Apple will soon bring a lot of goodies for iPhone users through its upcoming iOS update.
The Cupertino-based company gave a preview of its future iOS update, iOS 16, revealing the various improvements and new features it brings during its latest Worldwide Developers Conference.
Apple's iOS 16 will be available to download for free for iPhone 8 and later this fall.
Apple iOS 16 Improvements
Apple mentioned in its announcement that iOS 16 brings improvements to an iPhone's lock screen and new sharing, communication, and intelligence features that can "change the way users experience iPhone."
Let's start with the lock screen. The company mentioned that it would get t a new multilayered effect that creates a sense of depth on the subjects of photos used for the lock screen's wallpaper.
The lock screen also gets improved widgets that were inspired by Apple Watch complications, which makes viewing information at a glance from the lock screen easier.
iOS 16 will also bring a new lock screen gallery for iPhone users to customize their lock screen. One such gallery is Apple collections, which features wallpaper options inspired by cultural moments or current events, such as a Weather wallpaper that can show live weather conditions by changing the lock screen's appearance.
The lock screen will also receive a new feature called Live Activities that helps users stay updated on things happening in real-time from the lock screen itself.
Finally, notifications on the lock screen will appear from the bottom to give iPhone users a clear view of their personalized lock screen.
Apple's Focus feature will also be easier to set up, and with the iOS 16, it will soon be able to connect to the lock screen, offering users a way to tie a lock screen wallpaper and widgets to a particular focus.
It would also allow users to set particular apps to display only the content relevant to a user's focus, providing them a chance to find a better balance.
iCloud will be receiving a new feature called iCloud Shared Photo Library that provides family members a new way to share photos using a separate iCloud library.
iCloud Shared Photo Library will also include the ability for participating family members to share existing photos from their personal libraries and share photos that include Shared Photo Library participants based on intelligent suggestions.
Family members with access to the Shared Photo Library can add, delete, edit, or favorite shared photos or videos.
Apple's Messages app will also get much-needed improvements and new features with iOS 16, such as the ability to edit or delete a sent message and mark conversations as unread so they could be read again later.
SharePlay will also be coming to Messages, making it possible to enjoy movies or songs and shared playback controls while chatting in Messages.
Meanwhile, Mail will soon let iPhone users schedule emails ahead of time and give them a moment to cancel an email's delivery before it reaches a recipient's inbox. Additionally, it will detect if a user forgot to include an attachment or something important.
Mail will also give users the option to go over a message at any time and date with the new feature, Remind Later. Meanwhile, Follow Up suggestions automatically remind users to follow up on an email if they have not received a response.
Apple iOS 16 New Features
As for new features, the Photos app will soon have Live Text that can translate text and convert currency on any photo or frame in a paused video.
Photos' other new feature, Visual Look Up, allow users to turn an image's subject, such as people, birds, insects, statues, and other animals, and place it in apps like Messages.
With iOS 16, Apple's Wallet app will gain the ability to let users Pay Later for purchases, track their orders, and receive detailed receipts from participating merchants.
Apple also expanded support to Keys and IDs so that users can use their ID in the Wallet app for apps requiring identity and age verification.
Apple's new CarPlay will be able to "deeply integrate" with a car's hardware, giving the user the ability provide content for multiple screens within the vehicle to create a unified and consistent experience. Radio and car airconditioning can also be changed through CarPlay, along with the car's gauge cluster designs.
More information about CarPlay will be released in the future.
Apple iOS 16 Availability
iOS 16 will be available to iPhone 8 and later iOS devices later this fall, meaning that it could debut with the iPhone 14 series, which could have an always-on display - the first iPhone to have one.
