We have had nearly a full yr with iOS 16, and whereas Apple is at the moment making ready the discharge of iOS 17, the choices and settings obtainable to iPhone customers with the present cell working system are almost countless.
The most important new options in iOS 16 have been unsending textual content messages and emails and reducing objects out of your pictures, however there are a ton of smaller and lesser-known options you could have by no means heard about.
Learn extra: iOS 16.6: You Ought to Obtain This iPhone Replace Now
I will stroll you thru all the pieces you must find out about one of the best lesser-known gems in iOS 16, like password-protected photograph albums, simply accessible Wi-Fi passwords and extra.
And when you’re right here, have a look forward to the following model of iOS and the 2023 Apple Occasion, with a roundup of probably the most thrilling new options in iOS 17 and check out the iOS 17 public beta in case you’re feeling adventurous.
View and share saved Wi-Fi passwords
Apple has allowed iOS customers to share Wi-Fi passwords for some time now, however solely by putting two Apple gadgets close to one another. And if that function did not mechanically work, you could not simply dig out the password out of your settings. Plus in case you needed to share a saved Wi-Fi password with another person, like an Android person or somebody on a pc, you needed to bear in mind the password. Till now.
In Settings, go to Wi-Fi and faucet the tiny info icon to the suitable of the community you need the password for. To view the community password, faucet the Password part after which use Face ID or enter your passcode to view it. You may then faucet Copy to repeat the password into your clipboard and share it.
You may view the password for any Wi-Fi community you have ever related to, so long as you are at the moment related to it or close to sufficient that it seems underneath My Networks.
The credit score card-sized Anker 622 not solely attaches to your MagSafe-compatible iPhone to present it a cost but additionally has a built-in kickstand to be able to comfortably view and use your machine whereas it will get juice.
Discover and take away duplicate pictures and movies
Perhaps you have saved the identical photograph a number of instances or downloaded a video greater than as soon as, leading to duplicates littering up your photograph album. It will not be an issue in case you’ve bought storage to spare, however you are working out of area, now you can take away each single duplicate simply with iOS 16.
In Images > Albums, you need to see a brand new Duplicates album underneath Utilities. Apple scans by your entire pictures and reveals you any photograph or video you have saved greater than as soon as in that album. From there, you possibly can both delete any duplicates, or just press Merge, which is able to preserve the photograph with the best high quality (and related knowledge) after which transfer the others to the trash.
Merging will preserve the best high quality photograph and delete the remainder.
Though you may most likely wish to undergo every set of duplicates, to make sure that they’re really actual copies and never related pictures, you too can hit Choose > Choose All > Merge to take away each single photograph and video that Apple thinks is a reproduction, suddenly.
Use Siri to hold up a cellphone name or FaceTime
Siri does numerous issues. You should use the digital assistant to ship a textual content message, get instructions or play music — however one factor she’s by no means been capable of do is grasp up a cellphone name. Bizarre proper? Now that is lastly a risk with iOS 16.
In Settings, go to Siri & Search and first make sure that Pay attention for “Hey Siri” is toggled on. Whether it is, you need to see a brand new choice beneath — Name Cling Up. Go into that choice and toggle on Name Cling Up. If you’re on a cellphone name or FaceTime video chat, merely say, “Hey, Siri,” and ask her to hold up your present name.
For this to work, Pay attention for “Hey Siri” have to be toggled on first.
Pair Nintendo Swap Pleasure-Cons together with your iPhone
Apple has lengthy allowed you to pair third-party controllers, just like the PS5 Sony DualSense and Xbox Core Controller, to your iPhone and iPad, as a way to extra comfortably play cell video video games just like the Apple Arcade library, Minecraft and Name of Obligation. Now you possibly can add one other console controller to that record.
In the event you personal a Nintendo Swap, now you can pair your Pleasure-Con controllers to your iPhone or iPad working iOS 16. To begin, maintain down the little black pairing button on the Pleasure-Con, till the inexperienced lights begin working forwards and backwards. This implies the machine is in pairing mode. Subsequent, open your iPhone and go to Settings > Bluetooth and choose the Pleasure-Con from the record. Repeat this step with the opposite Pleasure-Con.
Watch this: iOS 16: Highly effective Options You Could Have Missed
Password defend Hidden and Just lately Deleted albums
The Hidden album within the Images app is clearly not hidden, seeing as anybody can simply discover it. That makes it impractical for adequately hiding non-public pictures and movies. Whereas Apple does have an choice to make the Hidden album “invisible,” anybody with entry to your cellphone may make it seen once more and think about all the pieces inside.
Due to iOS 16, now you can lock the Hidden album. You do not really must do something to toggle this function on. If you wish to test it out, launch the Images app and go to the Albums tab on the backside of the display. In the event you scroll down, you may see a tiny lock subsequent to the Hidden and Just lately Deleted albums. To view the contents of these albums, you may want to make use of Face ID or your passcode.
The Hidden and Just lately Deleted albums now require Face ID to be accessed.
Copy and paste photograph and video edits
In the event you use the editor instrument within the Images app, you may be glad to be taught you can now copy and paste edits, together with saturation, distinction and brightness, between pictures. In the event you edit one photograph or video and are proud of the look, you possibly can paste those self same actual edits to every other photograph or video in your digicam roll.
