Apple has made some changes to iOS with the introduction of an all-new Lock Screen design.
The company showed off an early preview of iOS 16 at this year’s WWDC, where it also announced a new MacBook Air, and watchOS, macOS, and tvOS updates. Although this year’s iOS updates aren’t quite as significant as they have been in previous years, they still offer some useful features for everyday users – and it’s likely that there’ll be many more under-the-hood changes before launch.
Apple leads its iOS 16 announcement with its all-new “Personalized Lock Screen Experience”, which overhauls the Lock Screen we’ve all come to know and love. Apple will now allow users to change the time and date format with new type styles, colors, and customizable widgets that reinvent iOS.
The company says that it’s taken inspiration from watchOS complications, and will allow users to add new widgets such as calendar events, the weather, battery levels, alarms, time zones, and Activity ring progress to their lock screen for easy access. This comes ahead of a rumored always-on Lock Screen with the iPhone 14, expected to be announced this September alongside iOS 16’s public release.
Apple has also overhauled notifications on iOS 16, with a new ‘roll up from the bottom’ design. Other changes include refinements to the Focus experience, a new iCloud Shared Photo Library, and some tweaks to Messages – like the ability to edit and recall messages, giving consumers more choice.
Mail has also been given some tweaks, whilst Live Text and Visual Look Up have been enhanced, and Apple Pay Later has been introduced to allow users to split the cost of purchases across several months, only in the United States. Another exciting change is an overhaul to CarPlay, with Apple now supporting vehicles with large dashboard screens. Apple says that it will now integrate more deeply with vehicles to control things like climate control, and users will be able to personalize CarPlay, too.
Are you looking forward to trying out iOS 16? Let us know and check back soon for the latest!