New features available with iOS 16.
iOS 16 enhances iPhone with all‑new personalization features, deeper intelligence, and seamless ways to communicate and share.
Key Features and Enhancements
Lock Screen
Lock Screen gallery
For inspiration on how to make the Lock Screen your own, browse a gallery of many options, each with a unique backdrop, stylized view of the date and time, and information you can see at a glance.
Lock Screen switching
You can switch your Lock Screen throughout the day. Touch and hold it, and then swipe.
Lock Screen editing
It’s easy to customize the font, color, or placement of elements on your Lock Screen by tapping the element.
Stylized date and time
Expressive font styles and color choices allow you to customize the look of the date and time on your Lock Screen.
Multilayered photo effect
Photo subjects are dynamically displayed in front of the time to make the subject of the photo pop.1
Suggested photos
iOS intelligently suggests photos from your library that look great on the Lock Screen.
Photo shuffle
See a set of photos shuffle automatically on your Lock Screen. Set the cadence for how often your Lock Screen updates with a new photo, or let iOS surprise and delight you throughout the day.
Photo styles
Apply styles to photos on the Lock Screen that automatically change the color filter, tinting, and font style to complement each other.
Widgets on the Lock Screen
Choose to display a set of widgets as part of your Lock Screen to glance at information like the weather, time, date, battery levels, upcoming calendar events, alarms, time zones, and Activity ring progress.
WidgetKit API
Glance at widgets from your favorite third-party apps. View widgets in a textual, circular, or rectangular format near the time to get information like weather conditions or progress on your goals.
Live Activities
Live Activities help you stay on top of things that are happening in real time, right from your Lock Screen.
Live Activities API
Follow an ongoing sports game or track the progress of your ride or order with just a glance. Glance at Live Activities from your favorite third-party apps with the new developer API.
Lock Screens made for Focus
iOS suggests a relevant set of Lock Screens for provided Focus options, such as a data-rich Lock Screen while you’re using the Work Focus or a photo Lock Screen while you’re using the Personal Focus.
Apple collections
Choose from a set of dynamic, classic, and landscape Lock Screens created especially for iOS 16. Apple collections include Lock Screens to celebrate special cultural moments, like Pride and Unity.
Astronomy
See the earth, moon, or solar system with a set of dynamic astronomy-themed Lock Screens that update with live conditions.
Weather
Glance at live conditions on your Lock Screen as the weather changes throughout the day.
Emoji
Create patterned Lock Screens based on your favorite emoji.
Colors
Choose a color gradient for your Lock Screen using your favorite color combinations.
New design for Now Playing
With Live Activities, you can expand Now Playing controls to a full-screen view that celebrates album art while you listen along.
New notification design
The use of bold text and images makes notifications visually pop.
Notification animations
Notifications, including your notification summary, now roll in from the bottom of your Lock Screen, making them easy to see at a glance as they come in.
Notification view on Lock Screen
Choose to view notifications on the Lock Screen in an expanded list view, stacked view, or count view. You can pinch to change the layout in context.
Focus
Lock Screen linking
Transform how your iPhone looks and functions at the same time by connecting your Lock Screen to your Focus. To activate a Focus, you can swipe to the corresponding Lock Screen.
Lock Screen suggestions
iOS suggests a relevant set of Lock Screens for provided Focus options, such as a data-rich Lock Screen while you’re using the Work Focus or a photo Lock Screen while you’re using the Personal Focus.
Home Screen page suggestions
iOS suggests Home Screen pages with apps and widgets that are most relevant to the Focus you’re setting up.
Focus filters
Set boundaries within Apple apps like Calendar, Mail, Messages, and Safari to draw boundaries for each Focus you enable. For example, choose a set of Tab Groups to show up in Safari while in the Work Focus, or hide your work calendar when you’re using the Personal Focus.
Focus filter API
With the new Focus filter API, developers can use the signal that you’re using to enable Focus to hide distracting content.
Focus schedules
Have a Focus turn on automatically at a set time or location or while using a certain app.
Easier setup
Get started with Focus with a personalized setup experience for each option.
Allow and silence list
When you’re setting up a Focus, select apps and people you want to receive notifications from by either allowing them or silencing them.
iCloud Shared Photo Library
Share a photo library with your family
Share a separate iCloud photo library with up to five other people.
Smart setup rules
Share all your past photos, or use setup tools to contribute specific photos based on start date or people.
