iOS 16 is Available Starting Today
Apple’s iOS 16 is available starting today and brings what the company touts as the biggest ever update to the Lock Screen, the ability to edit and collaborate in Messages, new ways to “interact” with photos, and more.
Originally revealed in June, Apple’s latest mobile operating system is rolling out to users starting today.
The update’s headline feature is a more “beautiful” and customizable home screen. Apple says users can add a depth effect to the photo used on the Lock Screen to “artfully” display a photo subject in front of the time which can be paired with customizable font and type style. The Lock Screen can also be customized with widgets that can display calendar events, battery levels, alarms, time zones, Activity ring progress, and more.
Messages are also getting additional options including the ability to edit, undo send, and mark conversations as unread. Users can also share movies, photos, and songs through SharePlay which is integrated with Messages.
“When users choose to share files for collaboration through Messages, everyone in a thread will be automatically added, and when someone makes an edit to the shared document, activity updates appear at the top of the thread,” Apple says.
The Mail app received an overhaul and now users can schedule an email to be delivered at a later time, set reminders to come back to a message later, receive automatic suggestions to follow up on an email, and get automatic alerts that let them know if they forgot to include an attachment or a recipient. These updates bring the Mail app more in line with offerings from the likes of Google’s Gmail.
The most major update for photographers is Visual Look Up and Live Text Enhancements, both features that use the iPhone’s camera. Users can now tap and hold a subject of a photo and it will automatically be cut out and “lifted” from the background to allow it to be placed in apps, such as Messages. Visual Look Up now can recognize birds, insects, spiders, and statues which can provide users with more information about objects in photos.
Live Text can now recognize text in videos, which allows users to pause a video and interact with the text just like they would if it were written anywhere else.
Another photo-focused feature announced in June was the Shared Library, but Apple has not mentioned it in today’s iOS 16 availability announcement.
The full breakdown of new features available in iOS 16 can be found on Apple’s website.
Image credits: Apple
