At this year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC22), the tech giant has unveiled an all-new lock screen experience and new ways that users can communicate and share in iOS 16.
With Apple’s new developments, users will be able to personalise their Lock Screen, keep family photos in iCloud Shared Photo Library, recall sent messages, schedule mail and pay for their items at a later date.
What’s new with iOS 16?
While previewing iOS 16, the company announced the biggest ever update to the Lock Screen, as well as new sharing, communication and intelligence features that will change the way users experience iPhone.
Announcing iOS 16, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said “iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the way you experience iPhone… we have reimagined how the Lock Screen looks and works with exciting new features that make it more personal and helpful, introduced iCloud Shared Photo Library for families, streamlined communication through new capabilities in Messages and Mail, and harnessed enhanced intelligence with updates to Live Text and Visual Look Up.”
Personalised Lock Screens
With iOS 16, the Lock Screen will get a serious upgrade. Thanks to a new multi-layered effect, the subjects of photos will now be set in front of the time on the Lock Screen, creating a sense of depth. Users will also be able to change the look of the date and time with expressive type styles and colour choices. Plus, widgets mean it’s easier for the user to get information at a glance.
On top of this, users will be able to have multiple Lock Screens, and Apple’s new Live Activities feature will help users stay on top of things that are happening in real time, such as a sports game, workout, ride-share or a food delivery order.
Share photo libraries
In addition, iCloud shared photo libraries will give families a new way to seamlessly share photos. Up to six users will be able to collaborate on, contribute to and enjoy these libraries, and users will be able to either share existing photos from their personal libraries or share based on a start date or people in the photos.
Updates to Messages
Users will also be able to edit or recall recently sent messages, recover recently deleted messages, and mark conversations as unread so they can come back to them later.
On top of this, Apple is also bringing SharePlay to messages. This will make it possible for users to enjoy synced content like movies or songs and shared playback controls all while chatting in Messages.
New tools for Mail
With iOS 16, users will be able to schedule emails ahead of time. They will also be given a moment to cancel the delivery of a message before it reaches a recipient’s inbox.
In addition, Mail will also detect if a user forgot to include an important part of their message, such as an attachment. Similarly, search functionality in Mail will also be significantly improved and updated.
Wallet adds Apple Pay Later and Order Tracking
Apple’s new Apple Pay Later function will allow users in the US to split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees of any kind.
On top of this, Apple Wallet is also adding Apple Pay Order Tracking functionality. This will provide users with detailed receipts and order tracking information with participating merchants.
iOS 16 – the view from Spike
Ever since the first generation of the iPhone was released in 2007, the way we’ve interacted with our phones has changed dramatically. Now functioning as a phone, a wallet, a search device, a camera and a personal trainer, our phones can do much more than simply make calls.
Apple’s new iOS 16 update will further improve functionality and the customer experience. With Apple focusing on personalisation and collaboration, it’s clear that the company is looking to individualise the customer experience.
However, for us, one of the most interesting aspects of iOS 16 is the launch of Apple Pay Later. Although this functionality will only initially be available in the US, it will be incredibly interesting to see how companies offering such a service with respond. In the past couple of years, companies such as Klarna have cornered the buy now-pay later market. How will they respond to such a big challenge coming from Apple?