Video: Here's a Look at All the New iOS 16 Features

Apple yesterday introduced iOS 16, the newest version of the operating system designed to run on the iPhone. iOS 16 has an overwhelming number of changes, so we thought we'd do an overview to show MacRumors readers all of the new features that they can look forward to when the update comes out this fall.


You'll want to watch the video to see iOS 16 in action, but here's a list of all of the features that we go over:

  • Lock Screen - The Lock Screen has been entirely overhauled. It's customizable, it supports widgets, and there are a bunch of new features you can play with.
  • Notifications - To go along with the new Lock Screen, there are changes to notifications. They now come up from the bottom so they don't interfere with the Lock Screen widgets. Notifications also have a new design with bolder text and images, plus you can view notifications using a list layout, stacked view, or count view.
  • Focus Mode - Different Focus Modes can now be linked to different lock screens, entirely transforming how your ‌iPhone‌ looks when you activate a Focus. Focus has new filters, updated schedules, easier setup, and a better silence/allow list.
  • Home - The Home app looks entirely different with an updated layout that makes it easier to view and control your devices all on one screen. Your favorites and your rooms are all on the same main Home tab, and categories at the top give you quick access to lights, climate control, security products, and more.
  • Dictation - You can now swap between voice and touch when using dictation, speaking text and then editing it.
  • Live Text for Video - The iOS 15 Live Text feature that lets the ‌iPhone‌ detect text in photos has been expanded to video. If you pause a video, you can use copy and paste, lookup, and translate on text in the frame.
  • Shared Tab Groups - In Safari, you can now collaborate on a tab group with other people. So if you're planning a trip, everyone can contribute links that everyone else can see, making planning and link sharing easier than ever.
  • iCloud Shared Photo Library - With iCloud Shared Photo Library, up to six family members can share photos with one another seamlessly. Photos can be uploaded to the shared album automatically based on the parameters that you set, and you can even upload directly to the shared library from the Camera app.
  • Maps - The Maps app now supports multiple stops, so you can add up to 15 stops into a route.
  • Mail - Apple made major updates to the Mail app. Search is improved, there's an undo send feature, an option to schedule emails, a remind feature so you don't forget to reply to an email, and an option to remind you to follow up on emails when you haven't gotten a response. Mail now supports rich links and it will also alert you if you've mentioned an attachment and forgotten to add it.
  • Visual Look Up - Apple added a curious new Visual Look Up feature that lets you grab the subject of an image, isolate it from the background, and drag it out into another app. It works automatically, and can be used in ‌Photos‌, Safari, Screenshots, and more.
  • Messages - Editing a message, undoing a message, and marking a message as unread are all new iOS 16 features. You can recover deleted messages and use SharePlay with messages, just like you can in FaceTime. With SharePlay, you can watch a TV show or use an app alongside someone else, communicating in the Messages app while doing so. All of these features are limited to iMessage and aren't available for SMS messages.
  • Medications - The Health app in iOS 16 has a medication tracking feature that reminds you to take your medicine or vitamins, and it integrates with the Apple Watch.
  • Fitness - If you don't have an Apple Watch, you can use the Fitness app in iOS 16 to track your steps and activity, getting an estimate of calories burned.

iOS 16 is limited to developers at the current time, but Apple will make a public beta of iOS 16 available in July. The software will undergo several months of beta testing to allow for feature refinement and bug fixes before it is released to the public alongside new iPhones in September.

What is your favorite iOS 16 feature? Let us know in the comments below, and let us know if there's a specific feature you would like to see a video for.

Related Forum: iOS 16

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iphone 17 dummies sonny dickson

iPhone 17 Air Almost as Thin as Its Buttons, New Images Show

Thursday April 24, 2025 2:14 am PDT by
If you missed the video showing dummy models of Apple's all-new super thin iPhone 17 Air that's expected later this year, Sonny Dickson this morning shared some further images of the device in close alignment with the other dummy models in the iPhone 17 lineup, indicating just how thin it is likely to be in comparison. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be around 5.5mm thick – with a thicker ...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Friday April 18, 2025 5:16 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...
iphone 17 air dummy unbox therapy

iPhone 17 Air's Extreme Thinness Demoed in New Video

Tuesday April 22, 2025 10:22 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an all-new super thin iPhone this year, debuting it alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We've seen pictures of dummy models, cases, and renders with the design, but Lewis Hilsenteger of Unbox Therapy today showed off newer dummy models that give us a better idea of just how thin the "iPhone 17 Air" will be. The iPhone 17 Air is expected to be ...
Global Close Your Rings Day Pin

Apple Stores Giving Away a Limited-Edition Pin For Free Today

Thursday April 24, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Starting today, April 24, Apple Stores around the world are giving away a special pin for free to customers who request one, while supplies last. Photo Credit: Filip Chudzinski The enamel pin's design is inspired by the Global Close Your Rings Day award in the Activity app, which Apple Watch users can receive by closing all three Activity rings today. The limited-edition pin is the physical...
Apple Logo Spotlight Blue

White House Hits Back at Apple's Massive EU Fine

Thursday April 24, 2025 5:57 am PDT by
Apple's $570 million fine from the EU has triggered a sharp rebuke from the White House, which called the fine a form of economic extortion, Reuters reports. The fine was announced on Wednesday by the European Commission, following a formal investigation into Apple's compliance with the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market dominance of ...
ipad air magic keyboard feature

iPadOS 19 Rumored to Show Mac-Like Menu Bar When Connected to Magic Keyboard

Thursday April 24, 2025 12:09 pm PDT by
When an iPad running iPadOS 19 is connected to a Magic Keyboard, a macOS-like menu bar will appear on the screen, according to the leaker Majin Bu. This change would further blur the lines between the iPad and the Mac. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman previously claimed that iPadOS 19 will be "more like macOS," with unspecified improvements to productivity, multitasking, and app window management,...

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
38 months ago
Editing a message, undoing a message, and marking a message as unread are all new iOS 16 features.

Probably the most requested feature by non-tech, and tech-savvy people.

So many nice features. Apple went all out with iOS 16. Very impressed.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
38 months ago
My favorite feature is for sure the ability to customize the two icons at the bottom of the Lock Screen...

Oh wait, nevermind, I'm a time traveller from 2050.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
38 months ago

My favorite feature is for sure the ability to customize the two icons at the bottom of the Lock Screen...

Oh wait, nevermind, I'm a time traveller from 2050.
Always blows my mind how they come up with certain changes that probably no one even thought of (not a bad thing) but don’t „fix“ the major user pains. Sometimes I wonder if they don’t use iPhone to run into these annoyances themselves
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
38 months ago
Great summary! Lots of nice features coming in iOS 16 :)

Edit: This too

https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/7/23158190/ios-16-tapback-imessage-reactions-android-sms-groups
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
38 months ago

Battery widget is cool but why can’t you see multiple batteries. ie, iPhone, Airpods and Watch
Because Apple doesn’t like things to be too convoluted. We know they could add multiple ‘battery widgets’, but they’ve always advocated a cleaner, aesthetic appeal with the display.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kingtj1971 Avatar
38 months ago
The multiple stops for Maps is much needed, IMO. I mean, this will be something primarily used when you're using their Maps via CarPlay as your in-vehicle GPS nav system. But competing products have it, so it was about time Apple caught up.

HomeKit has been so categorically bad for me in the past, I already moved away from using it for much of anything. But a major revamp to the Home app was sorely needed too. If Apple expects people to choose it as their primary interface for home control, it should at least have a nice top-level/main screen that lets you see all the important info at a glance.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)