All the handy iOS 16 features Apple didn’t tell you about

Image Credits: Apple

Apple had a ton of big hits in its iOS 16 announcements including a Lock Screen revamp, updates to Photos and improved Mail app experience. Apart from that, there were a ton of things that the company skimmed over briefly or didn’t mention at all.

As more people are testing the iOS 16 developer beta, some small yet nifty features are being discovered every day. So here’s a summary of some of those handy features.

• You’ll be able to turn on Focus mode based on a schedule, location, or when you open a particular app.
• iOS 16 has separate allow and silent lists for notifications under Focus. Until now, you could only include applications in an allow list.
• Apple really homing in on Focus with this year’s update, urging users to build customizable profiles according to their needs. The new triggers are super useful to activate a specific setting for situations like when you’re entering your office or starting your morning walk.
• Face ID will work in landscape mode but only for some iPhones. There’s no official information about supported models. But based on some tweets, it could be available only for iPhone 13 and later models.
• With the new Live Text update, you’ll be able to translate images embedded in web pages easily.
• The company’s introducing live captions in iOS 16 for users with hearing impairments — and this works with FaceTime, too.
• A new toggle under Accessibility > Touch enables you to end calls by pressing the lock key. This is pretty useful when you have smudgy hands and don’t want to touch your screen.

• Apple will include a real-time unit conversation feature in Notes with iOS 16. You can write 1,000 g, tap on done and tap on the number again to see unit conversions. In our early tests, it works for weight, currency and liquid volume measurements. This feature is turned on by default.

• The quick note option will show up in the share menu, so you can quickly make a note about anything like an article or an image.

• The upcoming iOS update has nifty iMessage features like undo send and edit. Plus, you’ll be able to recover deleted messages for up to 30 days.
• The Messages app will have a dedicated unread messages section.

• Apple will issue automatic security updates to iOS users that are separate from version updates. Once iOS 16 is available for everyone, this feature will be automatically enabled, and you won’t need to worry about downloading an update.
• You’ll be able to finally see and copy the Wi-Fi passwords of your saved network.

• iOS 16 locks Hidden Photos and Deleted Photos folders by default. You’ll have to unlock them using Face ID, Touch ID or passcode. This gives you an in-built tool to hide your sensitive photos without using a third-party app.
• Under the Password section, Apple will let you choose a default app for verification codes including iCloud Keychain and Google Authenticator.
• Pasteboard will ask for permission when you copy something from one app to another. This is a step further than just notifying you that an app has access to your pasteboard.

The security-focused updates suggest Apple wants to make security “easier” for consumers by giving them granular control over app permissions and tools to protect sensitive content. Plus, it’s taking away the burden of manually installing updates.

• The new Photos app in iOS 16 will allow you to copy and paste styles across pictures. This means you can apply some filters and effects to an image and copy it across other images.
• You’ll be able to favorite artists on Apple Music, and receive notifications for their new releases. This is not as good as Spotify’s What’s New feed, but it’s better than nothing.

• With iOS 16, Apple Music will let you sort playlists by title, artist, album, release date, and most importantly playlist order. So you can start listening to it with the last song added to the list.

Both these useful features are targeted at someone who uses the Music app for music discovery to playlist building.

• Nintendo Switch owners rejoice! iOS 16 will support Joy-Cons to make gaming more exciting.

• iOS 16 has a new notifications setting that will allow you to display them in different styles on your Lock Screen.

These are some of the consumer-facing updates that are expected to land with iOS 16 in the Fall. What’s more, Apple released some interesting developer APIs that might turn into some great features for apps with this new version.

• A few new APIs indicate that there might be support for casting media to third-party devices such as Google Chromecast, Amazon Echo and Sonos. It would be amazing to cast media from your iPhone to your TV that supports Chromecast.
• Apple’s RoomPlan API will allow developers to create an AR-based map of the room and the objects in it.

• Apple will allow websites to send push notifications on iOS 16. This will be an opt-in feature, so you don’t have to worry about notification spam.
• The company will enable developers to use its Nearby Interaction Framework — which powers AirTags and Find My — to trigger real-life actions such as giving on-screen directions with an arrow to find an object.
• Apple’s introducing a Developer Mode with iOS 16 to prevent users from “inadvertently installing potentially harmful software on their devices.” That means it’s making sideloading apps more cumbersome. Apple has strongly advocated against sideloading in all its regulatory or legal battles. This toggle just represents that belief by enabling the feature only for people with certain technical know-how.
• Developers will be able to use the new Live Activities API to enable experiences such as cab trip tracking and scorecard of sports matches on the Lock Screen.

This is by no means an extensive list of features that are in the nooks and corners of iOS 16. We’ll make sure to update the post as we spot more of them.