iOS 16: The 15 Coolest Options You In all probability Did not Know Existed

Apple launched iOS 16 final 12 months, and whereas we’re getting nearer to Apple asserting their subsequent cellular working system, there’s nonetheless a lot to discover on the latest iPhone software program replace — presently iOS 16.4.1 (a).

You most likely learn about unsending textual content messages and emails and slicing objects out of your images, however behind all the favored options, there may be an ocean of smaller and lesser-known options you could have by no means heard of.

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I will stroll you thru the whole lot it’s good to learn about the very best lesser-known gems in iOS 16, like password-protected picture albums, simply accessible Wi-Fi passwords and extra.

Do not miss: iPhone 14 Overview: A Good Improve for Most Folks

And whilst you’re right here, be sure to additionally brush up on the foremost new iOS 16 options you will love, and a few you may simply hate (fortunately, there is a repair). Should you’re inquisitive about what’s subsequent for Apple, try what to anticipate from iOS 16.5.

View and share saved Wi-Fi passwords 

Apple has allowed iOS customers to share Wi-Fi passwords for some time now, however solely by inserting two Apple gadgets close to one another. And if that function did not routinely work, you could not simply dig out the password out of your settings. Plus in case you wished to share a saved Wi-Fi password with another person, like an Android consumer or somebody on a pc, you needed to bear in mind the password. Till now.

In Settings, go to Wi-Fi and faucet the tiny info icon to the suitable of the community you need the password for. To view the community password, faucet the Password part after which use Face ID or enter your passcode to view it. You may then faucet Copy to repeat the password into your clipboard and share it.

Wi-Fi network settings on iOS 16

You may view the password for any Wi-Fi community you have ever related to, so long as you are presently related to it or close to sufficient that it seems underneath My Networks.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

The credit score card-sized Anker 622 not solely attaches to your MagSafe-compatible iPhone to provide it a cost but additionally has a built-in kickstand so to comfortably view and use your system whereas it will get juice.

Discover and take away duplicate images and movies

Possibly you have saved the identical picture a number of instances or downloaded a video greater than as soon as, leading to duplicates littering up your picture album. It is probably not an issue in case you’ve acquired storage to spare, however you are working out of area, now you can take away each single duplicate simply with iOS 16.

In Pictures > Albums, it’s best to see a brand new Duplicates album underneath Utilities. Apple scans by your whole images and exhibits you any picture or video you have saved greater than as soon as in that album. From there, you possibly can both delete any duplicates, or just press Merge, which can hold the picture with the best high quality (and related information) after which transfer the others to the trash.

Duplicates folder in Photos

Merging will hold the best high quality picture and delete the remainder.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Though you will most likely wish to undergo every set of duplicates, to make sure that they’re truly actual copies and never comparable images, it’s also possible to hit Choose > Choose All > Merge to take away each single picture and video that Apple thinks is a replica, suddenly.

Hold up a cellphone or FaceTime name with Siri

Siri does a whole lot of issues. You should utilize the digital assistant to ship a textual content message, get instructions or play music — however one factor she’s by no means been in a position to do is cling up a cellphone name. Bizarre proper? Now that is lastly a risk with iOS 16.

In Settings, go to Siri & Search and first make sure that Pay attention for “Hey Siri” is toggled on. Whether it is, it’s best to see a brand new choice beneath — Name Hold Up. Go into that choice and toggle on Name Hold Up. Once you’re on a cellphone name or FaceTime video chat, merely say, “Hey, Siri,” and ask her to hold up your present name.

Hang up call with siri

For this to work, Pay attention for “Hey Siri” have to be toggled on first.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Pair Nintendo Change Pleasure-Cons together with your iPhone

Apple has lengthy allowed you to pair third-party controllers, just like the PS5 Sony DualSense and Xbox Core Controller, to your iPhone and iPad, so as to extra comfortably play cellular video video games just like the Apple Arcade library, Minecraft and Name of Obligation. Now you possibly can add one other console controller to that checklist.

Should you personal a Nintendo Change, now you can pair your Pleasure-Con controllers to your iPhone or iPad working iOS 16. To begin, maintain down the little black pairing button on the Pleasure-Con, till the inexperienced lights begin working backwards and forwards. This implies the system is in pairing mode. Subsequent, open your iPhone and go to Settings > Bluetooth and choose the Pleasure-Con from the checklist. Repeat this step with the opposite Pleasure-Con.

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Watch this: iOS 16: Highly effective Options You Could Have Missed

Hidden and Just lately Deleted albums at the moment are password protected

The Hidden album within the Pictures app is clearly not hidden, seeing as anybody can simply discover it. That makes it impractical for adequately hiding non-public images and movies. Whereas Apple does have an choice to make the Hidden album “invisible,” anybody with entry to your cellphone may make it seen once more and examine the whole lot inside.

Because of iOS 16, now you can lock the Hidden album. You do not truly have to do something to toggle this function on. If you wish to test it out, launch the Pictures app and go to the Albums tab on the backside of the display. Should you scroll down, you will see a tiny lock subsequent to the Hidden and Just lately Deleted albums. To view the contents of these albums, you will want to make use of Face ID or your passcode.

The Hidden album in Photos

The Hidden and Just lately Deleted albums now require Face ID to be accessed.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Copy and paste picture and video edits

Should you use the editor instrument within the Pictures app, you will be pleased to study you could now copy and paste edits, together with saturation, distinction and brightness, between images. Should you edit one picture or video and are proud of the look, you possibly can paste those self same actual edits to every other picture or video in your digital camera roll.