Smart sharing suggestions
Contribute photos manually, or use smart features to make sharing seamless, like a switch in Camera, automatic sharing using Bluetooth proximity, and sharing suggestions in For You.
Collaborate on the collection
Everyone has equal permissions to add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete.
Relive more complete memories
Enjoy shared photos in Memories, Featured Photos, and the Photos widget.
Messages
Edit a message
You can edit a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it. Recipients will be able to see a record of edits made to the message.2
Undo send
Unsend any message for up to 2 minutes after sending it.
Mark as unread
Mark messages as unread when you don’t have time to respond but want to be sure to reply to the sender later.
Recover recently deleted messages
You can recover recently deleted messages for up to 30 days after deleting them.3
SharePlay via Messages
Share synchronized activities like movies, music, workouts, games, and more with friends while chatting in Messages.
Shared with You API
Developers can build a Shared with You section into their app, so when someone sends you a video or article that you don’t have time to check out at the moment, it will be easy to find the next time you open the app.
Collaboration invitations
Send an invitation to collaborate on a project in Messages, and everyone on the thread will automatically be added to the document, spreadsheet, or project. Compatible with Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, and Safari, as well as third‑party apps.
Collaboration updates
When someone makes an edit, you’ll see activity updates at the top of the Messages thread. Tap the updates to get back to the shared project.
Messages Collaboration API
Developers can integrate their app’s collaboration experiences with Messages and FaceTime, making it easy to initiate and manage collaboration from the places where you’re communicating with your collaborators.
SMS Tapbacks on Android
React to SMS messages with a Tapback, and a corresponding emoji reaction will appear on recipients’ Android devices.
Dual SIM message filtering
Filter conversations in Messages by individual SIM.
Audio message playback
Fast-forward or rewind audio messages as you listen.
Smart search corrections
Intelligent search improves your results by correcting typos and using synonyms for your search terms.4
Smart search suggestions
See a richer view of shared content and more from the moment you begin to search for email messages.
Missing recipients and attachments
Get notified if you forget to include an important part of your message, like an attachment or a recipient.4
Undo send
Easily unsend an email message that you just sent before it reaches the recipient’s inbox.5
Scheduled send
Schedule email to be sent at the perfect moment.
Follow‑up
Move sent email messages to the top of your inbox so you can quickly send a follow‑up.4
Remind me
Never forget about an email that you opened but didn’t get back to. Select a date and time to have messages resurface in your inbox.
Rich link
Add rich links that give your email messages more context and details at a glance.
BIMI support
Easily identify authenticated email messages with BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) verified brand iconography.
Safari
Shared Tab Groups
Share a set of tabs with friends. Everyone can add their own tabs and see the Tab Group update instantly as you work together.
Tab Group start pages
Tab Groups have dedicated start pages that you can customize with a background image and favorites.
Pinned tabs in Tab Groups
Customize your Tab Groups with pinned tabs for each group.
New web extension APIs
Enables developers to create more kinds of Safari web extensions.
Web push notifications
Adds support for opt‑in notifications on iOS. Coming in 2023.
Extensions syncing
See available extensions from your other devices listed in Safari preferences. Once installed, an extension will sync so you only have to turn it on once.
Website settings sync
Settings you’ve set for specific websites, like page zoom and automatic Reader view, will sync across devices.
New languages
Adds support for Arabic, Dutch, Indonesian, Korean, Polish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese in Safari web page translation.
Web page image translation
Added support for translating text in images using Live Text.
Additional web technologies support
Gives developers more power and control over styling and layout of web pages to enable more engaging content.
Strong password editing
Edit strong passwords suggested by Safari to adjust for site‑specific requirements.
Wi‑Fi passwords in Settings
Find and manage your Wi‑Fi passwords in Settings. Reference and share passwords or delete old ones.
Passkeys
Passkeys
Passkeys replace passwords with an easier and safer sign‑in method.
Safe from phishing
Passkeys never leave your device and are specific to the site you created them for, making it almost impossible for them to be phished.
Safe from website leaks
Your private key is never kept on a web server, so you don’t have to worry about website leaks compromising your accounts.
Sign in on other devices
Sign in to websites or apps on other devices, including non‑Apple devices, with your saved passkey by scanning the QR code with your iPhone or iPad and using Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate.
Sync across devices
Passkeys are end‑to‑end encrypted and sync across your Apple devices through iCloud Keychain.
Wallet
Key sharing
Securely share your keys in Apple Wallet with the people you trust via your favorite messaging apps, such as Messages, Mail, or WhatsApp.6
Multi-stay hotel keys
You no longer need to add a new hotel key in Wallet for each new reservation: A single key allows you to check in and unlock your room for all your upcoming stays at hotels within the same brand.
Add keys from websites
You can now securely add keys to your iPhone and Apple Watch directly from your provider’s website without having to download an app.
Previous keys
Easily add your previous keys on your new iPhone or Apple Watch directly from Wallet
Quick access menu
The quick access menu (available for specific passes and cards) lets users access many back-of-pass features with a single tap.
Family Sharing
Improved child account setup
Set up an account for a child with the right parental controls, right from the start, including easy‑to‑use, age-appropriate suggestions for media restrictions.
Device setup for kids
Use Quick Start to easily set up a new iOS or iPadOS device for your child with all the appropriate parental controls already in place.
Screen Time requests in Messages
Screen Time requests from your kids now appear in Messages, so it’s easy to approve or decline a request.
Family Checklist
Family Checklist gives you helpful tips and suggestions like updating a child’s settings as they get older, turning on location sharing, or just reminding you that you can share your iCloud+ subscription with everyone.
Privacy
Safety Check
This new section in Settings helps people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations quickly reset the access they’ve granted to others. It also helps you manage which people and apps you’ve given access to.
Pasteboard permission
Apps need your permission before accessing the pasteboard to paste content from another app.
Media streaming improvements
Stream video directly from devices that support non‑AirPlay streaming protocols without having to provide Bluetooth or local network access permission.
Lock Hidden and Recently Deleted albums in Photos
The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are locked by default and can be unlocked using your iPhone authentication method: Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
Security
Rapid Security Response
Get important security improvements to your devices even faster. These improvements can be applied automatically between standard software updates.
Landscape Face ID
Face ID works in landscape on supported iPhone models.
Lockdown Mode
This new security mode provides extreme protection for the very small number of users who face grave, targeted threats to their digital security. It further hardens your device’s defenses and strictly limits certain functions, sharply reducing the attack surface that could potentially be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware.
Accessibility
Apple Watch mirroring
Fully control Apple Watch from iPhone and use Switch Control, Voice Control, or any other assistive features on iPhone to get the most out of your Apple Watch.
Detection Mode in Magnifier
Get rich descriptions of your surroundings with a new Magnifier mode that contains Door Detection, People Detection, and Image Descriptions.7
Door Detection in Magnifier
Locate a door, read signs or labels around it, and get instructions for how to open the door.7
Buddy controller
Combine inputs from multiple game controllers into one so your care provider or friend can support you in getting to the next level in your game.
Voice Control call hang up
You can now hang up Phone and FaceTime calls with Voice Control. Just use the voice command “hang up” when Voice Control is turned on (participants on the call will hear you).
New accessibility options in Books
New themes and customization options such as bolding text, adjusting line, character, and word spacing, and more.
New languages and voices for VoiceOver and Spoken Content
VoiceOver and Spoken Content are now available in over 20 additional languages and locales, including Bangla (India), Bulgarian, Catalan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. You can also select from dozens of new voices optimized for assistive features.
Activities in Magnifier
Save your preferred Magnifier controls, including camera, brightness, contrast, filters, and more, for recurring tasks and situations.
Add audiograms to Health
Import your audiograms into the Health app on your iPhone.
Additional customization options for Sound Recognition
Train iPhone to listen to sounds that are specific to your environment, such as the beeping sound of an electrical appliance in your kitchen, the precise ring of the doorbell in your home, and more.
Even More
App Clips
Increased size limit
Find and download more immersive App Clips with a 50 percent larger size limit.
Support for Live Activities
Use Live Activities with your App Clips.
Precise location suggestions in Spotlight and Siri Suggestions widget
See nearby suggested App Clips with increased location precision in Spotlight and the Siri Suggestions widget.
Books
Customizable reading experience
The new reader introduces options that allow you to customize the reading experience for your needs. Choose reading themes for different environments and moods or change font, spacing, text size, and other settings.
