Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC as it is also known, will kick off in a keynote address at 10am PT (10:30pm IST).
The developer-focus keynote traditionally reveals upcoming software from the Cupertino-based electronics giant.
Apple traditionally uses WWDC as the stage to unveil the latest versions of its operating systems, and this year, we should get to see previews of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, and tvOS 16 before their beta and general public releases later in 2022.
iOS 16 is to bring improvements to such features and apps as notifications, lock screen, Camera, Messages, and Health apps, apart from a new audio experiences, redesign app icons, interactive widgets, upgrade theme options, and a floating app window.
Availability of iOS 16
Apple has begun rolling out a developer preview of iOS 16 to members of the Apple Developer Program.
A public beta will be available to iOS users starting in July and users can sign up at the Apple’s website.
The iOS 16 update and the software features shown off at WWDC will be available later this year which is likely in September for iPhone 8 and later models, as per the Apple.
Features of iOS 16
Apple has officially unveile iOS 16, the next-generation version of its operating system for compatible iPhone models.
Apple has introduce changes and improvements across the system at its annual WWDC keynote event.
The software update to iOS 16 will arrive later this year on iPhone 8 and later devices in September and will feature improvements to the operating system, including an overhauled lock screen and notification system, with improve and redesign system apps.
Developer previews will be available this week follow by a public beta next month, ahead of the public rollout later this year.
Improved Lock Screen support
The iOS 16 update will bring one of the biggest updates to the iOS Lock Screen in years with multi-layer cutomisation options.
Users will have access to wallpapers with widget-like capabilities and the OS will allow users to pick from different typefaces and colour filters while customising their setup.
They can also add widgets for upcoming calendar events, workout status and choose multiple widgets, while picking wallpapers and presets from a curated selection provide by Apple.
iOS 16 will also offer a Photo Shuffle mode that will allow users to automatically switch up their lockscreens.
This update will also bring support for a Weather wallpaper that will show live weather conditions on the lockscreen, or an Astronomy wallpaper, to see views of the Earth, Moon, and solar system.
Developers can also use WidgetKit to make it easier to bring their content to the lockscreen, according to Apple.
Apple has revamp notifications on iOS 16, so they don’t get in the way of personalise wallpapers and Lock Screen layouts.
The lockscreen notifications on iOS will now scroll in from the bottom of the screen, making them easier to tap and access with one hand.
Users can also pick from apps that make use of the Live Activities API to bring live game scores, check their Uber ride, or control music, from the lock screen, as per Apple.
Focus Modes
Focus modes were introduce with iOS 15, and Apple is bringing them to the lockscreen with iOS 16.
Users can now activate Focus modes from the lock screen with a swipe from the lock screen.
Users will be able to tie a Lock Screen Wallpaper and widget set up to a particular Focus mode, allowing them to switch between Focus modes by simply swiping to the corresponding Lock Screen.
Apple will also bring deeper integration for Focus modes to its own apps, allowing users to filter out tabs, accounts, email, and features from apps like Calendar, Mail, Messages and Safari.
Apple will alert users with a message that says Filtered by Focus, for example, in the Messages app.
This functionality will also be extend to third party apps, according to the company.
Messages
Messages is getting a big update, with the ability to edit messages.
This is a feature that is offered on specific messaging apps, such as Telegram.
Users can also undo sending of messages, allowing users to recall messages, this is a feature also offer on apps like Signal, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Users can also mark messages as unread, allowing them to come back to a conversation at a later time, according to Apple.
SharePlay is also coming to Messages with iOS 16, allowing users to watch synced content like movies and songs, while sharing playback controls in a Messages chat, according to Apple.
Scheduling for emails is coming to the Mail app on iOS 16, according to Apple.
Users will also be able to cancel the sending of an email, before it is deliver to a recipient’s inbox.
Users will also be remind if they forgot to add an attachment to their email and resurface older messages with Remind Later and Follow Up suggestions.
It is worth noting that these features are offered on competing services and apps, such as Gmail.
Apple is also updating the search feature in the Mail app, and will surface recent emails, contacts, documents, and links as they search for emails.
Improvements to Dictation, Live Text, Visual Look Up
Apple has introduce a new on device dictation experience with iOS 16.
The upcoming update will let users dictate text while leaving they keyboard open allowing them to add specific words or punctuation in.
The dictation, which will be process entirely on device, will also automatically add punctuation and emoji.
Live Text, which allows users to quickly interact with text from their phone’s camera app and Camera Roll has been expanded to videos with iOS 16.
Users can now pause videos and copy text. Meanwhile, Apple will also bring Live Text with translation support.
This means users can now translate text using their camera. iOS 16 will also allow users to quickly convert currency from an image capture with their camera or in their Camera Roll, according to Apple.
Visual Look Up has also been update with a handy new feature.
Users can now tap and hold on a subject to lift it from the image and place it into another app like Messages.
Apple has also update the feature, which could originally identify plants and pet, it will be able to identify birds, insects, and statues with iOS 16.
