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Everything New in the iOS 16.1 Beta: Matter, Clean Energy Charging, Wallet App Changes, Live Activities API and More

The new Lock Screens in combination with multiple Home Screens and Focus modes is quite radical. Can’t imagine most users will use its potential. It’s very confusing to set up. Doesn’t feel like an Apple feature at all.

Seems like the new Apple gave up on Siri and AI and just gives users the option to figure it all out. Would have been nice if Siri became the smart assistant she was promised to be and become the gatekeeper for my phone instead of burden me with all these options.
 
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MN7119 said:
Why would anyone want to delete the Wallet app? It is one of the most useful apps I have and I use it everyday when paying anything with a credit card.
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Aside from App Store, Camera, Messages, Phone, Photos, and Settings, I think every Apple apps should be deletable. If you have no use for Wallet or you prefer something else, what's the harm?

I personally use Apple Wallet app often, not just for payment credit cards but for keys, membership cards, and boarding pass, but I must concede that not everyone needs these things.
 
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Wow. Did not see Apple reversing course on the battery percentage on older and mini phones.

I thought they would just tell us to pound sand.

Glad they’re listening 🎉
 
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Bawstun said:
Some of us just pull out a wallet or money clip and slide our cards. How primitive…
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I have both (I never carry cash anymore), although I use my physical cards as a primary.

Backups, my friend.

I've been at the register (with people behind me) ready to pay and saved from realizing my wallet fell out of my pocket in the parking lot (at night).

Thanks to the AirTag in it, I found it, but that sucker should've alerted me when I walked away from it...:mad:
 
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MN7119 said:
Why would anyone want to delete the Wallet app? It is one of the most useful apps I have and I use it everyday when paying anything with a credit card.
Click to expand...
I can think of many people for whom the Wallet app and Apple Pay is a potential liability - my own mother being one of them. It can be very confusing to some.
 
MacRumors said:


Though iOS 16 was just released on Monday, Apple is already moving on to testing the next update to the operating system. iOS 16.1 was seeded to developers today, and it introduces a handful of new features that are worth noting.

iOS-16.1-Purple-Feature.jpg

Lock Screen/Home Screen Customization

When tapping on the "Customize" interface on the Lock Screen, there's now an option to choose between customizing either the Lock Screen or the Home Screen, rather than just the Lock Screen. This makes it easier to customize the look of the iPhone from one spot without having to go through multiple steps.

home-screen-ios-16-1-beta.jpg


Matter Support

iOS 16.1 introduces a new "Matter Accessories" section to the Settings app, suggesting that Apple is preparing for the fall launch of the Matter smart home standard.

matter-ios-16-1-beta.jpg

Tapping into the Matter Accessories section suggests that it will display all Matter accessories that have been added to a connected service. "These can also be added to additional services with an app that supports Matter," reads the text. Matter will allow interoperability between smart devices from different companies, so HomeKit, Alexa, and Google Assistant devices, for example, can work together.

In the release notes for the update, Apple says that pairing Matter accessories first requires a profile installed on your device. There are also several other known issues with the Matter standard at the current time, with workarounds available on Apple's site.
  • Removing Apple Home from the Matter accessory Connected Services menu in Home doesn't remove the accessory tile.
  • You might receive an alert to turn on Wi-Fi when pairing a Matter accessory.
  • Accessory details might not open if a Matter accessory is unreachable.
  • You might be unable to pair using a Matter ECM code via the Matter Support Framework pairing API.
  • Uncertified accessory notifications might appear when pairing Matter accessories.
  • You might be unable to pair a Matter accessory if the accessory is already paired to a third-party ecosystem.
  • The device that initiates the pairing needs to use the same iCloud account as the home hub. Only the owner of a home, not an invited user, can pair Matter accessories.

Clean Energy Charging

iOS 16.1 adds a toggle to enable "Clean Energy Charging" in the Battery section of the Settings app. Clean Energy Charging will try to reduce your carbon footprint by selectively charging when lower carbon emission electricity is available.

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

Apple says that the iPhone will still reach full charge before you need to use it based on your daily charging routine, and the feature can be toggled off if desired. It appears to be enabled by default when updating to iOS 16.1.

Live Activities API

iOS 16.1 re-adds the Live Activities API that was available for developers for testing purposes during the iOS 16 beta. iPhone users cannot access Live Activities at the current time as there are no apps that support it, but developers can begin implementing support.

Delete Wallet App

iOS 16.1 adds the option to remove the Wallet app from the iPhone entirely. In iOS 16 and earlier versions of iOS, the app could be removed from the Home Screen, but not deleted. It is now able to be deleted entirely for those who do not want to use Apple Pay or other Wallet features.

ios-16-1-delete-wallet-app.jpg

The option comes as Apple is facing a lawsuit accusing it of violating antitrust law by making Apple Pay the only available mobile wallet for tap-to-pay payments on iPhone.

Battery Percentage in Status Bar

iOS 16.1 adds battery percentage to the battery icon in the status bar on the iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 mini, all iPhones that did not support the feature in iOS 16.

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


Screenshot UI

When you close the Screenshot editing tool, there is an updated interface in the upper right corner that gives the options to delete a screenshot, copy and delete, or save it. This menu used to be at the bottom of the iPhone, so this new implementation is sleeker and less in your face as it does not take over the bottom of the display.

delete-screenshot-ui-ios-16-1.jpg

Other New Features

Know of a new feature in iOS 16.1 that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.

Article Link: Everything New in the iOS 16.1 Beta: Matter, Clean Energy Charging, Wallet App Changes, Live Activities API and More
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I’m happy the battery percentage is finally coming to the XR, I figured they would do it eventually. Didn’t think they would do it this quickly though.
 
Seems like it's going to be a good update, I admit I got confused by the home screen part for a while, especially the blur being on by default. Now it should be a lot better.
 
cocky jeremy said:
Clean Energy charging... Charge your iPhone for 15 minutes at a time*. The same as your AC and other appliances. This message is brought to you by the state of California.

* This feature is only active twice per day.
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You’re not kidding. CA is headed down that road real quick…Never forget the image of the Tesla with the gas powered generator to charge it mounted on the back. Can’t make that stuff up
 
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I’ve noticed that wallet has been acting weird with iOS 15. It always seems to display the previous purchase when making a purchase. :rolleyes:
 
Bawstun said:
Some of us just pull out a wallet or money clip and slide our cards. How primitive…
Click to expand...
If you're still swiping your cards, yes, I would call that primitive. Are there cards even made without chips now?
Bawstun said:
Where you can’t reach them?
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I could reach them better at the top than the bottom. When holding the phone in one hand, my thumb rests above the top half of the screen, not at the bottom.
 
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I'm liking the new look and order of the screenshot saving options - I use photos or files primarily so happy this is going back to iOS 15 functionality.
 
ELand-SX70 said:
Me, living in a place where over 80% of the electricity is generated from coal or gas.
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congrats on having an energy source that is consistent and reliable. As for the clean energy charging stuff, LOL, call me when these energy sources become truly reliable and efficient. I would love to have them there now but it just is not and will not be for a long time to come.
 
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The blur effect on the home screen doesn't work. Every image I've tried just turns into a flat colour.
 
I can nit pick, but what about the ability to add your own fonts to the Lock Screen. Adding Fonts to the iPhone came out in iOS13, so why not give us that option to add our own clock font?

Right now, the new default lock screen clock fonts are ok I guess, just wish we had a few more. (As a total font geek, this is just my opinion)

It does seem they took a lot of those fonts from Apple Watches and placed them into the lock screen.
 
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