Note how the photo overlaps the time in iOS 16 lockscreen.
Today’s the day. Months after it was first revealed at WWDC, long after the developers’ beta program started, almost as long after the public beta was available, the big release of the year is here.
September 14 update below. This post was first published on September 12, 2022.
The general release of iOS 16 went live just now. Here’s which phones it works for, how to get it and what you should be prepared for.
Make Forbes your destination for all things iOS. Read full details of what’s in the release from me the moment it lands. Kate O’Flaherty looks at the security considerations of each new release. And then read Gordon Kelly’s analysis of whether you ought to install or wait.
September 14 update. No sooner has iOS 16 been released but iOS 16.1 is on the horizon. It’s already reached developer beta, as of today, and it looks like there are plenty of new features on the way.
As you’ll see below, one of my favorite updates in iOS 16 is the return of the battery percentage figure onscreen. But in the current general release, it’s not available for every Face ID iPhone. However, in the new dev beta, it becomes available for more iPhones. Specifically, the handsets like iPhone XR and iPhone 11 did not have the capability to show the battery percentage onscreen. It was thought this was because these phones had LCD screens with lower resolution, but it seems not, because they are now included in the new beta.
Similarly, the iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini were left out, which was presumed to be because these smaller phone didn’t have enough space available. And yet, the new beta suggests otherwise because it’s available here, too.
Additionally, it looks like it may let users delete the Wallet app in the future. And Apple’s intention to let you charge your phone from clean energy to reduce your carbon footprint may take a step forward, too. That’s down to a toggle in iOS 16.1 under Battery Health & Charging, which uses analysis of your daily routine to understand when it can recharge using lower carbon-emission electricity, if it’s available.
It looks like it’s quite a busy update, and so early in the iOS cycle, too. That’s because the iOS 16.1 beta adds a new option when customizing the Lock Screen, so that it’s quicker and easier to achieve what you’re trying to do.
The Matter smart home standard will be adopted by iOS, Apple has said, and it looks like that support may be coming sooner than later, according to details in the code for iOS 16.1.
There are other, more minor details as well, such as a redesigned screenshot interface to make it more convenient to delete screenshots. This is not world-changing, but quite fun.
During beta testing of iOS 16, developers had access to an API for Live Activities. That vanished before the final version but has reappeared, for developers only, in the new update. More news as we have it.
Which iPhones can run iOS 16?
The new software will run on all iPhones from iPhone 8 onwards. Specifically, that’s iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone Xs, iPhone Xs Max, iPhone Xr, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE second generation, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone SE, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. And breathe.
For iPads, you need iPadOS which, for the first time, is on a different release schedule than iOS. Stay tuned for a guide to that in due course.
How to get it
Updating is very straightforward: open the Settings app on the device and then choose General, then Software Update. Once you’ve clicked on Download and Install, it’ll do everything for you. Note that demand for this big update may be heavy on the first day. Even so, Apple will be prepared for this, so don’t hold back.
What’s in the release
Where to start? There’s a lot of stuff and much of it is brilliant. First up is the all-new lock screen, that part of the iPhone we see first. You can personalize it more than ever, with different fonts for the clock, the addition of widgets and even software clever enough to cut around your favorite photos so, for instance, your significant other’s head sits slightly in front of the time. You can switch lock screens as easily as Watch faces on Apple Watch. On the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, an always-on screen will show your lock screen in muted tones. Of course, you’re not upgrading to that here, it’s pre-loaded on the new phones.
Related to this, notifications are improved and there’s a new Focus mode to control which you see and which are silenced. This also applies to other apps like email so you don’t see emails from your work inbox when you just want personal ones.
A very big change is coming to Messages. You can edit a message after you’ve sent it or even unsend it, for brief moments after they’re sent. You can also mark them as unread. There are also new collaboration capabilities, including sharing notes, presentations and more through Messages.
Mail also has the capability to undo send, again briefly, and schedule message sending (At Last). You can also add rich links. As an aside, the brilliant Mailbutler does much of this and has other great features. Search is also improved in Mail, which is very welcome.
Maps now means you can add stops along the route and you can add transit cards in Wallet, without leaving the Maps app, which is handy.
The end of passwords is hastened by Passkeys which use a new sign-in method that is safe and much easier than remembering which version of your significant other’s nickname you used on that particular site.
Smarter Dictation means you no longer need to say “period” or “question mark” in your texts. What do you mean you never did? And dictation now works better with the keyboard.
Live Text for Video will pause video on the frame you want so you can copy or translate the words. And Live Text will add extra features to make it even easier, too.
Apple Pay adds order tracking in Wallet and Apple Pay Later. There are updates to the Health app and the Fitness app comes to iPhone, even if you don’t have an Apple Watch.
Oh, and my personal favorite: a new battery icon shows the percentage indicator onscreen again—though not on every iPhone—which is wonderful.
Honestly, there’s a lot more to the app, so I’ll update with more details as they launch, from Game Center to Reminders to Apple TV.