Apple Wallet
Sharing keys and IDs is getting expanded support in Apple Wallet, allowing users to share ID for identity and age verification.
Home, office, hotel, and car keys can be share with other users securely via the Messages and Mail apps, allowing them to access the same keys directly in their Wallet App.
The company says it is also working with the IETF industry standard for support to share keys with non-Apple users.
Apple Pay Later
Apple also announce support for Apple Pay Later, a system to allow users to make four equal payments with zero interest and no fees, spread over six weeks.
It can be use everywhere Apple Pay is support online or in-app and uses the MasterCard network, according to the company.
Apple will also let users check orders and track delivery with a new Apple Pay Order Tracking feature.
As Apple says it has partner with Shopify for the feature.
Apple Maps
The Cupertino company’s upcoming update will bring Apple Maps support to eleven more countries later this year, Belgium, France, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland. Apple has also announce the ability to multiple stops on Apple Maps up to 15 stops can now be added in advance.
Users who rely on public transport will also be able to see transit updates, including the cost of travelling and transit card support in Apple Wallet.
Users will be able to check transit card balance and receive alerts if it is running low and replenish all inside the app.
You can also take advantage of support for Look Around on other apps, to see Street View-like views of specific areas on third-party apps.
Apple News
The Apple News app is being update with support for a My Sports section.
US, UK Canada, and Australia users will be able to follow their favourite teams and leagues, whole accessing scores, schedules, and standings for major professsional and college leagues, according to Apple.
Apple news app will also offer the ability to view highlights of matches.
Apple News+ subscribers will also gain access to premium sports coverage, as per Apple.
Parental Controls
Apple has announce updates for parental controls, allowing parents to manage kids accounts as soon as they set up the device.
Parents will get suggestions for age-appropriate restrictions for apps, movies, books, and music.
Kids can also request more screen time on Messages with parents, and parents can approve or decline these requests without leaving the chat.
Fitness and Health
With iOS 16, iPhone users will be able to set up a daily Move goal in the Fitness app and track active calories to close their ring, the company says it will use motion sensors from the smartphone to estimate burned calories for the Move goal, by tracking steps, distance, flights climbed, and workouts from third-party apps.
These can also be share with friends, according to Apple.
The Health app will be update with support for a new Medications feature that will allow users to add and manage their ongoing medications, creating schedules and reminders for medications, vitamins, and supplements.
Users in the US will also be able to point their camera at a label to quickly see details about the medication and learn of potential interactions.
Health details can also be shared with other users, and records from connected health institutions can also be use to create a PDF document from the Health app.
iCloud Share Photo Library is coming to iOS 16, allowing users to share photos with up to five other users.
Users can select specific photos from their Photo library or a specific date range.
You can even choose to automatically choose who to share specific pictures as they are being click in the camera, due to a new toggle that will be add with the iOS 16 update.
All six members that are part of an iCloud Share Photos Library will have equal permissions to add, edit, delete or favourite images in the group.
iCloud Share Photos Library on iOS 16 will also surface suggestions for users to share a particular photo that includes particiapants in the share library, as per Apple.
Safety Check
Apple announce a new privacy tool called Safety Check, which is design to help users whose personal safety is at risk from domestic or intimate partner violence.
Safety Check is a feature that will allow users to quickly remove access to others.
By pressing a button called Start Emergency Reset, users will be able to easily sign out of iCloud on their other devices, reset privacy permissions for all apps, stop sharing their location, and shut down messaging on all other devices except the one they have in their hand.
iOS 16 Lets You See Your Wi-Fi Passwords, Adds Fullscreen Music Player to Lock Screen and Many More
Apple has announce iOS 16, the latest version of its software with many new features and improvements at the ongoing Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
Apple is allowing users to see and manage store Wi-Fi passwords in iOS 16.
It has add a fullscreen music player back to the Lock Screen placing album art in the centre with controls.
In iOS 16, iPhone users will be able to drag and drop subjects from a photo into other apps or photos.
A dedicated iOS 16 preview website details the new features that are coming to Apple phones with iOS 16.
iPhone users can view their stored Wi-Fi passwords in Settings with the latest operating system.
Yu can even copy it to share with friends or family.
As per a report, users are require to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode to see a stored password.
Apple is bringing the fullscreen music player back to the Lock Screen with Live Activities.
It will give a fresh view by placing album art in the middle and controls at the bottom.
The fullscreen music player on the lock screen was earlier available on iOS 10.
This update allows users to customise the font, colour, widgets, wallpapers, or placement of other elements on the Lock Screen.
The full-screen music player may not be available in the first developer beta of iOS 16.
The upgrade Visual Look Up feature lets users tap and hold on to the subject of an image to lift it from the background or isolate the subject by removing the background and placing it in apps like Messages.
This functionality works with screenshots, quick look, and Safari.
Apple phones power by the A12 Bionic processor and newer support this feature.
