Heres our list of the best new iOS and iPadOS features, both big and small.
The official update will likely drop sometime this fall.
Ill mark features that only apply to one particular platform.
My favorite change here is the addition of widgets and complications.
The Now Playing widget can now take up the whole Lock Screen, as well.
Customizing your Lock Screen is easy: Just press and hold on the screen to launch the customizer.
you could also quickly hide all notifications in a minimized text field at the bottom of the display.
Focus
After customizing all those new Lock Screens, you dont need to switch between them manually.
Theres also Focus Filters for iPhone and iPad.
With these filters, certain app data automatically hides to keep things, erm, focused.
During your work Focus, Safari tabs only show work related tabssame with Messages, Mail, and Calendar.
And we wont be able to see it in action for a long time.
Heres the deal: Apple is working with automakers to design what they call the next generation of CarPlay.
What that seems to mean is screens.
By customize, Imeancustomize, giving these data points any style you want.
Youll even be able to control your car with CarPlay, such as temperature controls or tuning the radio.
Messages
Finally.
you’ve got the option to now edit and undo messages on your iPhone and iPad.
This feature is one weve seen in many chat apps before, but hey, better late than never.
Youll also be able to play games with friends via Game Center with SharePlay later this year.
Dictation
When you currently use Dictation to pop in with your voice, the keyboard disappears.
you’re able to also select text and replace it with your voice.
Dictation even adds punctation automatically to long messages.
Live Text
Live Text is a great feature that lets you select text from photos.
Now, you might pause videos to select text from individual frames.
Think an app like Drizzly, which might ask to verify your age with an ID.
This feature is available everywhere Apple Pay is, allowing you to split payments on just about anything.
Youll also find order tracking and detailed receipt info in the new Wallet update.
you might also ask Siri to add new stops to your route while driving.
Sports
Apple also made time to announce an update to Sports in Apple News.
Apples solution is iCloud Shared Photo Library.
This new feature is an intelligent shared photos library that lets you connect with up to five other people.
There are some other fun Photos updates, as well.
Privacy
Apples all about its privacy features, and this year is no different.
Its your one-stop shop for all of your permissions.
In addition, the Home app is brand new, with a design that should be easier to use.
Categories at the top of the screen show all relevant accessories and status information.
Youll find new widgets on Lock Screen, too.
Personalized Spatial Audio
Spatial Audio allows music and movies to sound like theyre surrounding you.
Safari
Apple is introducing shared Safari tabs with its new software updates.
Youll now be able to designate a group of tabs to share with others.
If you choose to collaborate with those tabs, youll be able to see who is viewing which tab.
Passkeys, unlike passwords, cannot be phished or leakedyou also dont need to remember anything.
Like I said, light on the details.
Its not clear exactly how Passkeys work, or how many accounts support this method yet.
But, if Apples marketing is to be believed, its a cool development.
Video calls
Lets talk FaceTime.
Apple is now letting you handoff a FaceTime call to other devices.
If this feature works as well as it did in the demo, it could be a game-changer.
The new collaboration icon that appears in-app lets you quickly chat or call with collaborators, as well.
Speaking of collaboration, Apple teased a new feature called Freeform, which is essentially a shared digital whiteboard.
This gives the impression of arriving after iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 officially launches.
Quick Note
Apple is adding Quick Note to iOS.
The feature was previously only available on iPad and Mac.
Youll also find a new feature called Family Checklist, which gives you tips on improving Family Sharing.
These tips include updating your childs controls as they grow up, as well as turning on location-sharing.
Reminders
Reminders gets some new features as well this year.
Other fun features
The Fitness app is now available to all iPhone users!
Certain metrics can be tracked without an Apple Watch.
Spotlight search is now on the bottom of your iPhone.
you’ve got the option to hang up a call with Siri on iPhone or iPad.
(Hey Siri, hang up.)
New memoji customizations, including headwear, noses, hairstyles, and sticker options.
iPadOS 16
Lets take a look at some of the iPadOS specific changes this year.
Right out of the gate, your iPad now has an official Apple Weather app.
It may have taken 12 years, but,say it with me, better late than never.
Its the pro-features that steal the show this year, though.
If you have one of these iPhones, it will, sadly, remain on iOS 15.
