Alright, iOS 16 is now available — the latest iPhone operating system, packed with important new features. The iPhone is Apple's most important device, so iOS is, naturally, the company's most important operating system. And after an iOS 15 with few new features (which honestly left a lot to be desired), iOS 16 has introduced improvements that are well worth it.
In the words of Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, iOS 16 is a major update, with new features that will change the way we use the iPhone.
FullOffice Learning created this post so you can find out about all the new features that iOS 16, Apple's new operating system, brings to iPhone users.
There's one feature of iOS 16 worth highlighting: its broad compatibility. The folks at Apple were kind enough to include older devices in the software update. Here are the compatible models:
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd gen.)
- iPhone SE (3rd gen.)
As for the iPhones that won't update to iOS 16, that doesn't mean they'll become obsolete phones. Far from it — they'll remain fully functional devices whose apps will keep working just as they have until now.
Since this new iOS 16 was unveiled at WWDC in June 2022, we've been able to see some of the new features this operating system brings for its users, and these won't be the only ones — we'll keep seeing updates throughout the year. For now, here are the most notable ones:
- The lock screen redesigned and customizable, letting us change the clock's typography and add several widgets with extra information.
- Notifications on that lock screen now appear at the bottom of the screen, where we can also set up widgets with key information from certain apps.
- Privacy, with the so-called "Safety Check," gives users more power to decide which permissions each app can access, now with everything more centralized.
- The ability to see the battery percentage on iPhones with a notch, a feature that disappeared with the arrival of the iPhone X and now returns, built into the battery icon.
- Three new features in iMessage: besides being able to mark messages as unread, we'll be able to edit and delete them after sending, although for the latter only a short time can have passed since it was sent. Likewise, an "edited" label will also be left as a trace on messages we've rewritten.
- Mail brings the ability to unsend recently sent emails, schedule emails for later, or add reminders for follow-up.
- There will be no need to fill out a Captcha on websites that need to verify we're human.
- The Apple Watch screen can now be mirrored — not just viewed, but also interacted with directly from the phone itself.
- New Lockdown Mode aimed at high-profile individuals, which can be activated when there are suspicions the iPhone has been infected by spyware like Pegasus.
- Live Text now extends to video: we'll be able to capture text in motion and then work with it in a text editor, just as already happens with Live Text in photos, which debuted in iOS 15.
- Background cutout in photos: using artificial intelligence, iOS 16 lets you quickly select the main subject of a photo and cut out its background.
- The ability to edit metadata on a photo right from the iPhone's own Photos app.
- Siri can now answer calls when asked, send messages without needing confirmation, and even add emojis to messages if requested.
- Backing up using mobile data is now possible in this version, regardless of whether you have a 5G connection or not.
- The ability to unlock the iPhone in landscape mode: iPhones with Face ID can now be unlocked in landscape mode with the same reliability as in landscape mode.
- Goodbye to passwords thanks to features like Passkeys, which on websites enabled for it let you skip the step of entering a password in favor of the iPhone's own biometric security system, whether Touch ID or Face ID.
- Protected photos with Touch ID/Face ID — not all of them, but those that have been added to a hidden album.
Installing the new iOS 16 operating system works the same way as always. From the iPhone itself, as long as it's compatible, you can go to Settings > General > Software Update and you'll find iOS 16 ready to download and install over the air (OTA).
You can also update to iOS 16 using a computer, connecting the iPhone to it via cable and using iTunes (Windows and versions prior to macOS 10.15) or Finder (macOS 10.15 and later).
Let's see how this new operating system performs for iPhone users — it will undoubtedly get people talking, for better or worse, just like the bitten-apple company always does.