iOS 16.3: iPhone Feature to Try Right Now
In January, Apple released iOS 16.3, which offers bug fixes & security improvements to help your iPhone work more efficiently. The update also adds some essential new functions to your iPhone, such as security keys and an emergency SOS by satellite update.
Apple ID is Receiving Security Keys:
Users may now utilize third-party security keys for their Apple ID instead of two-factor authentication. Security keys are similar to house keys. Passwords are still used, but this added layer of protection may help protect you from phishing frauds and hackers.
“Hardware security keys are very, very safe,” Diya Jolly, chief product officer at Okta, told CNET’s Stephen Shankland. Only FIDO Alliance-certified security keys are supported by Apple’s security keys functionality.
New Black History Month Unity Wallpaper:
As part of Apple’s Black Unity Collection, the newest iOS release includes a new iPhone wallpaper. The Black History Month collection includes a limited-edition Apple Watch Black Unity Sport Loop, a mosaic watch face, and a new iPhone wallpaper. As part of the collection, Apple intends to deliver a variety of Black History Month material for Apple TV, Fitness Plus, Music, Maps, Books, Podcasts, and the App Store.
Support for the second-generation Apple HomePod:
Apple’s iOS 16.3 software now includes compatibility for the second-generation Home-pod, which costs $299 (£299, AU$479). Apple revealed the new Home-pod 4 days before the newest iOS software was released.
New Methods to Utilize Satellite Emergency SOS:
At Apple’s September presentation, emergency SOS via satellite was presented. The Call with Hold option has been replaced by Call with Hold and Release in iOS 16.3. If you activate Call with Hold & Release, you may start a countdown and an alarm by holding the side and volume buttons simultaneously.
After the countdown, you release the buttons, and your iPhone will automatically dial 911. Previously, while using Call with Hold, tapping the side button as well as a volume button would bring up the Emergency SOS call slider first. If you kept pressing the buttons, a countdown would begin and an alarm would sound. Your phone will initiate an emergency call after the countdown was over.
In Emergency SOS, there is also the option to Call Quietly. When you enable this option, your phone will not start flashing or generating an alarm sound when you attempt to make an emergency SOS call.
Global Advanced Data Protection in iOS 16.3:
As previously stated, the iOS 16.2 update enabled Advanced Data Protection for iPhone users in the United States. This is a new security feature that adds end-to-end encryption to Apple’s iCloud storage service, therefore securing data saved in the cloud.
Apple had promised that a future iOS version will bring Global Advanced Data Protection to additional regions of the globe, and based on feedback from those who have been using the iOS 16.3 beta, that moment has arrived. To activate Advanced Data Protection, open Settings, touch on your name, then iCloud. You may then activate the security function.
Home-pod Handoff has Been Improved in iOS 16.3:
The Handoff function, which transmits control of music playing from an iPhone to a HomePod speaker, has been improved, which is particularly appropriate considering the release of the Apple Home-pod 2 this week. While Handoff has been available for some time, iOS 16.3 offers a new tutorial that informs Home-pod users how to utilize the Handoff functionality more clearly.
Bring your iPhone into range of the Home-pod to display your playback controls or send music from your phone to the smart speaker, according to the instructions. It also instructs you to repeat the process if you wish to view the controls or upload the audio back later.
Lock Screen Redesign:
The iPhone’s Lock Screen has been substantially overhauled in iOS 16, with widgets, customization options, a new position and animation for alerts, or a new system for real-time “Live Activities.”
Users on iOS 16 may build many customized Lock Screens based on their preferences and switch between them effortlessly by holding down & swiping.
Users may choose a new multilayered effect for wallpapers that places the topic in front of the clock, as well as vary the appearance of the date and type with a variety of type styles and color choices. A new gallery offers wallpapers for current weather conditions, animated views of the Earth, moon, & solar system, emojis, unique backgrounds, picture ideas, and more to help you build personalize Lock Screens.
The Lock Screen now includes widgets inspired by Apple Watch complexities, which provide quick access to information like as upcoming calendar events, weather, battery levels, alarms, time zones, & Activity ring progress. The WidgetKit API allows developers to build widgets for their own applications.
Notifications:
Alerts in iOS 16 are redesigned to roll up from the bottom of the screen, allowing users to have a clear view of their customized Lock Screen while simply glancing at notifications as they come. On the Lock Screen, users may read alerts in an extended list view, stacked view, or count view, or a pinch lets users to modify the layout in context.
Actual Activities:
Live Activities is one new feature that allows users to follow real-time events like as a sports game, exercise, ride-share, or food delivery order right from the Lock Screen. Live Activities appear as a card at the bottom of the Lock Screen and last for as long as the activity lasts.
