Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) kicked off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday, unveiling a variety of new features and upgrades to popular iPhone apps as part of iOS 16.
Here are some of the highlights of what the new operating system will offer users:
Lock Screen
- One of the biggest updates in iOS 16 are new ways to customize the lock screen, which will "remains undeniably iPhone." By pressing and holding the screen image, you can begin to customize the new lock screen.
- Swiping will allow you to see new lock screen features, like changing colors, fonts and placing widgets right on the lock screen.
- You can have upcoming calendar events, activity data and weather data appear on the lock screen.
- A wide variety of wallpapers are available, and you can even use photo shuffle to vary the background image throughout the day.
- Notifications will now roll in from the bottom of the iPhone, to avoid covering the screen with messages.
- A new feature called Live Activities will allow you to keep track of sports, get play-by-play information, track Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER) rides and other live events on your lock screen.
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Messages
- New Messages features will include the ability to edit messages you just sent, undo a sent message by recalling it, and marking any thread as unread — to remind yourself to return to a message.
- There are also updates to dictation, with a new feature to let you fluidly move between voice and touch.
- The keyboard now stays open when you use voice, and you can select text with touch, and replace portions of the text using voice.
- Dictation now automatically adds punctuations to text using voice.
Wallet
- Apple's goal remains to replace the physical wallet with the Wallet app, TSA security checkpoints now accepting Wallet IDs.
- You can share keys with other iPhone users using the Wallet app.
Apple Pay
- Tap to Pay on the iPhone will now allow merchants to begin accepting payments directly on the iPhone without additional hardware.
- Also, a new feature called Apple Pay Later will let you split purchases into four equal payments over six weeks while paying zero interest.
Maps
- The redesigned Maps app has launched at 10 countries and regions, with 11 more are coming.
- Multistop Routing will allow you to plan up to 15 stops in advance, and you can ask Siri to add additional stops while driving.
iCloud Shared Photo Library
- A new collaborative shared cloud library will allow multiple people to share and view photos, with easy ways to upload pictures to the library.
Safety Check
- A new privacy tool aims to help those in abusive relationships, by having more control over shared passwords and location tracking.
- The app lets you review the access granted to others and quickly revoke location sharing.
- The tool provides a simple way to view and manage who you've given access to your data.
CarPlay
- Now available on over 98% of cars in the U.S., the next generation of CarPlay allows you to tune the radio and change the temperature in your vehicle.
- You can now place images directly on the gauge cluster of your vehicle via the app interacting directly with the vehicle system.
- CarPlay can now show the vehicle's speed, RPM, and fuel gauge, and you'll be able to customize the layout of the dashboard gauges.