To do that, launch the Images app and open a photograph that is been edited in full-screen. Subsequent, faucet on the three-dot menu within the top-right nook after which hit Copy Edits. This feature will solely seem if the photograph has been edited inside Images, not any third-party photograph editor. Lastly, go to the photograph you wish to copy these edits over to, faucet on the three-dot menu after which hit Paste Edits. After a second or so, you need to see the photograph edits seem.
This function works between pictures and movies.
Ship emojis with Siri
Siri has lengthy been capable of ship lengthy, sophisticated textual content messages and emails by dictation, however with iOS 16, for the primary time, you are now ready to make use of your voice to ship emojis. So long as you recognize the title of the emoji, merely say “face with tears of pleasure emoji” or “crimson coronary heart emoji” to insert an emoji into your textual content with Siri.
In the event you use the keyboard dictation function in your iPhone’s keyboard, accessible on the backside proper of your keyboard (microphone icon), you too can say the emoji title to insert an emoji anyplace you possibly can kind textual content, like in a be aware or a caption on Instagram.
You may ship emojis with Siri (left) or kind them in utilizing the dictation function in your keyboard (proper).
Add haptic suggestions to keyboard typing
The iPhone has lengthy had haptic suggestions. It is what you are feeling beneath your fingertips everytime you try to delete an app from your house display or enter the wrong password in your lock display. Surprisingly sufficient, haptic suggestions has by no means been obtainable for the inventory iOS keyboard — till now.
If you wish to allow a slight vibration for each single key you kind in, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Suggestions and toggle on Haptic. The sound choice you see is the loud and annoying clacking sound you would possibly hear if you kind in one thing and your cellphone is not on silent mode, so you possibly can preserve that disabled.
Each single time you kind, you may really feel a slight vibration for every key you hit.
Pin your favourite tabs in Safari
Safari caps your open tabs at 500, and in case you’re nearing that restrict, it is likely to be fairly darn arduous to seek out the precise tab you are searching for. You can scroll endlessly, however there’s now a better method to discover the precise tab you are searching for.
In Safari, in case you press down on an open tab, you now have the choice to hit Pin Tab. It will transfer that tab to the highest of Safari, the place it is going to exist as a tiny tab preview, completely pinned there, which you’ll be able to then faucet to view. In the event you press down and unpin a tab, it is going to transfer to first in your grid of open tabs.
All of your pinned tabs seem on the high of Safari.
Lengthen the time you get to cancel an e mail
It is easy to by chance ship an e mail, particularly if you’re multitasking or responding to a number of threads directly. However there’s excellent news: Apple added a function in iOS 16 that provides you 10 seconds to unsend an e mail. Nevertheless, for some, that will not be sufficient time, which is why you possibly can prolong the delay.
In Settings, go into Mail and scroll down till you discover Undo Ship Delay. By default, the 10 Seconds choice might be chosen, however you possibly can select 20 Seconds and 30 Seconds as effectively.
You even have the choice to show off the function, in case you don’t need your emails delayed in any respect.
Use Face ID when you’re mendacity down
In the event you’ve ever tried to unlock your iPhone whereas it is vertical, like if you’re mendacity in your aspect, you might need seen that it would not work. You need to place your iPhone in portrait orientation, or upright, for Face ID to work. With iOS 16, you possibly can lastly use Face ID to unlock your iPhone when it is in panorama orientation. Nevertheless, for this to work, you will need to have an iPhone 13 or 14 working iOS 16.
Permit notifications if you share your display
As a privateness safety measure, Apple mechanically disables notifications if you share your display, whether or not it is through SharePlay or Display screen Mirroring. Nevertheless, if others seeing your notifications is not a problem, now you can permit notifications on iOS 16. Within the Settings utility, go to Notifications > Display screen Sharing and toggle on Permit Notifications.
Permitting notifications when display sharing is turned off by default.
Copy screenshots to your clipboard with out saving them
You needn’t save a screenshot to your photograph album to share it with another person. A brand new iOS 16 function means that you can take a screenshot, copy it to your clipboard, delete it out of your cellphone and paste it the place you see match. After you’re taking a screenshot, faucet the screenshot preview that seems, hit Executed on the top-right after which faucet Copy and Delete to repeat the screenshot to your clipboard.
In the event you take numerous screenshots, this function might help you save storage.
Take away extra preinstalled Apple apps
Since iOS 10, you have been capable of take away some preinstalled iOS functions like Shares, Maps and Calculator — however not all of them. With the discharge of iOS 16, you possibly can add three extra apps to this record of ones you possibly can take away: Discover My, Clock and Well being. Nevertheless, deleting these apps can negatively have an effect on and break help with different apps and related gadgets, like your Apple Watch.
Make Siri hearken to you longer
In the event you ever end up getting reduce off by Siri, there’s now a method to drive the voice assistant to hearken to you longer in order that she will catch all the pieces you say. The function is not in an apparent place although — within the Settings app, go to Accessibility > Siri, then select both Longer or Longest. Mess around with the 2 choices to see which works greatest for you.
It will assist Siri from interrupting you if you converse.
For extra on iOS 16 and the iPhone, take a look at our iOS 16 cheat sheet and the 22 iOS 16 settings you need to change proper now.