Camera
Foreground blur in portrait photos
Portrait mode lets you blur objects in the foreground of a photo for a more realistic‑looking depth‑of‑field effect.8
Improved quality when recording in Cinematic mode
When recording videos in Cinematic mode on iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, the depth‑of‑field effect is more accurate for profile angles and around the edges of hair and glasses.8
Contacts
Message and call status
See any unread messages or missed FaceTime and phone calls from friends and family, right on your Home Screen.
Dictionary
New dictionaries
Five new bilingual dictionaries are available: Bangla–English, Czech–English, Finnish–English, Hungarian–English, and Turkish–English.
FaceTime
Handoff in FaceTime
Move FaceTime calls seamlessly from your iPhone to your Mac or iPad, and vice versa. When you hand off a call, your connected Bluetooth headset transitions to the new device simultaneously.
SharePlay app discovery
See which of your installed apps support SharePlay and open them from the FaceTime controls, or browse new experiences you can share with friends from the App Store.
Collaboration
Tap the Share button during an active FaceTime call to start collaborating with others on the call in Files, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, Notes, Reminders, Safari, and supported third‑party apps.
Freeform
Flexible canvas
Freeform’s canvas is perfect for diagramming new projects, aggregating important assets, or just brainstorming on a board limited only by your imagination.
Fully collaborative
With real‑time collaboration, you can view others’ contributions as they add content and make edits, just as if you were together, standing in front of a real whiteboard.
Rich communication
Freeform leverages the Messages Collaboration API so you can see updates from your collaborators right in your conversation in Messages. And you can jump on a FaceTime call with them with just a tap in Freeform.
Draw anywhere
Freeform is designed to provide a great whiteboard experience, even on the go. Write or draw anywhere on the canvas, then select and move your text or drawings around as needed.
Rich multimedia support
Embed images, video, audio, PDFs, documents, and web links. You can add virtually any kind of file to the canvas and preview it inline, without leaving your board.
Game Center
Activity
See your friends’ play activity and achievements all in one place on the redesigned Game Center dashboard and profile.
SharePlay support
Games that use Game Center multiplayer support have SharePlay integration. You can start playing automatically with friends on a FaceTime call.
Contacts integration
Contacts shows your friends’ Game Center profiles. Tap through to see what they are playing and accomplishing in games.
iCloud+
Hide My Email in apps
Hide My Email is integrated directly into QuickType keyboard suggestions, so you can keep your personal email address private in third‑party apps.
Custom Email Domain
Share your custom domain with people outside your Family Sharing group, purchase a new domain, or enable catch‑all aliases right from iCloud Mail settings.
Inclusive Language
Choose your term of address
Choose your term of address for Canadian French, European French, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese to make your device feel more personal. In Language & Region settings you can choose how you would like to be addressed throughout the system: feminine, masculine, or neuter.
Keyboard
New Shuangpin layout
An additional layout called Changyong is now available for Shuangpin users.
QuickPath for Traditional Chinese
QuickPath is now supported for typing Traditional Chinese using Pinyin.
Cantonese input
Users can now input Cantonese words and phrases using Jyutping and other phonetic methods.
Sichuanese dialect support
Type words and phrases in Sichuanese more easily when using the Simplified Chinese Pinyin keyboard.
New languages for autocorrect
Autocorrect supports three new languages: English (New Zealand), English (South Africa), and Kazakh.
New languages for emoji search
Search for emoji in 19 new languages including Albanian, Armenian, Azeri, Bangla, Burmese, Estonian, Filipino, Georgian, Icelandic, Khmer, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Marathi, Mongolian, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, and Uzbek (Latin).
New languages for keyboard layouts
New languages supported are Apache, Dzongkha, Samoan, and Yiddish, and the English Dvorak keyboard is now available.
Keyboard haptics
Turn on keyboard haptics to feel confirmation when you type.
Memoji
More sticker poses
Memoji stickers include six new expressive poses.
Contact stickers
All Memoji stickers can be used as contact pictures, and there are three new contact sticker poses to choose from.
More hairstyles
Choose from 17 new and updated hairstyles, including new curly styles, updates to tight curl styles, box braids, and boxer braids.
More headwear
Style your Memoji with a bonnet.
More noses
Choose from more nose options when you customize your Memoji.
More neutral lip colors
Customize your Memoji with more options for a neutral lip color.
Music
Keep track with favorites
Keep track of the artists you care about most with new music notifications and improved recommendations.
Music Recognition
History sync
Songs identified with Music Recognition in Control Center now sync with the Shazam app.
