iOS 16 Hidden Features You Might Not Know About - MacRumors
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iOS 16 Hidden Features You Might Not Know About

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Set to come out this fall, iOS 16 is the next-generation version of iOS, and it is laden with tons of major changes, such as an all new customizable Lock Screen. There are also a number of smaller, lesser known features, and in our latest YouTube video, we highlight some neat additions that you might not know about.


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  • Pinned Safari Tabs - You have been able to pin a Safari tab on Mac for some time, but pinned tabs didn't work with iOS 15 That's changed in iOS 16, and now you can have your favorite tabs pinned, including within Tab Groups.
  • Merge Duplicate Contacts - Tired of having multiple contact cards for the same person? In iOS 16 you can merge duplicate contacts together right from the Contacts app.
  • Get Rid of Duplicate Photos - The iOS 16 Photos app can let you know if you have multiple photos of the same thing, giving you the opportunity to delete the extras to save space. Duplicate photos are listed in a new "Duplicates" album that appears if you have duplicates to deal with.
  • Copy and Paste Photo Edits - Want all of your photos to have the same aesthetic, or have improvements you want to make to an entire batch of images? That's possible with the new copy and paste feature for photo edits, which lets you copy edits from one photo and apply them to another photo with a tap.
  • AirPods Updates - It's simpler to manage AirPods settings in iOS 16 with a new dedicated section that pops up in the Settings app when AirPods are connected. iOS 16 also adds a new Personalized Spatial Audio feature that uses the TrueDepth camera to scan your ears and the area around you, providing a unique listening experience tuned just to you.
  • Face ID in Landscape Mode - iPhone models running iOS 16 support Face ID in landscape mode, making it easier to unlock the iPhone when it's not held in the standard portrait orientation. The feature is limited to the iPhone 13 and later.
  • Notes Passcodes - Rather than creating a new password for a note, you can now simply use your device passcode or Face ID/Touch ID to lock a note, which is much easier.
  • Haptic Feedback for Keyboard - There's a keyboard setting in iOS 16 that lets you enable haptic feedback that can be felt when you're typing. The vibrations are for each key tap, offering users a physical confirmation that a letter has been pressed.
  • Hidden and Deleted Photo Protection - In iOS 16, you need to authenticate with ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ before the Hidden and Recently Deleted photo albums can be accessed. This essentially locks these albums from view should someone have your device passcode.
  • WiFi Password - If you've ever been frustrated by an inability to access the WiFi password of the network you're using, that's changing in iOS 16. In the iPhone's WiFi settings, you can see the password of the network that you're connected to.

More iOS 16 Coverage

For a full rundown on everything that's new in iOS 16, we have a dedicated iOS 16 roundup. Have a favorite iOS 16 feature? Let us know what it is in the comments.

Related Forum: iOS 16

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Top Rated Comments

S
smoothride
52 months ago
Does anyone know why the Face ID in Landscape Mode has to be limited to iPhone 13 models and newer only?

This is becoming more and more annoying. Stop trolling Apple, not funny anymore.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sebosz Avatar
Sebosz
52 months ago
You can add CVV of your saved credit cards in safari settings.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
simody
52 months ago
Landscape FaceID is not limited to iPhone 13. It works on my 12 Pro too.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Lcgiv Avatar
Lcgiv
52 months ago

Perhaps because there's limited storage space in the SEP for multiple face models?
Perhaps because the angle of the IR spreader hidden in the notch cannot cover the face in earlier models?

Jeesh, do people not realize that this stuff actually runs on HARDWARE?
And that this HARDWARE changes from one year to the next?
I think the problem is it can be both, and sometimes consumers are fed half truths to cover it. When this happens one time, people will always remember that the next dozen times hardware is used as an excuse.

The iPad Pro is able to utilize landscape and portrait Face ID (my M1 can, not sure how far back it goes), but cannot perform masked Face ID unlock.

We were told apple was unwilling to add Touch ID back to new iPhones as it was not as good or not as secure, and in the power button was bad.. now it’s in iPads.

For two years we heard about underscreen fingerprint scans coming because Face ID couldn’t deal with masks. And we were told it wasn’t really feasible and if we bought an Apple Watch it would unlock without needing a password or Face ID. Then magically it came in a software update.

With Apple’s increasing focus on profits/margins, the software crossover between IOS and iPadOS plus the hardware shared between models, I always take Apple’s reasons with some salt.

I’m not furious over these things, more so wondering what is actually the reason.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sideshowuniqueuser Avatar
sideshowuniqueuser
52 months ago

Does anyone know why the Face ID in Landscape Mode has to be limited to iPhone 13 models and newer only?

This is becoming more and more annoying. Stop trolling Apple, not funny anymore.
Next level non-repairability.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DanteHicks79 Avatar
DanteHicks79
52 months ago
Here, I fixed it for you:


* Face ID in Landscape Mode - iPhone 13 models and later running iOS 16 support Face ID in landscape mode ('https://www.macrumors.com/2022/06/06/ios-16-landscape-face-id/'), making it easier to unlock the iPhone when it's not held in the standard portrait orientation.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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