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

Top Rated Comments

TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
25 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
25 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
25 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
25 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
25 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
25 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)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Announces 'Let Loose' Event on May 7 Amid Rumors of New iPads

Tuesday April 23, 2024 7:11 am PDT by
Apple has announced it will be holding a special event on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific Time (10 a.m. Eastern Time), with a live stream to be available on Apple.com and on YouTube as usual. The event invitation has a tagline of "Let Loose" and shows an artistic render of an Apple Pencil, suggesting that iPads will be a focus of the event. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
Apple Vision Pro Dual Loop Band Orange Feature 2

Apple Cuts Vision Pro Shipments as Demand Falls 'Sharply Beyond Expectations'

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:44 am PDT by
Apple has dropped the number of Vision Pro units that it plans to ship in 2024, going from an expected 700 to 800k units to just 400k to 450k units, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Orders have been scaled back before the Vision Pro has launched in markets outside of the United States, which Kuo says is a sign that demand in the U.S. has "fallen sharply beyond expectations." As a...
iOS 17 All New Features Thumb

iOS 17.5 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday April 21, 2024 3:00 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 17.5 update for the iPhone includes only a few new user-facing features, but hidden code changes reveal some additional possibilities. Below, we have recapped everything new in the iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5 beta so far. Web Distribution Starting with the second beta of iOS 17.5, eligible developers are able to distribute their iOS apps to iPhone users located in the EU...
iPad And Calculator App Feature

Apple Finally Plans to Release a Calculator App for iPad Later This Year

Tuesday April 23, 2024 9:08 am PDT by
Apple is finally planning a Calculator app for the iPad, over 14 years after launching the device, according to a source familiar with the matter. iPadOS 18 will include a built-in Calculator app for all iPad models that are compatible with the software update, which is expected to be unveiled during the opening keynote of Apple's annual developers conference WWDC on June 10. AppleInsider...
iPhone 15 Pro FineWoven

Apple Reportedly Stops Production of FineWoven Accessories

Sunday April 21, 2024 6:03 am PDT by
Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories, according to the Apple leaker and prototype collector known as "Kosutami." In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kosutami explained that Apple has stopped production of FineWoven accessories due to its poor durability. The company may move to another non-leather material for its premium accessories in the future. Kosutami has revealed...