iOS 16: The complete guide

Today at WWDC, Apple revealed iOS 16. Here’s the lowdown on the new features, release date, and compatibility.
In its WWDC address on June 6, Apple unveiled its major annual operating system upgrades. No platform is more vital to Apple and its consumers than the iPhone, hence no OS upgrade is more crucial than iOS. Following the popularity of iOS 15 in 2021, iOS 16 was expected to provide a slew of new features, and it did not disappoint.

In this post, we reveal all you need to know about iOS 16 and how it will impact your iPhone experience. We disclose iOS 16’s new features, design modifications, and release date, as well as how to obtain an early beta version of the new software.

iOS 16: Release

We anticipate that iOS 16 will be released to the public in September 2022, following the annual iPhone event. However, this is just guesswork; Apple has only stated that it would be available in the autumn.

Last year, on Monday, September 20, 2021, iOS 15 was released. So, a realistic assumption would be that iOS 16 will be released on Monday, September 19, 2022, or at some time during that week. The main public release is always in the autumn, generally in September to coincide with the debut of the new iPhone. Additional point releases (iOS 16.1, iOS 16.2, and so on) with bug fixes and new features will follow in the next weeks and months.

iOS 16: Beta release

The first iOS 16 developer beta was instantly published; here’s how to install an iOS developer beta. The first public beta should be available within a few weeks. Then there will be a succession of changing dev and public betas leading up to the eventual public release of iOS 16.0.

• iOS 16 is released on June 6, 2022.
• iOS 16 is distributed to developer beta testers on June 6, 2022.

Based on prior publication dates, we anticipate the following developments in the next months:

• iOS 16 is distributed to public beta testers in July 2022. (In fact, Apple confirmed this on June 6th, adding, “A public beta will be available to iOS users next month.”)
• The final version of iOS 16 is released to the general public in September 2022.

Various beta versions will be issued between June 6 and September, and we anticipate a large number of them. Prior to the general release of iOS 15, Apple published eight versions of the developer beta (gold master).

iOS 16: Compatability

To run iOS 16, you’ll need an iPhone 8 or later.

The title is correct, however older devices may not receive the full iOS 16 experience. Apple advises that the new Live Captions accessibility function, for example, is accessible on iPhone 11 and later, but Door Detection and People Detection require the LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 Pro and later.

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This is a significant improvement over previous year. Apple revealed at WWDC 2021 that iOS 15 would support very ancient phones such as the iPhone 6S (2015) and first-generation SE (2016). They’ve both been removed off the list of compatible devices, as has the iPhone 7. If you own one of these iPhones, it’s time to update.

New features in iOS 16

iOS 16 isn’t a huge upgrade, but it’s packed with exciting new features that will make your iPhone seem brand new come fall:

Screen Lock

This may now be significantly personalised (for example, altering colours and fonts) and supplemented with widgets for keeping track of the weather, your Activity rings, or any other information you need at a glance. And, similar to the Apple Watch faces, you can create many Lock Screens, each with its own background and widgets, and effortlessly swap between them.
Notifications The way they appear has been changed: they now emerge from the bottom of the screen, which feels more sensible. Apple also revealed Live Activities, a new method to track sports events, Uber ride progress, exercises, and other activities from the Lock Screen.

Focus

Lock Screen, widget, and notification settings may now be linked to Focus modes. There are also Focus Filters: for example, if you’re in work Focus mode, you may opt to view just the Safari tabs related to a project you’re working on, or to filter out irrelevant messages in Messages and Mail.

Messages

Apple has announced three significant updates to Messages. You can 1) modify and 2) unsend messages that have already been sent, and 3) label any thread as Unread. Less dramatically, there are other additional aesthetic aspects for personalising your Memoji, including as different haircuts and headwear, nose forms, and stances.

Texting in Real Time

This is now true for both video and static photographs. When you pause a video, the text becomes ‘live’ for copying or translating.

Wallet

Gets in-app ID verification–a useful alternative if you don’t want to reveal personal information with someone but need to establish your age, for example. Wallet may also transfer digital keys over Messages, Mail, or WhatsApp.

Pay with Apple

Apple introduced two new products at this event: Apple Pay Later (a means of paying in instalments) and Apple Pay Order Tracking.

iCloud Photo Library Shared

This is billed by Apple as “the finest way to share images with your family,” and it appears to be promising.

Once you’ve create the share library, everyone has access to the same photos, as well as modifications, captions, and keywords. The most intriguing aspect, though, may be the clever automations you can use to share images depending on when they were shot, who is in them, or who is nearby right now.

Check for Safety

This critical privacy tool, meant to assist people facing domestic abuse or similar difficulties, allows you to simply check who has access to your permissions and withdraw them. It may be use to reset system app privacy permissions and to limit Messages and FaceTime to the present device.

Read our guide to the top new iOS 16 features for a more in-depth look at the new capabilities coming to your iPhone this year. We’ve also compile a list of the little tweaks and adjustments that will have a significant impact on how you use your iPhone.

Updates expected in the future

Some anticipated improvements and new features were not disclose today, although they may emerge later this year. As an example:

Always-on display

Before the iPhone 13, reports circulate that Apple will finally adopt an always-on display with time, date, alerts, and other quick facts at a glance. It clearly did not come with those phones, but perhaps the reports about an always-on display functionality being test were about an iOS 16 feature.

There is some indication that an always-on display will be available on iPhones in 2022, at least on the new iPhone 14 models. Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young tweete that he “expects” Apple to employ an LPTO display that reduces the refresh rate to 1Hz while not in use (the iPhone 13’s OLED display dips to 10Hz). A reduced refresh rate is crucial for saving battery life, and it is no surprise that Apple has fail to incorporate the option.

This feature was not address in the WWDC 2022 presentation, but it was never probable that it would be: doing so would imply giving away a crucial feature of the iPhone 14 Pro months before its release. As a result, we’re still hoping for an always-on screen later this year. Is this a feature of iOS 16, or of the iPhone 14 Pro? Perhaps it’s more of the latter, given that other gadgets appear to be prohibit.

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