change it to count view or list view.
So, back to our notifications I go to show you what these look like.
If you swipe up like we just say, this is what list view looks like, it’s expanding
the notification stack.
Or if you swipe down, you get count view, where you just have a tiny little number indicator
for the number of notifications you have.
iOS 16 feature number 7: You can now get medication reminders in the health app.
Plus, it can warn you of any potential interaction issues.
So, from the health app, tap on browse in the bottom right, then tap on medications,
and then, ‘add medication’.
You can either search for the medication or tap the camera icon to take a picture of your
medication.
Some possible matches might come up for you to choose from, which you can tap on the medication
you want to add.
Here, you select the frequency of how often you take it, and select a date and time you
need to take it and tap on next.
You can select the shape, or skip this step.
You can choose colors and backgrounds.
You can add optional details if you want.
Then, the app can let you know about potential interactions, and you’ll just tap on done.
So I’ve just set a medication reminder as an example, and blamo here we go, the notification
arrives telling me it’s time to take my medication.
You love to see it.
Coming in at number 8: remove photo backgrounds.
This is actually an insanely cool feature that allows you to copy images off of background.
Here’s what I mean.
From an image in your photos app, tap and hold on the main subject.
Suddenly, you’ll be able to move the subject around and off the image itself.
So, if you let go of the subject, you’ll be able to tap ‘copy’ to copy the image
off the background and paste it where you want or share it where you want.
You’ll also see the white glow around the subject to indicate you’re doing it right.
Or, if you don’t want to do it that way, you can tap and hold then with it selected
with one hand, use your other hand to switch to the app where you want to paste it or share
it, and simply drop it there.
How cool is this?
iOS 16 tip number 9: add battery percentage.
And if you’re thinking, hey didn’t we have that at one time?
Yes, you’d be correct, but it had since been removed.
Well, now the option is back.
All you have to do is go to settings, tap on battery, and toggle on battery percentage
at the top.
Now, you’ll have the percentage indicated inside the battery icon in the top right.
And coming in at number 10, before your bonus feature of course, are some photos updates,
starting with a quick way to get rid of duplicates.
So, in your photos app, tab on albums, and scroll down.
Underneath utilities, you now have a duplicates option.
If you tap on that, you’ll see which photos are duplicates and you’ll have the option
to merge the duplicates into one.
Back in your albums, you’ll notice that your recently deleted album is now locked
for greater security.
So you’ll use your touch ID or face ID to view the albums.
But I think I’ve saved the coolest photos update for last.
You can actually copy photo edits to apply to other photos.
This is so great.
So, once you’ve made edits to a photo, tap on the thee dot menu icon in the top right
and then tap on ‘copy edits’.
This can be done from the edit screen by the way, or even after you’ve saved that photo
edit, it’s in the same spot.
So, with those copied, just go to another photo, and tap on the same three dot menu
icon and this time tap on paste edits.
Just like that, your photo edits have been applied to that photo too.
And guess what?
You can do this with multiple photos at once, rather than one by one.
So, just select all the photos you want to copy the edit to, then in the bottom right,
tap that three dot menu icon, and tap the paste edits option.
It’s really that easy.
So before you leave me, I want to run through a couple iOS 16 bonus features that are going
to be game changers.
First up, Passkey.
This is a new type of login credential that’s going to allow you to login to apps and sites
using touch or face ID rather than a password.
Second: You’ll be able to use your iPhone as a Mac camera.
You’ll need to be running not only iOS 16, but also MacOS Ventura which is coming this
October.
But with that installed, you’ll be able to use your iPhone camera as a webcam and
you’ll have some cool features like desktop view too.
There are literally hundreds of new iOS 16 features, so this was just a top 10 list to
scratch the surface.
But remember, always backup your device prior to installing any updates!
And, if you are watching this exact portion of the video right now, well I just love ya.
Comment below with iOS = heart emoji!
I’d love to connect with you.
So those are my picks for the best iOS 16 features.
What do you think of my top 10 iOS 16 features?
Let everyone know in the comments below.
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Thanks for watching, and see ya next time!