New features available with iOS 16

Apple’s iOS 16 offers the biggest change to the look of the iPhone’s lock screen since 2014 and includes improvements to apps such as Messages, Mail and Maps.

Apple announced the biggest iPhone software update of the year this week.

The software, revealed Monday during Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, includes the biggest change to the look of the iPhone’s lock screen since 2014 and improvements to commonly used apps such as Messages, Mail and Maps.

It will be available to everyone with an iPhone released in 2017 or later. The oldest device supported is the iPhone 8. So, if you want these features and still have that phone, it may be time to upgrade this fall.

IOS 16 is available to people with an Apple developer account now. It will be released as a beta version for the public next month and will launch for everyone alongside new iPhones in September or October.

Here are some of the features you should know about:

Create multiple Lock Screens: You can now create different Lock Screens, each with a unique backdrop and style, and easily switch between them. Browse a gallery of wallpapers with suggested photos and themed collections for inspiration.

Notifications: View notifications on the Lock Screen in an expanded list view, stacked view, or hidden view. And notifications appear at the bottom of the screen, so they stay out of the way.

Live Activities: Live Activities make it easier to stay on top of things that are happening in real time, right from your Lock Screen. So you can check the score of a game or track the progress of your food delivery without unlocking your device.

Easily set up a Focus: A new streamlined setup for Focus lets you select the apps and people you want to receive notifications from by either allowing them or silencing them. Connect your Lock Screen to your Focus so the look and feel of your iPhone match how you want to use it in the moment. With a swipe, you can go from your Personal Focus to your Work Focus with widgets showing upcoming meetings and to-do lists.

Everyday messaging enhanced: You can now edit a message you just sent or unsend a recent message altogether. And you can mark a message as unread if you can’t respond in the moment and want to come back to it later.

Richer collaboration: Share notes, presentations, reminders, Safari Tab Groups, and more in Messages to start collaborating instantly. See updates on shared projects in the thread and easily get in touch with your collaborators right from the app you’re working in.

Schedule emails for the future: The built-in Mail app on iPhones is getting improvements, too, such as a more functional search feature as well as the ability to schedule sending an email for a time in the future, like tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.

Apple’s Home app gets a redesign. Apple also said this week that it’s supporting Matter, an open standard for smart home hardware such as locks, lights and blinds. It also redesigned the Home app to better show things such as multiple cameras in and around your house in an easy-to-view side-by-side mode.

Use your iPhone as a webcam. The iPhone has an excellent, photo-quality camera that can record in 4K or 8K. Wouldn’t it be better to dial into a Zoom call with that instead of the lower-quality camera on your laptop? With iOS 16 and the new version of macOS, users can now use their iPhone as a webcam in a feature called Continuity Camera with the right laptop mount.