Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,194
30,135


iOS 16 was released to the public three weeks ago with a customizable Lock Screen, the ability to edit iMessages, improvements to Focus modes, and much more. And in the coming months, iPhone and iPad users have even more new features to look forward to.

General-iOS-16-Feature-Yellow.jpg

We've rounded up 10 new features coming to the iPhone and iPad later this year, according to Apple. Many of the features are part of iOS 16.1, which is currently in beta testing, but some of the features are not expected until later in the year.

iCloud Shared Photo Library

ios-16-icloud-shared-photo-library.jpg

iCloud‌ Shared Photo Library will make it easier for you to share photos with your family members or friends in the Photos app. The feature will let you and up to five other people add, edit, or remove photos in a shared library accessible via iCloud.

Apple delayed the launch of iCloud Shared Photo Library and now says it is coming later this year.

Live Activities for Third-Party Apps

ios-16-live-activities-feature.jpg

iOS 16.1 will expand Live Activities to third-party apps in the App Store. The feature allows iPhone users to stay on top of real-time events, such as a sports game or a food delivery order, right on the Lock Screen or in the Dynamic Island.

Live Activities appear at the bottom of the Lock Screen on iPhone 13 models and earlier, as well as on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. On the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, Live Activities appear in the Dynamic Island when the device is unlocked, or on the Lock Screen when the device is locked or in always-on display mode.

Once the iOS 16.1 Release Candidate is available, developers will be able to submit apps with Live Activities to the App Store.

The feature will also be supported in Apple's TV app for select sports leagues, including the MLB for users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K., Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and South Korea, along with the NBA and Premier League for users in the U.S. and Canada only.

Emergency SOS via Satellite

emergency-sos-via-satellite.jpg

All four iPhone 14 models include a new Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that is set to launch in November in the U.S. and Canada.

Emergency SOS via Satellite is designed to allow iPhone 14 models to connect directly to a satellite, allowing users to send text messages to emergency services when outside the range of cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. When it launches in the U.S. and Canada, Apple says the service will be free for the first two years, which suggests that Apple might be planning to charge for the service at some point in the future.

Apple says that in "ideal conditions with a direct view of the sky and the horizon," a message might take 15 seconds to send via satellite, but it can take over a minute for a message to send "under trees with light or medium foliage."

Apple Music Classical

primephonic-app.jpeg

In August 2021, Apple announced the acquisition of classical music service Primephonic. At the time, Apple said it planned to launch a dedicated classical music app in 2022 that combined Primephonic's user interface with additional features.

Apple continues to prepare for the launch of the Apple Music Classical app, but specific details and an exact release date are still unknown.

Clean Energy Charging

clean-energy-charging-ios-16-1.jpg

iOS 16.1 includes a new Clean Energy Charging feature that Apple says "aims to decrease the carbon footprint of the iPhone by optimizing charging times for when the grid is using cleaner energy sources." The feature is available in the U.S. only.

Apple Fitness+ Without an Apple Watch

Apple-Fitness-Plus-iPhone-14-Pro.jpg

Apple Fitness+ will be available to iPhone users without an Apple Watch starting with iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, and tvOS 16.1. Without an Apple Watch, iPhone users will not see real-time metrics like heart rate and calories burned during a workout.

Launched in December 2020, Apple Fitness+ features a library of over 3,000 workout and meditation videos, with new content added weekly. The subscription-based service is available through the Fitness app on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV in 21 countries, with U.S. pricing set at $9.99 per month or $79.99 per year.

Freeform

freeform.jpg

Apple says it will be releasing a new digital whiteboard app called Freeform for the iPhone and iPad later this year. The app is described as a "flexible canvas" that will give users the "ability to see, share, and collaborate all in one place without worrying about layouts and page sizes," complete with full support for the Apple Pencil.

Freeform will allow users to start a session from FaceTime and view updates from others right in an iMessage conversation thread.

Matter Accessories in Home App

matter-iot-standard.jpg

Matter is an upcoming connectivity standard that will enable compatible smart home accessories to work together seamlessly across multiple platforms, including Apple's HomeKit, Amazon's Alexa, and Google's Home. On the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Apple says Matter support is coming in an update to the Home app later this year.

