Apple is finally releasing the first iOS 16 public beta after three developer betas. Public beta testers can now download beta profiles for both iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. It brings a ton of new features — from a customizable lock screen to removing backgrounds from photos with a tap. Here’s what you can expect to change on your iPhone with the new OS.
iOS 16 brings a major overhaul to the lock screen of your iPhone. You can now customize them to your liking. Moreover, it will be tied to the Focus mode, so you can assign wallpapers and lock screen widgets to your gaming, personal, or work Focus modes. The Focus feature is also going system-wide, allowing you to tie things like Safari websites and certain emails to specific Focus modes. This lock screen is likely to be the base of the upcoming always-on display feature on the iPhone 14 Pro.
Apple is improving its Messages app by adding the ability to unsend or edit text messages within 15 minutes of sending them. The short time window is meant to prevent you from using this feature for mischief or malice. Apple is also killing off Tapback spam in cross-platform group messages. The company is rolling out more sharing features with SharePlay so users can watch movies and listen to music together within the Messages app. There is a new email standard with support for Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) that hopes to make it clear where a message is coming from.
Apple is adding a Medications feature to its Health app. It might be the most important feature for you if you need medicines on a daily basis. It allows you to keep track of your medicines, vitamins, and supplements by letting you create a medications list. You can then set up schedules and reminders, and view all the medicine-related information in the Medications section of the Health app.
With iOS 16, Apple is also eliminating the use of captchas. Plus, Safari is killing passwords for good by introducing passkey. iOS 16 may not be the revolutionary upgrade some people were hoping for, but there’s still more than enough to sink your teeth into.
The iOS 16 public beta is available on iPhone 8 and above, including the second-generation iPhone SE. The iPhone 6s, first-gen iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 series are things of the past with this release. If you want to try the iOS 16 public beta for yourself, you can sign up on Apple’s website right now.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.