16 hidden features.With iOS 16 now fully available for any iPhone model from 6s onwards, it ‘s time to exploit the ins and outs of Apple’s new operating system. And it is that, despite the fact that you have had it installed for a long time, you may be unaware of some functions that are not so obvious.
In this post we are going to review 15 functions that, to a greater or lesser extent, are hidden in the system. And yes, they are exclusive to iOS 16 because they are not available in previous versions (and will not be in the future). We even have two must-have tricks if you’re also an Apple Watch user.
ios 16 hidden features you must know
Add vibration to the keyboard (no, it wasn’t there before)
If you have ever used Android phones, the idea of adding vibration to the keyboard when you type will sound familiar to you. However, keyboard vibration hasn’t come to the iPhone until iOS 16 . It is also slightly different from other phones . Not that it’s a revolution, but it feels different when it comes to really haptic responses.
To activate it, just go to Settings > Sound and vibration > Keyboard feedback and activate the Vibration box . Of course, as Apple indicates on its website , this function could affect autonomy. In fact, it could be one of the causes of iOS 16.0 consuming so much battery .
Add widgets also to the lock screen
If iOS 16 is characterized by something, it is for having added many new features in the customization of the iPhone lock screen . Among them is the possibility of adding small monochrome widgets that are placed below the date and time. At the moment, only a few native apps add it, but little by little new apps are added.
To do this, you just have to go to the lock screen, keep your finger pressing it for a few seconds and then click Personalize . Once there you will find the option to Add Widgets . You will find some interesting ones such as Reminders, access to home automation accessories synchronized with Home or, one of our favorites, Battery.
The best widget app for iOS 16: customize your iPhone in ways you never imagined
Add depth to your wallpaper
Following the thread of wallpaper customization, there is an option that, despite being incompatible with having widgets , adds a very aesthetic touch to your wallpaper. It is about giving a depth effect that makes the subject of a photo slightly overlap the hour .
To do this, you have to follow similar steps as above. That is, long press the lock screen and then press the + button . Now add a photograph as a background in which this depth effect can occur by having a very visible subject and reposition it manually with your fingers until you find a position that you like. It should be said that at the bottom you must make sure that the Depth Effect option is activated.
Change the font and color of the time
We continue without leaving the lock screen to reach something that, no matter how detailed, represents a significant change with what was previously seen. It is about being able** to choose a different font** for the time shown on this screen and even change the color, thereby also changing the color of the date.
As you may have figured out by now, you have to long press the lock screen, tap Personalize and tap the date. At that moment you can choose between the options that iOS 16 gives for the letter (8 fonts) and slide at the bottom to find the color that you like the most and that has the best visual harmony with the wallpaper.
Battery percentage, finally, even with ‘notch’
With the iPhone X, goodbye was said to the possibility of having the battery percentage on the screen as the models with the ‘Home’ button already had (and continue to have). However, in this new iOS 16 it is added again by placing it inside the battery icon . Although in iOS 16.0 and iOS 16.0.2 it is exclusive to some models, in iOS 16.1 it will reach all iPhones with a notch .
To activate it, you simply have to go to Settings > Battery and activate the Battery percentage option . It should be said that the icon itself remains full until the device drops below 20%, something that will also be fixed in that aforementioned version of iOS 16.1, thus reflecting the battery drop in real time and not just by percentage.
Thirteen habits, customs and myths that harm the battery of your mobile
Read texts also in Catalan, Valencian, Galician and Esukera
The novelties in languages of iOS 16 include the possibility of choosing voices in new languages that are very common in our country. To do this, you just have to go to Settings > Accessibility > Read content and select one of the new voices in Catalan, Valencian, Galician or Basque.
Cut out the background of photos in less than three seconds
If you have an iPhone XS or later, including the XR, you have the option to quickly crop the background of a photo in iOS 16 . It also works with any photo in which there is one or more main subjects, regardless of whether it is a portrait mode photo or not . It even works with photos downloaded from the Internet.
You just have to open the image from the Photos app, keep your finger pressing the subject of the photo and in a matter of a few seconds you will notice that that area lights up. That will be the moment when you can drag that background to a document, editing app, note or even send it via Telegram as if it were a sticker (although it really is a PNG).
Full-size music and podcast covers
Another new feature you may have noticed on the lock screen is that when you’re playing audio content, the player appears at the bottom. However, you can have a full view of the cover that takes up more space as seen in the previous photo. You just have to click on the cover that appears in small to the left of the player.
Now you can delete these apps if you don’t use them
When we release iPhone, some apps come by default that are not always necessary depending on our use. Most of them could be deleted now, although there were some that could not. Although some such as Settings or App Store are still unable to be deleted for obvious reasons, it is already possible to delete Search, Clock and Health .
Now, you must take into account its usefulness. In the same way, Search will be essential to locate lost devices. Health is also interesting if you have an Apple Watch. However, you can download them again from the App Store if you eventually need them later or delete them by mistake.
“Remove” the search engine from the bottom
You may have noticed that the search engine, which Apple calls Spotlight, is now at the bottom and that it appears above the dock with the “Search” icon and sign. If you don’t like it coming out like this, you can delete this legend without giving up the search engine , since it will continue to be available in that same place.
As they say in Applesfera , the way to remove this sign is very simple. You just have to go to Settings > Home screen and disable the option Show on the home screen in reference to the Search button .
Delete duplicate contacts
With this new version of the operating system it is possible to delete duplicate contacts from the iPhone’s address book . How? Well, as easy as going to the end of the contact list and see if a duplicate contact indicator appears. If so, you should click on it and the option to merge them will appear.
You can also remove duplicate photos
Until now, you had to resort to third-party apps to delete duplicate photos from your mobile . Thanks to iOS 16 we can find the possibility of doing it from the Photos app itself . You just have to go to the Albums tab and at the bottom look at the Duplicates option , enter and proceed to merge or delete them manually or select all of them and do it at once.
You can now see the password of the WiFi to which you connected
It seems incredible, but until this iOS 16 we did not have a native option to know the WiFi password. Between two Apple computers it is easy to share the password because it can be done automatically for a few years. However, knowing the WiFi password is very useful to share it with other people who use Android or Windows .
And, as you may have imagined, to do this you must go to Settings > Wi-Fi and click on the i icon that appears next to the network . Once here, you just have to click on Password and you will be asked to recognize yourself by Face ID / Touch ID before showing it. You can also copy it to send it easily through a messaging app.
Do not store captures if you are only going to use them once
Typical, you take a screenshot, share it and forget to delete it. If you go to the Photos app and enter the screenshot album, you will see that there are a lot of them that you no longer need and that you forgot to delete. With iOS 16 you can just copy the image and delete it instantly .
To do this, you only have to make the capture as usual and when you click Ok , select the Copy and delete option . After that you can go to WhatsApp, Mail, Notes or any other app and keep your finger pressed so that the Paste option appears . So you can share the screenshot without having to store it on your reel.
If the voice dictation does not understand you, now it has a solution
Writing dictated texts by voice is useful when we don’t have time to write or our hands are full. This is not new in iOS 16 because it has been around for a long time, but the possibility of going back and correcting or adding words if the iPhone understood us is new.
To do this, you just have to press the microphone icon and dictate the text. Without pressing that icon again, we can at any time move to any part of the text, edit what we deem convenient and return to the end to continue dictating . This is an interesting novelty that adds to a better understanding of expressions by adding commas, question marks and even emojis.
Extract text, now also from videos
With iOS 15 , the Live Text function was added that allows you to select, translate and copy the text of an image . In this iOS 16 this can also be done in a video . Of course, it is once again an exclusive function of the iPhone launched in 2018 and later years.
Edit and delete messages in iMessage
We already know that iMessage is not exactly the leading messaging app in Europe, largely due to the fact that it is not on Android. However, if you are used to using it, even to a lesser extent, you can find the new options to edit and delete already sent messages . Although, yes, in the first case a history of edits will appear (you can up to 5 in 15 minutes) and in the second you will only have 15 minutes to undo the sending.
In this case, all you have to do is press and hold the bubble of the message you sent and select the option you want: Undo sending or Edit . As we said, the other person will be able to see that you edited it, although not that you deleted a message (unless it is in a version prior to iOS 16).
Schedule, postpone and even delete sent emails in Mail
Just like iMessage, Apple’s native mail app called Mail gets similar changes. In this case, when an email arrives, we can postpone it by holding down the unopened email and choosing when we want to receive it.
The possibility of scheduling the delivery in the delivery options is also added, forgive the redundancy. And last but not least, it is possible to undo a send up to 30 seconds after we hit the send button.
Gain security if malware enters your iPhone
Pegasus spyware was recently discovered, which mainly works on iPhones. And while it is true that it was designed for personalities in high places, you can configure a new security mode in iOS 16 that will protect all your data in case you suspect being infected by such malware.
Dubbed Lockdown mode or Isolation Mode, it prevents sending and receiving messages, FaceTime video calls, connecting to a computer, and browsing the web. It can be activated from Settings > Privacy > Isolation mode , but it is only recommended if you suspect that you have spyware installed on the device.
Transferring data from an eSIM is much faster
As seen from the betas, there is a new way to transfer data from one eSIM to another with iOS 16 . If you go to Settings > Mobile data and click on Add eSIM you will see that, apart from the traditional QR, it is also possible to transfer data from a nearby iPhone , making the process much faster.
Unlock your iPhone horizontally (only if it is recent)
iPhones with Face ID tend to have a problem unlocking in a position that is slightly tilted to vertical. However, with iOS 16 it is possible to unlock some iPhone models horizontally . Specifically, they are the iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max. In these you can have a completely horizontal angle and the sensor will recognize you just as quickly as vertically.
Select your departure and arrival time with Apple Maps
Although for many Google Maps it can continue to be above the native Apple app, it increasingly integrates more functions that resemble it. One of them is to be able to calculate a route based on the time of departure or arrival . In addition, doing it is extremely simple .
You just have to set a route, choose the means of transport and open the ‘Now’ dropdown . In this you can confirm the date and time of departure or arrival to arrive on time based on the estimated traffic that there will be at that time.
bye captchas
Being able to say goodbye to captcha is a reality with iOS 16. We are referring to those human verification methods of some websites that require you to select a series of images with specific objects and the like. Although some websites have yet to adapt it , you can already go ahead by going to Settings > your name > Password and security and check the Automatic verification option to avoid as much as possible that they appear and that it works with the iPhone itself to verify that you are human automatically.
If you have an Apple Watch, you can change its face automatically
Just as the focus modes in iOS 16 add improvements for the iPhone, they also incorporate some that, although they were already for iOS 15, are new for the Apple Watch. It is about being able to choose a sphere for each concentration mode and that, just by changing that mode, it changes itself.
To do this you must go to Settings > Concentration modes and enter those modes that you want to customize. In the Personalize the screens section, you must click on the Apple Watch screen and choose the sphere you want it to be on when you add this mode to the iPhone and/or watch.
You can also manage the clock from the iPhone
Finally, there is a novelty that is really hidden among the settings and that will allow you to share the Apple Watch screen and even manage it from the iPhone in an extremely simple way. You just have to go to Settings > Accessibility > Apple Watch Mirroring and activate the option. At that time the clock will appear on the screen. To stop this duplication, just press the X that appears at the top right.