Controlling Matter accessories with the Home app and Siri will require a HomePod, HomePod mini, Apple TV 4K, or Apple TV HD running as a home hub.

Battery Percentage Icon for More iPhones

ios-16-beta-battery-percentage-icon.jpeg

Apple finally made battery percentage visible in the status bar again on iPhones with a notch, eliminating the need to swipe down. Starting with iOS 16.1, the optional feature is expanding to the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 mini.

Stage Manager for More iPad Pros

ipados-16-stage-manager.jpg

Last week, Apple announced that iPadOS 16.1 will expand Stage Manager to iPad Pro models with A12X and A12Z chips released in 2018 and 2020.

Stage Manager will not have external display support on older iPad Pro models, limiting the feature to four apps on the built-in display. Apple has also delayed external display support for Stage Manager on iPad Pro and iPad Air models with the M1 chip and said this functionality will be reimplemented in a software update later this year.

Article Link: 10 New iOS 16 Features Coming Later This Year
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: amartinez1660

eyeseeyou

macrumors 68040
Feb 4, 2011
3,383
1,590
I'm curious about the UX for live activities and the practical differences between the photo-shared library vs. shared albums.

Will lock screen live activities be similar to a widget except with fast updates?

Will a shared photo library use up iCloud data? Will it have "smart" photo add/filter as google photos have?
 

ignatius345

macrumors 604
Aug 20, 2015
6,764
10,990
These yearly OS releases are getting pretty corny. They promise a bunch of things in the spring, put out an incomplete and often buggy release in the fall, then gradually fill in the gaps over the following months. Why not just, you know, release it when it's actually ready?
 

BornAgainMac

macrumors 604
Feb 4, 2004
7,273
5,211
Florida Resident
These yearly OS releases are getting pretty corny. They promise a bunch of things in the spring, put out an incomplete and often buggy release in the fall, then gradually fill in the gaps over the following months. Why not just, you know, release it when it's actually ready?
Software development is changing to provide small improvements continuously vs Big Bang releases.
 

jephrey

macrumors regular
Dec 19, 2005
212
74
Why not find a way to incorporate classical music into the music app? I've been hoping for something in the music app to link songs (like linking Speak to Me->Breathe) so that neither song would ever play on its own when shuffling. I think that feature along with a few different fields would make classical work fine in the regular music app.
 

spikeplayz

macrumors newbie
Sep 16, 2022
1
0
I feel like Live Activities should have been released with the original iOS 16 update for the most gradual adoption from developers. Hoping app devs start using it ASAP because I am super hyped for it.
 

jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
9,936
25,888
SoCal
If it weren’t for my new Ultra, I’d be happily running iOS 15 on my 13PM. I like the battery percentage but really have no need (that I know of) for any of these features…
 
  • Like
Reactions: larryleveen

jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
9,936
25,888
SoCal
These yearly OS releases are getting pretty corny. They promise a bunch of things in the spring, put out an incomplete and often buggy release in the fall, then gradually fill in the gaps over the following months. Why not just, you know, release it when it's actually ready?
Because new HW requires new OS versions. And SW development for years now is all about incremental improvements…
 

SoldOnApple

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2011
957
1,594
Apple Music Classical sounds good, it'd be nice to keep classical playlists separate from the rest of my playlists/saved albums.

Freeform looks interesting too, I had never heard of it. It kind of reminds me of an app called Sketch Pad I think it was, with a near infinite canvas, good for brainstorming.
 

MacBird

macrumors 65816
Apr 1, 2010
1,297
1,662
These yearly OS releases are getting pretty corny. They promise a bunch of things in the spring, put out an incomplete and often buggy release in the fall, then gradually fill in the gaps over the following months. Why not just, you know, release it when it's actually ready?
Sounds as if that decision is driven by PR, user engagement trumps stability.
 

SoldOnApple

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2011
957
1,594
Just wondering why.
Because my list of saved albums and songs of regular popular music is huge. And I would like to build a huge list of classical albums too. I guess this could be solved by having a dedicated "classical" tab in Apple Music, but who decides what is "classical"? Would that Prokofiev recording by the obscure Swedish music label know by itself to go into that tab? I wouldn't want to manually sort them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pol352
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.