Monday gives iPhone owners their first glimpse of the big changes coming to their smartphones this fall.
Apple is set to host its Worldwide Developers Conference virtually this week, starting with a keynote address on Monday, which is widely expected to showcase iOS 16, the latest software for its iPhones.
The Keynote will also likely serve as a platform for sharing software updates for their other products, including iPads, MacBooks, and the Apple Watch.
USA TODAY will provide live updates on iOS 16 during the keynote, which begins at 1:00 p.m. ET.
On a longer trip?:Here’s how to pause cable and internet services and save money
For Xbox, PS5 and Nintendo Switch:Get behind the wheel of today’s car racing games
Surprise: It’s a new MacBook Air
Apple is upgrading to M2 chips, the latest version of the chips that will run future Mac computers. The first computer to receive one is the MacBook Air, which Apple says is the best-selling laptop.
Of course, Apple is unveiling a new MacBook Air. It’s less than half an inch thin and weighs less than three pounds. It will be available in four colors and will support MagSafe charging, two Thunderbolt ports and a headphone jack.
Track medications on Apple Watch
The watch will soon add a medication app to easily track what medications you’re taking and when to take them. Users can add them manually or take a photo to quickly add it to the app. Users can also set schedules to know when to take their medication. The app provides alerts when your medications have critical or serious interactions.
Improvements to the Apple Watch Sleep app
The next watch update will support sleep stages and track how much time you spent in specific sleep stages like REM sleep. If you own a Fitbit, you probably know how it works.
For heart health, WatchOS 9 adds AFib history, which provides long-term tracking of atrial fibrillation.
It’s time for Apple Watch updates
Let’s start with faces. Apple is adding four more faces, including a lunar calendar face, the playtime face with animated numbers, and a metropolis face in different colors. Faces will also add new complications, which are basically super small widgets with information like data or heart rate.
As for fitness, WatchOS will use tools like machine learning to better track running during exercise, with details like step and ground contact time. Users can also quickly see what heart rate zone they are in during a workout.
If you follow the same route while running, you can also track your best times to try to beat previous workouts.
What’s new in CarPlay
Apple introduces some updates for the in-car system CarPlay. Among them: updated odometers with Apple aesthetics, widgets with travel information, navigation tools and weather details. Users can also perform tasks like adjusting the in-car temperature without leaving CarPlay. iPhone communicates with your car’s real-time systems to display all information in CarPlay. Users can even customize how this information is displayed.
Apple’s new Safety Check app
To help protect personal safety, Apple is releasing a Safety Check app developed in collaboration with domestic violence groups. The app can manage access to your device, turn off location sharing, or set up an emergency reset of your phone. It can also reset all privacy permissions and double check who has access to information on your phone.
Family Sharing Updates great for parents
Apple is optimizing Family Sharing to make it much easier for parents to set up devices for kids and customize parental controls. Kids can also send requests through messages to earn more screen time. Anyway, I’m looking forward to 1,000 messages asking me for five more minutes on YouTube. iPhone owners can also create shared libraries available for anyone to automatically share photos with family or friends.
Uncharted territory for Apple Maps
The app will soon feature multi-stop routing, allowing users to add multiple stops during a single trip. Transit features will also be updated, providing details on timetables and prices for various services. Maps also provide a detailed city view to provide a better perspective of the surrounding area.
Buy now, pay later comes to Apple Pay
Apple is introducing the option to pay later for items you buy through Apple Pay Later, allowing consumers to split an Apple Pay purchase of an item into multiple installments.
New ways to use your license on iPhone
Apple is slowing down the rollout of the option to add your driver’s license to your iPhone. Arizona and Maryland are the first states to do so, with more to come. A future use case involves using the Uber Eats app to verify that you are over 21 to order certain items.
A more useful Live Text feature
Perhaps one of the coolest future uses for Live Text: the ability to open the camera in the Translator app and instantly see translated text in view. Visual search not only recognizes elements in an image and allows you to search them, but you can capture specific elements in the photo and insert them into a message.
Messages is also getting an update
New features like undo sending, marking threads as unread and the ability to edit a message after sending are among the new tweaks to make the app easier and more efficient, Federighi said. Composing messages is also improved thanks to an improved dictation feature on the device. When dictating, the keyboard stays open so you can both dictate and type as needed. It even does emoji dictation. Stunning emoji indeed!
Less awkward iPhone notifications
Notifications stream from the bottom of the screen with iOS 16, and users can even hide them entirely. There are also live activity widgets on the lock screen for special events like tracking sports scores, listening to music, and tracking an Uber ride. Users can also customize the focus mode to make lock screens fit the moment, e.g. B. when you are at work.
iOS 16 gets a major lock screen update
Apple’s Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, confirms what we already knew: iOS 16 is the next major software update for iPhone. He starts with the lock screen, calling it “the biggest update ever.”
It’s much more personal, offering different fonts, styles, and colors, as well as tiny icons for information like noise levels, weather, and more. It’s similar to the Apple Watch and how you update and personalize watch faces. Performing the updates just requires a simple drag-and-drop interface.
Users can just swipe to update fonts, and Apple will finally eliminate face obscuration on wallpaper over time.
Tim Cook is the first
No surprise, but Apple’s CEO begins walking the halls of Apple’s new futuristic headquarters to officially launch WWDC. Cook is currently summarizing all of the ways Apple is trying to encourage robust developer environments, including new academies focused on underrepresented communities. According to Cook, the Apple community has grown to more than 34 million developers.
What is WWDC?
The annual Worldwide Developers Conference is a week-long gathering of application developers for Apple products, including the iPhone, Mac, and iPad, to connect with other developers and discover new tools for building apps.
The conference was previously held at a San Francisco convention center before the COVID-19 pandemic turned it into a virtual experience in 2020.
How to watch WWDC
The keynote can be streamed on Apple’s website or via the Apple TV app, which is available on various streaming devices. Apple is also broadcasting its keynote via its YouTube channel.
What we currently know about iOS 16
The most notable rumored update that Apple could unveil is iOS 16, which supports an always-on display that could give users basic information without having to wake up the device. Other rumored features for the iPhone include upgrades to the Messages app and Health app.
When is iOS 16 coming out?
Typically, the arrival of the latest version of iOS lands right before the launch of a new fall iPhone. Last year, Apple launched iOS 15 on September 20, four days before the debut of the iPhone 13.
Will my iPhone support iOS 16?
The latest versions of the iPhone will almost certainly support iOS 16. The question is whether much older models, dating back to the iPhone 6S that launched almost seven years ago, will still be running the latest version of iOS. If you’re stuck with one of these models, it might be time to consider an upgrade.
Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.
Comments are closed.