iPhone iOS 16 Beta: Here are the Top Five Features

My expectations for the iPhone iOS 16 announcement were high, especially when it came to changes to the lock screen and notifications. In this sense, Apple did not disappoint. However, the new iPhone software release is much more a revamp of system functionality than a breath of fresh air of new features in iOS 16.

Also, discover all the features and new features of iOS 16

Right after the (imaginary) Apple Developer Conference curtain fell, it was time to install the iOS 16 beta and test out the new features. The big highlight is iOS 16’s restructured lock screen, which finally offers more customization.

In this regard, Apple has clearly sought to draw inspiration from its own watchOS and other manufacturers’ ecosystems to give us more freedom. It’s a bold move that I didn’t expect, but luckily it works very well.

Among the list of new features, options like Live Activities, Safety Check and Voice Dictation leave iOS 16 more convenient and secure, and new features coming to the Messages app show Apple’s need to modernize its communication services.

When I first encountered iOS 16, everything indicated that future iPhones would be more user-centric, and less Apple-centric. But remember, all of my impressions are from software that is still heavily under development.

With iPhone iOS 16 takes control of the lock screen

Apple felt the need to change the way we interact with the lock screen when most rumors and expectations pointed to the adoption of the Always-on display.

iPhone iOS 16 will certainly be known for bringing the first major lock screen overhaul. Using a system very similar to that found today on the Apple Watch, the iPhone now offers a number of options for dials or watch faces to customize the lock screen.

From pre-configured layouts to customizable options, the concept of the new lock screen is to showcase what really matters to you, without having to unlock the iPhone.

Like on the Apple Watch, just long-press the screen to navigate through the different lock screen options and find the best settings for you.

Choices can be made by categories such as colors, photos, weather, and emojis. Virtually everything is customizable: fonts, colors, and even widgets.

iPhone iOS 16 lock screen customization

The inclusion of widgets here takes me back to the new iPhone UI concepts created based on rumors that the iPhone 14 line may drop the notch, leaving the notification bar open to embed information like the battery percentage, for example.

We’re not there (yet), but being able to add a widget that shows my headset’s battery level right on the lock screen sounds like a great alternative.

The possibilities are vast. Since developers can integrate iPhone iOS 16 APIs into their apps from Widget Kit, virtually any app that supports widgets can be used on the lock screen immediately.

Even better, you can create a number of lock screen profiles and switch between them according to your needs. Using the lock screen gallery, you can change the look of your iPhone in seconds.

Plus, because notifications are now grouped together at the bottom of the lock screen – and can even be hidden – it’s much nicer to see the image and other elements of the lock screen without interference.

One criticism, however, as soon as you change the lock screen, the iPhone wallpaper automatically adopts the same pattern.

With iPhone iOS 16 you can reduce notifications

Alongside the new Lock Screen, we have Live Activities, which lets you follow events in real-time without having to unlock your iPhone – and in a compact yet highly visual form.

If you’ve ever ordered an Uber ride or a food delivery, you know that these actions often trigger an avalanche of notifications, leaving your phone screen flashing with updates from these services. To decrease the number of notifications (and our anxiety), Apple has created a feature called “Live Activities”.

The intention of Apple’s engineers with this feature is to make notifications less distracting by condensing a series of updates into one visually more pleasing place, thus avoiding a succession of interruptions.

Those who use the iPhone connected to the Apple Watch are feeling this change a lot, as we have a decrease in the number of notifications on the wrist.

The Messages app is coming in 2022

The Messages app has had a nice makeover in iPhone iOS 16. Messages now have three new features: editing messages after sending, deleting messages after sending, and marking a conversation as unread. It also works with SharePlay.

Editing messages works much like editing messages on services like Facebook, Slack, and Telegram, where we can see a tag letting us know that the message has been edited. The same goes for deleted messages, such as in a WhatsApp chat.

Marking a message as unread works as a reminder to reply to it. Personally, I use this option a lot in Gmail to remember to reply to messages that I have already read, but which I could not reply to on the spot.

Truly smart voice interaction in iPhone iOS 16

As a fan of the audio recording and transcription app, I was very happy with Apple’s improvements to the text dictation system for services like Notes, Messages, or Emails. According to the company, 18 billion dictation requests are made each month, which certainly justifies the efforts of engineers in this area.

Using voice typing on the Apple keyboard, I was able to easily type multiple sentences in a second, and in case of misunderstandings, it’s really easy to replace words by voice or simultaneously by touch.

Beyond accessibility, this feature is really effective when it comes to creating posts, especially articles using voice. The automatic punctuation feature as we have it in Google’s voice recording app is very popular here.

After the AirTags controversy, Apple responds with Safety Check

In May of last year, Apple announced AirTags as tracking devices to add to your keyring or even your computer backpack to easily locate them if lost or stolen.

However, it didn’t take long for a series of security alerts to start appearing on the web. To protect users’ privacy, Apple sent out a firmware update to prevent people from being tracked without their knowledge.

With iPhone iOS 16, Apple dives even deeper into the privacy and security sphere and introduces the Safety Check feature. With this, Apple wants to offer more control to users who share passwords or access certain apps and data such as geolocation.

Touted as an aid to combat abuse in toxic relationships, Safety Check quickly revokes access to data and locations previously shared with others.

Currently, access can be easily blocked from privacy and security settings and offers the following options: Emergency reset as well as Manage sharing and access.

The first option allows you to quickly remove people and revoke access to apps, as well as change Apple ID and add or remove emergency contacts.

The second option is a useful shortcut for managing share access. You can remove permissions for services like Photos, Messages, and other apps, limiting access to your personal devices only.

And a super thoughtful addition is the “Quick Exit” button that quickly closes the Safety Check window and leaves no trace when multitasking. This provides much more security for victims of abuse.

Conclusion: More of you and less of Apple!

There’s a classic phrase uttered by Steve Jobs in the 1990s that sticks in my mind: “A lot of times people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.

” For a long time, Apple has been said to dictate trends and offer as little customization as possible, almost forcing us to use its ecosystem in the way it was dictated by the company.

However, iPhone iOS 16 seems to me to be an operating system that finally takes people’s opinions into consideration. The new OS brings more choices right to your phone’s lock screen, as well as better control over your data and the right not to be tracked.

With the optimization of the messaging application and voice dictation, Apple integrates strong features for which we previously had to use third-party applications.

Overall the improvements are pretty clear to me. While at first the new beta of the iPhone iOS 16 gave the impression of not having much new, this impression dissipates and, with the dust settling, it is easier to realize that it is in fact the most modern and secure operating system that Apple has ever released.

Of all the new features in iPhone iOS 16, here are the most relevant features to me, officially coming to the iPhone in September. And for you, what feature will mark this update?

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