The new iOS 16 also bundles improvements to the lock screen, focus mode, health app and messages that change the way users experience iPhone.
Scheduling for emails is coming to the Mail app on iOS 16 and Apple Maps add support to eleven more countries.
The iOS 16 is currently in beta testing with developers.
A public beta is scheduled to arrive next month.
iOS 16 Won’t Reach iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, Original iPhone SE
iOS 16 will not make its way to the iPhone models that are older than the iPhone 8, Apple has confirm following the announcement of its new iOS release.
This simply means that if you have an iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, or the original iPhone SE, you will not be able to experience iOS 16.
As mention on the iOS 16 Preview site, the new software is not compatible with the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and the original iPhone SE.
The list of compatible models for the iOS 16 update, instead, starts with the iPhone 8 and iPhone SE (2020).
The iPhone 8, which comes in 2017, is the oldest model in the list of eligible devices for iOS 16.
The iPhone 6s series was launched back in 2015, while the iPhone 7 models and the iPhone SE came in 2016.
All these models received iOS 15 last year.
This is unlike how various Android smartphone makers treat their existing users as they often pull software update support for their older models.
The list of devices that are ineligible to receive iOS 16 also includes the iPod touch (7th generation) — the last-generation iPod. The iPod touch (7th generation) debuted relatively later in May 2019.
If you own any of the dated Apple devices, you are now forced by the Cupertino company to upgrade to a newer hardware to get the latest software experience.
But, Apple is expect to continue to provide security updates to some of the devices that are ineligible to receive the latest software.
iOS 16 Lets You Lock Hidden, Recently Deleted Albums, Adds Haptic Feedback to iPhone Keyboard
Apple’s latest operating system iOS 16 was announce during the company’s annual developer conference.
The new operating system brings improvements and multiple options for customisation. With iOS 16, the Cupertino giant is adding more privacy layers to the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums.
It mandates users to access these albums by using passcode or biometrics.
Haptic keyboard functionality is coming to the iPhone’s keyboard with iOS 16.
With this update, iPhone users will feel a slight vibration power by the Taptic Engine while pressing a key on the virtual keyboard.
As per the iOS 16 preview page, the Hidden and Recently Delete albums will be lock by default on iOS 16.
These albums can be unlock using the iPhone user’s Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.
The access to Hidden and Recently Delete albums is not limited.
Anyone with access to the phone can go through your deleted and hidden photos.
The iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura also offer the new feature.
Haptic feedback, which is currently available on third-party keyboards, is finally coming to the iPhone’s keyboard.
By enabling this, when users press a key on the iPhone’s virtual keyboard, they feel a small vibration power by the smartphone’s Taptic Engine.
Users can turn on keyboard haptics to feel confirmation while typing.
iOS 16 to Support Face ID in Landscape Mode, Third-Party Two-Factor Authentication Apps
The Cupertino company reveale many features about the new operating system.
As it did not mention if Face ID will work in landscape mode on supported iPhone models with iOS 16.
This feature is already available on iPads.
In related news, a recent report mentions that iOS 16 will also allow users to use third-party apps for two-factor authentication.
According to the iOS 16 preview page, support iPhone models will allow users to make payments and more with Face ID when it is tilted horizontally.
Right now, Apple iPhone users have to ensure that their handset is in portrait mode for the Face ID to function properly.
Users will be able to set apps like Google Authenticator or Authy as the default programme instead of the built-in iCloud Passwords & Keychain feature to get codes for two-factor authentication.
iOS 16 Improves Portrait, Cinematic Modes on iPhone 13 Camera; Adds ‘Duplicate Detection’ for Photos
Apple has improve Portrait and Cinematic modes on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models with the release of iOS 16.
Following the release of the new iOS version, the Cupertino company detail its features that include improvements to the camera effects available on the latest iPhone models.
The improvements are also likely to be available pre-install on the iPhone 14 models that are speculate to debut later this year.
The iOS 16 release also comes with a ‘Duplicate detection’ feature for photos to let users clean up their library by deleting duplicate shots.
On the dedicated iOS 16 Preview website, Apple has mention that the new iOS release brings an improve Portrait mode on the iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and the iPhone 13 mini to let users blur objects in the foreground of a photo.
This comes as an upgrade to the existing Portrait mode that allows users to adjust background blur to put them in focus.
Apple says that the improvement is aim to offer a “more realistic-looking depth-of-field effect” to users.
iOS 16 brings the improve Cinematic mode for video recordings on the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models.
It will bring a more accurate depth-of-field effect for profile angles and around the edges of hair and glasses when recording videos in the Cinematic mode, the company says while explaining the improvement.
The iOS 16 release also includes the ‘Duplicate detection’ feature that uses machine learning to identify duplicate photos to let users clean up the clutter and remove them.
Users will be able to access the feature by going through Albums > Utilities.
In addition to iOS 16, ‘Duplicate detection’ will be available on macOS Ventura to help Mac users clean up space on their devices by removing duplicate photos.
