When iOS 16 comes out this fall, it will change the way hundreds of millions of people use their iPhones. No, there’s no radial change to the iPhone interface, so you won’t have to throw away what you’ve learned over the past decade.
But there are dozens of new features, some big and some small, that will kick in almost every time you pick up the phone. These five features, in particular, will be part of how millions of people use their iPhones every day.
They’re so useful, or just so integrated into the core iPhone experience, that they’re likely to quickly become a staple of the iPhone experience, the kind of thing we’ve come to associate with the platform.
Custom lock screens
After upgrading to iOS 16, you will be greeted by this huge change every time you pick up your iPhone. Even before unlocking it.
The new lock screen is customizable, attractive and contains more useful information than ever. And with amazing photo settings, Focus and Photo Shuffle modes, it’ll also change dynamically throughout the day.
Before, everyone with an iPhone had the same lock screen, just with a different wallpaper that was hidden by the huge list of notifications.
The lock screen as something truly customizable and useful is a game changer. There are tons of ways to customize your iPhone lock screen. Trust us: you’ll never want to go back.
Edit and cancel messages
“Blue bubble” iMessages are about to become even more valuable. With iOS 16, you can edit an iMessage up to 15 minutes after sending it (it will be marked as “Edited” on your screen). This is perfect for correcting typos or clarifying a message that may be too short.
Now, if a message can be edited, you might as well edit everything, or even delete it. That’s why Apple also lets you just “forward” iMessages. Again, you only have 15 minutes to do this, but it’s a nice feature if you’ve already replied to the wrong thread.
There have been concerns about the potential use of these features in abusive situations, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the time window was shortened a bit or turned into something you can turn off.
Even if these changes are coming, it’s a long-awaited feature that will continue to be super useful to almost everyone.
haptic keyboard
It’s not a huge change, but a barely noticeable new switch tucked away in the ‘Sounds & Haptics’ menu in Settings. But the new haptic keyboard in iOS 16 will make typing on your iPhone feel very different.
When you get the update this fall, you’ll want to enable it (assuming Apple doesn’t enable it by default) and try it out for a few days. Then try turning it off to see the difference. You will see that your iPhone looks so clunky and lifeless.
It’s one of those things that Android phones have enjoyed for years, and even some external iPhone keyboards, but this modification to Apple’s built-in keyboard will make your iPhone feel better every time you press the keyboard.
Voice and keyboard dictation
Speaking of typing, iOS 16’s new “dictation” is really something else. Many people already use iPhone dictation all the time, others never touch it, but when iOS 16 lands on your iPhone, everyone will want to use it.
For one, dictation is faster and more accurate, and it will automatically add punctuation marks (commas, periods, and question marks). You can also add a bunch of different emoticons per dictation.
But what’s really game-changing is that the keyboard remains visible and active while you dictate. You can speak, switch to handwriting, and speak again, all without wasting time.
Does he make mistakes? Yes, all the time (although less frequently than iOS 15). But now you can quickly tap a misspelled word and correct it with your voice or keyboard, then tap again at the end of the text to continue speaking.
Does it take less time to correct mistakes and gaps in dictation than to write it all down? With iOS 16, this ratio is much improved, and it will make dictation a great way to enter text for many more people.
How to delete topics from images
This feature is so smart and so easy to use that it will be constantly used on social networks and in “Messages”. Simply tap on a photo (any photo) and drag the subject out of it, leaving the background behind. Seriously, that’s all you have to do.
Sometimes there can be nuances, especially if you’re trying to save the image for later. And while it works with any image, there really needs to be a clear difference between the subject and the background for it to work optimally.
However, it’s one of those “magical” things that, while not invented by Apple, is going to be so integrated into the operating system that it’s going to look like Apple’s own thing.
Requires at least an iPhone with an A12 Bionic processor, i.e. iPhone XS or later. But by the time iOS 16 arrives this fall, that will mean it will be compatible with iPhones up to four years old.
Original article published on igamesnews.com.
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