To do that, launch the Pictures app and open a photograph that is been edited in full-screen. Subsequent, faucet on the three-dot menu within the top-right nook after which hit Copy Edits. This selection will solely seem if the picture has been edited inside Pictures, not any third-party picture editor. Lastly, go to the picture you wish to copy these edits over to, faucet on the three-dot menu after which hit Paste Edits. After a second or so, it’s best to see the picture edits seem.

Copy and paste photo edits on iOS 16

This function works between images and movies.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Use Siri to ship an emoji

Siri has lengthy been in a position to ship lengthy, sophisticated textual content messages and emails by dictation, however with iOS 16, for the primary time, you are now ready to make use of your voice to ship emojis. So long as you recognize the title of the emoji, merely say “face with tears of pleasure emoji” or “pink coronary heart emoji” to insert an emoji into your textual content with Siri.

Should you use the keyboard dictation function in your iPhone’s keyboard, accessible on the backside proper of your keyboard (microphone icon), it’s also possible to say the emoji title to insert an emoji wherever you possibly can kind textual content, like in a be aware or a caption on Instagram.

Two screenshots showing how to use your voice to send emojis on iOS 16

You may ship emojis with Siri (left) or kind them in utilizing the dictation function in your keyboard (proper).

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Deliver haptic suggestions to your keyboard

The iPhone has lengthy had haptic suggestions. It is what you are feeling beneath your fingertips everytime you try and delete an app from your own home display or enter the wrong password in your lock display. Surprisingly sufficient, haptic suggestions has by no means been accessible for the inventory iOS keyboard — till now.

If you wish to allow a slight vibration for each single key you kind in, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Suggestions and toggle on Haptic. The sound choice you see is the loud and annoying clacking sound you may hear while you kind in one thing and your cellphone is not on silent mode, so you possibly can hold that disabled.

Haptic feedback setting for keyboard on iOS 16

Each single time you kind, you will really feel a slight vibration for every key you hit.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Pin your favourite tabs in Safari

Safari caps your open tabs at 500, and in case you’re nearing that restrict, it may be fairly darn laborious to search out the precise tab you are in search of. You might scroll endlessly, however there’s now a better solution to discover the precise tab you are in search of.

In Safari, in case you press down on an open tab, you now have the choice to hit Pin Tab. This can transfer that tab to the highest of Safari, the place it’s going to exist as a tiny tab preview, completely pinned there, which you’ll be able to then faucet to view. Should you press down and unpin a tab, it’s going to transfer to first in your grid of open tabs.

Pinning a tab in Safari

All of your pinned tabs seem on the prime of Safari.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Delay your emails longer

It is simple to by chance ship an e-mail, particularly while you’re multitasking or responding to a number of threads directly. However there’s excellent news: Apple added a function in iOS 16 that provides you 10 seconds to unsend an e-mail. Nonetheless, for some, that is probably not sufficient time, which is why you possibly can lengthen the delay.

In Settings, go into Mail and scroll down till you discover Undo Ship Delay. By default, the 10 Seconds choice will probably be chosen, however you possibly can select 20 Seconds and 30 Seconds as effectively.

Settings for Undo Send Delay in iOS 16

You even have the choice to show off the function, in case you do not need your emails delayed in any respect.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Use Face ID whilst you’re mendacity down

Should you’ve ever tried to unlock your iPhone whereas it is vertical, like while you’re mendacity in your facet, you might need seen that it does not work. It’s a must to place your iPhone in portrait orientation, or upright, for Face ID to work. With iOS 16, you possibly can lastly use Face ID to unlock your iPhone when it is in panorama orientation. Nonetheless, for this to work, you could have an iPhone 13 or 14 working iOS 16.

Enable notifications while you share your display

As a privateness safety measure, Apple routinely disables notifications while you share your display, whether or not it is through SharePlay or Display screen Mirroring. Nonetheless, if others seeing your notifications is not a difficulty, now you can enable notifications on iOS 16. Within the Settings utility, go to Notifications > Display screen Sharing and toggle on Enable Notifications.

Screen sharing notifications setting on iOS 16

Permitting notifications when display sharing is turned off by default.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Copy your screenshots to your clipboard with out saving them

You needn’t save a screenshot to your picture album to share it with another person. A brand new iOS 16 function lets you take a screenshot, copy it to your clipboard, delete it out of your cellphone and paste it the place you see match. After you’re taking a screenshot, faucet the screenshot preview that seems, hit Performed on the top-right after which faucet Copy and Delete to repeat the screenshot to your clipboard.

Copy and Delete feature for screenshots on iOS 16

Should you take a whole lot of screenshots, this function can assist you save storage.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Take away extra preinstalled Apple apps 

Since iOS 10, you have been in a position to take away some preinstalled iOS purposes like Shares, Maps and Calculator — however not all of them. With the discharge of iOS 16, you possibly can add three extra apps to this checklist of ones you possibly can take away: Discover My, Clock and Well being. Nonetheless, deleting these apps can negatively have an effect on and break help with different apps and related gadgets, like your Apple Watch.

Make Siri take heed to you longer

Should you ever end up getting minimize off by Siri, there’s now a solution to pressure the voice assistant to take heed to you longer in order that she will catch the whole lot you say. The function is not in an apparent place although — within the Settings app, go to Accessibility > Siri, then select both Longer or Longest. Mess around with the 2 choices to see which works finest for you.

The Siri setting in Accessibility

This can assist Siri from interrupting you while you converse.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

For extra on iOS 16 and the iPhone, try our iOS 16 cheat sheet.