Notes
Quick Note on iPhone
Create Quick Notes in any app on your iPhone from the share menu.
Enhanced Smart Folders
Automatically organize notes in a Smart Folder based on powerful new filters. Create rules for Date Created, Date Modified, Shared, Mentions, Checklists, Attachments, Folder, Quick Notes, Pinned Notes, and Locked notes.
Lock with passcode
Encrypt locked notes end‑to‑end with your iPhone passcode.
Notes grouped by date
Notes are grouped by chronological categories like Today and Yesterday for easy reference in your list and gallery views.
Collaborate with a link
Share notes that allow anyone with the link to join.
Filter by any or all
Choose whether to filter for any or all of the criteria in a Smart Folder or the Tag Browser.
Photos
Duplicate detection
Photos identifies duplicate photos in Albums > Utilities so you can quickly clean up your library.
Lock Hidden and Recently Deleted albums
The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are locked by default and can be unlocked using your iPhone authentication method: Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode.
Copy and paste edits
Copy the edits you’ve made to a photo and paste them onto another photo — or a batch of photos.
Sort people alphabetically
Sort your People album alphabetically.
Undo and redo edits
Undo and redo multiple edit steps in your photos.
Tap to restart a video in Memories
When a video is playing in a memory, tap to restart the video and play it from the beginning while the music continues to play.
New memory types
New memory types for This Day in History and children playing.
Turn off featured content
Disable Memories and Featured Photos from appearing in Photos and in the Photos widget.
Reminders
Pinned lists
Pin your favorite lists to get to them quickly.
Templates
Save a list as a template to reuse it for routines, packing lists, and more. Create a link to publish and share a template with others, or download templates that others have shared.
Completed Smart List
View all your completed reminders in one place, along with details like time of completion.
Improved Scheduled and Today Lists
Time- and date-based grouping makes it easier to view and add reminders. The Today List is grouped by Morning, Afternoon, and Tonight to help divide your day. The Scheduled List has new week and month groups to help with longer‑term organization.
Improved list groups
Tap a group to see a combined view of the lists and reminders it contains.
Notifications in shared lists
Get notifications when tasks are added to or completed in your shared lists.
Richer notes
Create bullets and underline, bold, or strike through text when adding notes to your reminders.
Filter by any or all
Choose whether to filter for any or all of the criteria in a Custom Smart List or the Tag Browser.
Settings
AirPods Settings
Access and customize AirPods features and settings in one place. When AirPods are connected, an AirPods menu will appear at the top of Settings.
Known Networks editing
The Known Networks list in Wi‑Fi settings lets you delete known networks and quickly view network information.
Spotlight
Search on Home Screen
Spotlight can be accessed directly from the bottom of the Home Screen, making it easy to open apps, find contacts, or get information from the web.
Improved Siri Suggestions
Recents searches allow you to quickly revisit a result. Siri Suggestions now consider your context, so you can do things faster like navigating to your next meeting or checking the status of your upcoming flight.
Image search in more apps
Spotlight uses information from images in Messages, Notes, and Files to enable searching by locations, people, scenes, or even things in the images, like text or a car.9
Quick actions
Use Spotlight to quickly take action. Start a timer, turn on a Focus, find the name of a song with Shazam, run any shortcut, and more. Search for an app’s name to see shortcuts available for the app, or create your own using the Shortcuts app.
Start Live Activities
Start Live Activities like tracking a sports game from a Spotlight result.10
Stocks
Earnings dates
See the date for a company’s upcoming earnings report and add it to your calendar.
Multiple watchlists
Create multiple custom watchlists to organize the tickers you follow. Group symbols using any criteria you choose, such as sector, asset type, ownership status, and more.
New widget options
Use a new two-column layout in the medium‑size and large Stocks widgets to see even more symbols.
System
New languages
New system languages include Bulgarian and Kazakh.
Tips
Collections
You can now access collections by theme and interest.
Translate
Translate camera
Translate text around you using the camera in the Translate app. Pause the view to get translations overlaid on text in a photo and zoom in to get a closer look, or translate text in photos from your Photos library.11
New languages
The Translate app and system‑wide translation add support for Turkish, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Indonesian, and Dutch.
Weather
More weather details
Tap any module in the Weather app to reveal a new, deeper set of data such as hourly temperature and precipitation over the next 10 days.