It’s that time of the year for Apple users – in just a few months, people with devices running iOS will be updating to a new operating system.
Tim Cook announced that all the updates presented in Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC 2022) would become available to the public this fall. That means iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, and macOS Ventura will be available between September and December 2022.
What’s iOS?
iOS is a mobile operating system for Apple-manufactured devices. iOS runs on the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Apple TV.
In case you’re not familiar, an operating system (OS) is an interface between a computer user and computer hardware. The software performs all the basic tasks like file management, memory management, process management, handling input and output, controlling peripheral devices (like disk drives and printers for computers) as well as most processes that run on your devices.
How is the iOS 16 update different from the updates downloaded all the time on my iPhone?
While Apple regularly issues minor updates for iPhones, they also release a new version of iOS once a year – iOS 16 is a new version of iOS. According to Apple, there are a number of changes for iOS 16, but two major changes include lock screen customization and recalling sent messages.
Lock screen customization
Up until the release of the new update, iPhone users were only able to personalize their lock screens by using different wallpapers. Starting from iOS 16, you will have full autonomy over your lock screen design. Not only you can now hide the watch behind the elements of your screensaver picture, but you can also add multiple lock screens, each with a different picture. Apple has enabled its users to personalize the Lock Screen through a new editor, customizing it with different colors and even shades, adding widgets, and even allowing the photo shuffle option.
These widgets will allow users to access various information, like calendar events, alarms and time zones, among other things, without actually unlocking the phone. Live Activities is a new lock screen feature, which Apple officials say will allow viewers to stay on top of things that are happening in real-time, like sports games, rideshare, or food delivery orders, right from the lock screen.
You can also look forward to a number of new wallpaper options, including astronomy-related wallpapers, weather-related wallpapers, among other selections.
Recalling messages
With iOS 16, users can now edit or recall messages that were recently sent, and recover recently deleted messages. In addition, users can mark conversations as unread so that they can come back to them later.
Are there other new features for iOS 16?
Yes! According to Apple officials, the new iOS contains other updates, including, but not limited to:
- Share-play will now expand into text messages
- New dictation features for text keyboard
- Scheduling out e-mails
- Canceling an e-mail’s delivery (within a set amount of time)
- Enhancement to live text: text appearing in video can now be detected by the phone (just like texts in images). Users can interact with the text, such as translation or currency conversion, among other options.
- Text message sticker creation feature for objects in images
- Addition of Apple Pay Later (U.S. users only) into Apple Wallet.
- In-app ID Verification for certain states (Maryland and Arizona)
- Redesign of Apple Maps
- Multi-stop routing for Apple Maps
- Family Sharing
- Easier Parental Controls
- Family Checklist
Can I download the new iOS now?
Yes and no. Apple made the developer beta available to download immediately after WWDC22 finished on June 6, and the Public Beta is due to become available in July. People can enroll their iPhone in the Apple Beta Software Program to test out the new iOS Beta software. Though, sometimes it’s a bad idea to install the iOS beta since it may not work as well as software that is officially released.
