Three months after announcing iOS 16 at WWDC 2022, Apple finally confirmed the release date at the iPhone 14 launch event on Wednesday. iOS 16 RC is rolling out today for iPhone developers, and everyone else will be able to download the update on September 12. As for iPadOS 16, iPad owners are going to have to wait a few more weeks.
Biggest new features in iOS 16
iOS 16 isn’t a total revamp of Apple’s mobile operating system, but it does completely rework the Lock Screen. After updating, iPhone users will be able to customize the Lock Screen in a variety of ways. That includes highlighting your favorite photos, customizing font styles, and adding widgets that offer useful information at a glance.
If you get bored of one Lock Screen, just make another! You can create multiple Lock Screens with different styles and switch between them at will. Apple will even suggest photos in your library to use as backgrounds and preview what they would look like.
Apple has also given users more customization options for notifications on the Lock Screen. Notifications also rise from the bottom of the screen so that they don’t get in your way. Live Activities are also making their way to the Lock Screen in iOS 16.
Additionally, the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have always-on displays. You can see the time, widgets, and Live Activities without ever touching your iPhone. This uses up far less power as well since the screen isn’t constantly turning on and off.
Other exciting features coming in iOS 16
Another notable upgrade is iCloud Shared Photo Library. As the name suggests, this feature makes it easier to share photos with your friends and family members. Once you set up a shared library, you can share photos straight from the Camera app. Anyone with access to the shared library can add, delete, and edit photos.
At long last, Apple is also giving iPhone owners the ability to edit and unsend messages. If you send a message with a typo, you now have a few minutes to edit it. You can also unsend a message you sent to the wrong contact, but there are limitations.
Other new features and improvements include a redesigned Focus experience, more accurate search results in Mail, end-to-end encryption for passkeys, Live Text for video, smarter dictation with automatic punctuation, multi-stop routing in Maps, Apple Pay Later, the ability to track orders in Wallet, a rebuilt Home app, and more.
Once again, the iOS 16 release date is set for September 12.
If you’re looking for more from today’s event, check out of coverage of the new Apple Watch models, the iPhone 14, and the second-generation AirPods Pro.
More Apple coverage: Check out the best Apple deals online right now.