Focusing Techniques:
Last year, iOS 15 introduced focus modes, which have now been enhanced and polished in iOS 16, iPadOS 16, watchOS 9, and macOS Ventura. Each Focus mode now has a connected Lock Screen, in addition to the new customization Lock Screen in iOS 16. In addition to the previously mentioned methods of activating a Focus mode, such as via Control Center or automation, iPhone users may now swipe between Lock Screens to engage a matching Focus.
When setting up a Focus mode, iOS 16 proposes Home Screen & Lock Screen combinations with matching applications, wallpapers, and widgets, and users may directly attach an Apple Watch face to a certain Focus. Focus mode configuration has also been overhauled, with a customized setup experience for each choice.
Focus filters are one of the most significant enhancements to Focuses in iOS 16. Focus filters enable users to define limits inside applications like as Calendar, Mail, Messages, and Safari to show only relevant material, such as a certain Tab Group in Safari, a collection of dates in the Calendar app, or email accounts in Mail. Developers may include this capability into their applications using a new Focus filter API and adjust content depending on a user’s current Focus.
Inside Focus modes, there are additional adjustable settings, including a new ability to quiet notifications from applications and persons, thereby offering the ability to omit notifications rather than merely enable them, as was the case in iOS 15.
Messages:
Users may modify or recall a recently sent message for up to 15 minutes after sending it in iOS 16, retrieve recently deleted messages for up to 30 days, & mark conversations as unread to return to them later.
Mention recommendations in the Messages app now show a contact picture in the Quick Tap bar when referencing a contact. Apple has also revamped the voice chatting experience with the addition of a new Messages app.
Collaboration invites make it easy to collaborate on a shared project in Messages by immediately adding everyone in a thread to a document, spreadsheet, or project and displaying any revisions with activity updates at the top of a Messages thread. Because of a Messages Collaboration API, the functionality is compatible with Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, & Safari, as well as third-party applications.
iOS 16 adds Share-play to Messages, allowing users to enjoy synchronized content like as movies or music as well as shared playback controls while speaking in the Messages app. In addition, a new Shared with You API enables developers to include a Shared with You area into third-party program.
Face-time:
Face-time may now transfer calls from an iPhone to a Mac or iPad and vice versa. When calls are transferred, linked Bluetooth headsets switch to the new device at the same time.
Face-time Live Captions enable users to watch automatically transcribed language in Face-time calls with speaker attribution, making it easier to follow along with group chats.
Users may utilize Share-play app discovery to determine which of their applications support Share-Play and access them from the Face-time controls. During an active Face-time chat, users may now touch the Share button to begin working with people on the call in Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, Safari, & compatible third-party applications.
Free-Form:
Free-form is a new tool that provides a fluid canvas for laying out new ideas, gathering materials, and brainstorming. Users may write or draw anywhere on the canvas, as well as pick and move text or artwork as desired. Users may integrate photos, video, music, PDFs, documents, & web links with inline previews thanks to comprehensive multimedia capabilities.
Users may see other people’s contributions as they upload and update information in real time. The Messages Collaboration API is used by Free-form to view updates from collaborators in Messages discussions, and users may begin a Face-time connection straight from Free-form.
Mail:
Users may now plan emails ahead of time & cancel delivery of a message up to ten seconds before it hits a recipient’s inbox. Mail can identify if a user forgets to add a crucial component of their message, such as an attachment, & Remind Later allows you to resurface a message at any time and date. Follow Up recommendations immediately remind users to follow up on an email if they have not gotten a response, and rich links provide context and depth.
In iOS 16, the Mail app also gets a big upgrade in terms of search, with sophisticated algorithms used to give more relevant, accurate, & thorough results. When users start searching for emails, they see recent emails, contacts, documents, and links. Search results are further enhanced by utilizing synonyms for search phrases and automatically fixing errors.
App For Photos:
The Photographs app now includes duplication detection to help you rapidly clear up libraries by identifying duplicate photos in albums. Users may copy and paste modifications made to a picture onto another photo or a collection of photographs, and they can undo and redo several edit processes.
People in the People album may be sorted alphabetically, while the Hidden & Recently Deleted albums are protected by default and can be accessed using Face ID, Touch ID, or a password.
When a video is playing in Memory, users may touch to resume it from the beginning while the music continues to play. There are also new memory kinds for This Day in History & children playing, as well as the option to block the appearance of Memories and Featured Photos in Photos and the Photos widget.
Shared Photos Library in iCloud:
iCloud Shared Photo Library allows up to 6 family members to share images in a separate iCloud library. Every user in the Shared Photo Library may add, remove, modify, or favorite the shared photographs or videos, which display in their Memories and Featured Photos.
Users may select to share existing photographs from their own libraries, share depending on a start date, or just the persons in the photos using smart setup criteria. Users may now utilize a new setting in the Camera app to automatically submit photographs to the Shared Library, and intelligent recommendations in the Photos app encourage users to upload photos that involve participants to the Shared Photo Library.