JJust in time for the arrival of the iPhone 14, iOS 16 series official here, after spending several months in beta. I spent about last week testing the final version of the software, and there are tons of new things to try, including a customizable lock screen, improvements to the Messages app, and some smart AI tricks. smarter. Importantly, it’s not buggy. The latest version of Apple’s mobile operating system works with the iPhone 8 and later models, although some features require the relatively recent A12 chip. (More on that later.)
This year’s version of iOS is an update you’ll notice – a hard one to talk about iOS 15has the most notable features related to media sharing, Focus mode and SharePlay. iOS 14, now two years old, has added widgets to the icon grid and improved your homepage experience for the first time since the iPhone launched. With iOS 16, Apple has finally solved the lock screen.
Advantages
- Customizable lock screen
- Visual Lookup is smarter and more useful
- Tactile typing
- Very few launch errors
Defect
- Some features require the latest iPhone hardware
- Others claim to support third-party apps
Personalized lock screen
The lock screen is used to have the clock and not any other lock screen. Things are a little different now, but let’s start with the clock. The font is thicker and you can even choose the color of the text and now there is space for widgets. You might not like how the new default font looks (I don’t), but the good news is that it’s customizable, with several font styles and colors. Of course, you can choose a picture for the lock screen, which is nothing new, and you can apply filter styles and even choose a shuffle selection of photos to cycle through. If the photo was taken in Portrait mode, you can also enable the layered photo effect, with the subject of the photo appearing ahead of time. If you have an iPhone 14 Pro, check it out full review for our thoughts on Always On Display and, of course, Apple’s new Dynamic Island.
There are two different widget areas that you can customize. The first is a slim box above the watch that best fits one-line text (think: the date, the possibility of rain, or your next calendar event.) Below that, there’s a box that can hold up to four objects Different uses – a combination of 2×1 and 1×1 symbols. From the lock screen, you can tap these to launch themselves into the appropriate section, but don’t expect to gather any additional information by long-pressing the icons, this seems like a no-brainer. Very Apple way to extend the information provided by these utilities. Maybe in iOS 16.1 or iOS 17?
Mat Smith / Engadget
Similar to the introduction of home screen widgets on iOS 14, it will take time for third-party app developers to include widgets in their updates and into your phone, but I’m sure There is no doubt that productivity, fitness tracking services, and other services will increase opportunities. Google especially looks like it’s ready to go on board: It’s coming soon Gmail Widget will absolutely get a spot on my lock screen when it’s available.
The new lock screen also keeps some of the classic features. You will still see the signal strength and battery icons (now with percentage reading)and both the flashlight and camera shortcut are still available to touch. Curiously, the battery indicator only visually reproduces the charge level when the battery is below 20 percent, counter-intuitive when you’re at 50 percent, for example.
The lock screen refresh also acts as a new way to introduce an iOS 15 feature that can be quite laborious to set up: Focus Mode. You can now assign Focus mode to each lock screen (one for personal, one for work, one for sleep), each with their own custom photo and widget layout . If you rarely change your wallpaper during the weekdays, you can set up, for example, a family fun weekend picture and assign it to your personal focus mode.
On the contrary, I have an encouraging quote on a black background as I am completing a deadline and set my phone to Do Not Disturb. The ability to swipe between Focus modes makes them easier to use in everyday life. Sure, I was able to do so from the top right dropdown before, but I haven’t. With iOS 16, I used Focus mode more often.
Better messaging experience
Mat Smith / Engadget
Apple’s native messaging app has some unique tricks up its sleeve, including new Visual Lookup features. It now handles copying and pasting images, pulling subjects from photos, screenshots, and more, turning them into stickers that are easy to share. Press and hold the object/animal/person and your iPhone (if it’s an XS or newer) will attempt to cut it out of the background, ready to be pasted elsewhere.
It’s oddly accurate for such a, well, lazy method. I like it. The Image Lookup skills in iOS 16 are even more extensive, with the new ability to lift text from a video. In addition to videos you record yourself, it will work with full-screen videos in a web browser.
Messages has also expanded its sharing capabilities beyond SharePlay and stickers. You can now send documents, spreadsheets, and more, as long as they’re saved to one of Apple’s office software file types. Hopefully third-party support for Microsoft and Google Suite will follow soon.
Apple is also making up for lost time elsewhere. Finally, you can edit and cancel messages on the Messages app – if you’re quick enough. You’ll have up to 15 minutes to edit after you first send your message, with the chance to change your message up to five times. You may see any edited messages from other people also using iOS 16, grayed out (blue?) below the edited message. The Unsend feature is only for iPhone-to-iPhone messages.
Similarly, you can now undo and schedule emails from the native Mail app. (Finally.) There are also other modern features you might already be using on Gmail, such as suggestions for when you might have forgotten an attachment or recipient. .
