An Early Halloween TREAT — iOS 16’s Best Features and Some iPhone TRICKS!
On September 12th, Apple officially released their long-awaited iOS 16 update. This major upgrade came with a ton of new features, some of which you may not even know about yet!
So, what better time than now to go over a few of the coolest iPhone tips and tricks?! Some of these features have been out for a while, and others were just released with the iOS 16 update.
As you get ready to enjoy some treats this Halloween, we’ll share some of our favorite iPhone TRICKS!
What’s New in the iOS 16 Update
If you haven’t updated to iOS 16 just yet, I highly recommend it.
Some people get nervous about system updates because you never quite know how they’ll perform on your phone.
Luckily, the iOS 16 update is compatible with all iPhones made from 2017 on. That means, even if you have something as old as an iPhone 8, you can still download and access all the new features this upgrade has to offer!
What’s New for Your Lock Screen
If you’ve heard anything about the new iOS update, it’s probably something about the new lock screen features.
Compared to Android, Apple’s biggest competitor, iPhone lock screens have always been a bit lackluster.
Don’t worry — you can still see your push notifications, the date, and the time on this screen as you’ve always been able to. But with this update, you can customize it more than ever!
Now, you can change the font and color of the date and time widgets through your iPhone’s Wallpaper settings.
Just open the Settings app and scroll down to “Wallpaper.” Here, you’ll find tons of new customization options!
Let’s go over a couple of the options you have.
If you press the “Customize” button under either your lock screen image, you’ll be brought to a screen where you can change how your date and time appear, or add different widgets.
Just tap on the element you want to change to see all your options!
You can even click the tiny dots at the bottom to put a filter over the image or design you’re using as your wallpaper!
Play around with all the different options until you’re satisfied with your screen. Then, press “Done” in the upper right corner to set your new lock screen!
If you like to change your lock screen every now and then, I have another cool trick for you — every time you customize your lock screen through your settings, it saves the old one for you.
If you customize your lock screen and then decide you want to switch back to the old one, you don’t have to go back and do everything again. Instead, just unlock your phone with your Face or Touch ID, but don’t leave the lock screen.
Hold down on the center of the screen, wait for the carousel to appear, and swipe to choose your new one! If you swipe all the way to the right, you can even create a brand-new screen.
There are many options (too many to discuss here!), so play around in your settings and see what else you can find!
What’s New for iMessage
It’s pretty safe to say that most of us with iPhones prefer texting other people with iPhones so we can use iMessage instead of text message!
Over the past few years, Apple has added a lot of functionality to its iMessage feature. From reactions to single-message replies, messaging has come a long way!
But, now you can do even more — here are just a few of the cool new features you might not know about!
● Edit a message — For up to 15 minutes after you send a message, you can edit your text!
● Undo send — For up to two minutes after you send a message, you can “unsend” it.
● Mark as unread — If you have your read receipts on, you know that “leaving someone on read” can be a social faux pas. Now, you can mark a message as unread so you have time to respond later!
● Recover deleted messages — Ever accidentally delete a text thread you really needed? Now, you can recover your deleted messages for up to 30 days after deleting them!
To edit or unsend a message, all you have to do is press and hold on the text bubble. A little pop-up will appear with both options.
If you want to mark a message as unread, go to your text threads and press and hold the thread you want to mark. In the menu, you’ll now see an option called “Mark as Unread.”
And finally, to view your deleted messages, click the “Edit” button in the top left corner of your main messaging screen. Then, select “Show Recently Deleted!”
Other Cool New iOS 16 Features
The updates we’ve seen in iOS 16 are sure to streamline your experience with your iPhone, both for personal and professional purposes.
Some of the other cool new things you might want to try out include: