Apple has announced an event for Wednesday 7th September 2022. It’s expected the new iPhone 14 models will be announced. We are expecting an iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Alongside the iPhone, it’s expected we will get announcements for the Apple Watch Series 8, Second generation Airpod pros, and a refreshed iPad Pro.
There is no set date for when IOS 16 will be released but its expected to be between the 8th and 14th of September. In terms of compatibility, anyone with an iPhone 8 or later will be able to run IOS 16. Although the iPhone 8 can run IOS 16, Apple warns that older devices may not get the full iOS 16 experience, examples of this include the new live captions accessibility feature which can only be run on iPhone 11 or later, while door detection and people detection requires the LiDAR scanner on the iPhone 12 pro and later.
If you’re interested in the new iPhone 14, now is the best time to trade in your old or broken iPhone. With the release of the new iPhone it is expected that like usual the previous models will fall in value. However, this isn’t guaranteed as we covered last week in our blog about inflation (https://phoenixcellular.com/news/how-inflation-is-affecting-the-tech-industry/) Apple products are not currently being reduced with the 2020 MacBook Air still the same price as it was two years ago. If you do decide to trade in your old or broken iPhone use a trusted buyer such as Gr8 Mobile (https://www.gr8mobile.co.uk/) who offers more than anyone for broken iPhones.
So, what are the new changes and features in iOS 16? They are:
- Lock Screen
- Battery Percentage indicator
- Notifications
- Focus
- Messages
- Dictation
- Haptic Keyboard
- Live text and visual Look Up
- Wallet
- Apple Pay
- iCloud Shared Photo Library
- Safety Checks
- Miscellaneous Changes and New Features
Lock Screen
The lock screen will be heavily customizable from changing colours and fonts to widgets for all the information you require. This means your iPhone will be more personal than ever, you can create numerous lock screens with different wallpapers and widgets and easily swap between them.
Battery percentage indicator
The battery percentage disappearing was frustrating for many iPhone users, but the good news is that the percentage indicator is coming back to certain devices.
Notifications
The way notifications are presented has been tweaked so that they roll in from the bottom of the screen, this isn’t a major change but is more aesthetically pleasing. You will also be able to use the newly announced Live activities on the lock screen which offers a new way of tracking things like football scores, Uber journeys, and Workouts.
Focus
Focus mode works seamlessly with the new lock screen, your choice of wallpaper, widgets, and notifications can now be tied to focus mode. By swiping to a particular lock screen, you can trigger the related focus mode. Apple suggests a data-rich lock screen while you’re using the work focus or a photo lock screen while you’re using the personal focus. Focus filters allow you to filter out irrelevant things to what your current focus is, so if you are in work focus mode you can choose to only see the safari tabs that relate to a project currently being worked on, or filter out messages and emails not relevant.
Messages
This is one of the most talked about updates on social media with the following changes:
- Edit sent messages
- Unsend Messages
- Mark any thread as unread
So gone are the days of waking up after a heavy night to see the utter rubbish you’d sent people the night before, along with these very popular changes there will also be more customization for your Memoji, including new hairstyles, headgear, noses, and poses.
The mail updates aren’t the most exciting but brings some useful additions, firstly the ability to schedule sending mails and briefly recalling them as well as detecting and warning users of forgotten attachments and nudging the user when a recipient hasn’t responded to an email.
Dictation
Dictation improvements coming to iOS 16 mean that dictation will be better than ever, so you will be able to seamlessly talk and type or edit and add emojis.
Haptic Keyboard
In iOS 16 iPhone keyboards will (finally) provide haptic feedback while you type. Keyboard haptics will use the Taptic Engine to produce a little “tick” feeling when you touch a key on the keyboard.
Live Text and Visual Look Up
Live Text now applies to video as well as still images. Pauses a video and the text will become ‘live’ for copying or translating. Apple says Live Text is going to provide quicker access to translation and currency conversion tools too.
The related Visual Look Up feature which was introduced in iOS 15 and uses AI to identify plants, animals, and landmarks in your photos also gets a upgrade. For a start, it can now recognise birds, insects and statues as well. But separately, it can use that same AI to detect the edges of pictured objects and enable you to tap and hold to lift them out of a photo and into other apps such as messages. Spot a cute dog in a photo? Snip it out and pop it in an iMessage so others can enjoy it too.
Wallet
Gets in-app verification: a handy option if you don’t want to share personal details with someone but need to prove to them that you are over 18, for example. Wallet also gets the ability to share digital keys via Messages, Mail, or WhatsApp
Apple Pay
Two new features come through Apple Pay, the first is Apple Pay Later, which allows the user to pay in four equal amounts over six weeks but is only available initially in the US. The other feature is Apple Pay order tracking which provides receipts and order tracking information in Wallet for purchases made using Apple Pay.
iCloud Shared Photo Library
Apple calls this “the best way to share photos with your family” and its certainly promising.
Once you have set up the shared library, everyone gets to see the same images, along with edits, captions, and keywords. But the most interesting element could be the smart automation you can use to share photos based on when they were taken, who’s in them, or who’s nearby now.
Safety Checks
This important privacy feature, designed to aid those experiencing domestic violence or similar issues, lets you monitor whom you granted access to your permissions, and revoke them easily. It can be used to reset system app privacy permissions, and to restrict Messages and Facetime to the device you’re currently using.
Miscellaneous Changes and new features
These are the highlights of iOS 16’s new features set, but there are far more small tweaks that you’ll gradually discover after installing the OS in the fall. Some will only slightly massage your day-to-day experience, while others will hold hidden significance.
A change in the way firmware information is presented, for example may allow manual AirPods updates for the first time. Another new feature is the ability to verify your device and account in the background, without any need to deal with CAPTCHAs.
Are you excited about the latest iOS update? And will you be upgrading to an iPhone 14 model? Well if you’re not interested in the iPhone 14 but want to upgrade to a device that gets the most out of iOS 16, we recommend diving into the refurbished market and getting an iPhone 11/12 for much cheaper than buying a new one. Tesco Mobile is currently selling a refurbished iPhone 12 for only £14.99 a month!
