Not long ago, Apple released a new version of its iPhone operating system – iOS 16. Yesterday we received the first major patch for iOS16.1, which brought several vital improvements and fixes for various bugs. Let’s take a closer look at what the company has added in the new update and how useful it will be.
Adding Shared Photo Library
Shared Photo Library, available in the iOS 16 demo version, is released in this update. Users can now share libraries where they can add photos to share them with their family and friends. This is very convenient if you spend a lot of time together and are tired of sending pictures to messengers.
New actions related to Dynamic Island and Lock Screen
Dynamic Island and the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max lock screen now get Live Activities. This feature allows you to display notifications from third-party apps, such as sports games and flights, on the Dynamic Island and Lock Screen.
Apple Fitness Plus can now be used without the Apple Watch
Fitness features on iPhones got a big update in the new iOS. However, Apple Fitness Plus had a weird limitation and could only be used if you had an Apple Watch. Now with an iPhone 8 or newer, you can track your fitness progress and goals right from your phone.
Battery percentages in the badge on older iPhones.
With the iOS 16.1 update for older iPhones, you can also display the battery percentage inside the battery icon in the upper left corner. The font used for the battery icon has also increased slightly in size, making it easier to read.
Update for wallpaper and lock screen
The wallpaper settings menus have also received an update. Adding new wallpaper in the Settings > Wallpaper menu is now more straightforward. Also, when editing wallpaper from the lock screen, you can customize both the lock screen and the home screen.
Snapshot editing interface
The menu for editing screenshots has been updated. Buttons for deleting, saving, and copying are now displayed at the top of the screen. They have become less intrusive and compact.
Update to the Wallet app
You can now share a car, hotel room, and other information in your Wallet. If you’re an Apple Card customer, you can also increase your Daily Cash by putting your savings into a high-yield savings account. Additionally, you can now remove Wallet from your iPhone.
Smart Home now supports Matter
Matter is the new standard for smart home connectivity. It is now available on iPhones. That means you can now control your iPhone’s devices like Alexa and Google Assistant.
Setting up clean energy charging
In addition to putting a percentage on your iPhone’s battery, there’s also the Charging Clean Energy feature. You can turn it on under “Battery” in Settings. When you turn this feature on, the iPhone will charge selectively when low-carbon electricity is available.
Update for Apple Books
In Apple Books, controls will now automatically hide when you open another book. So if you like to read from your iPhone, this will become much more convenient.
Bug fixes
Apple has fixed some bugs that iOS 16 brought. For example, iOS 16.1 improves the appearance of deleted conversations in Messages, missing some content in Dynamic Island when using Reachability, and not connecting CarPlay when using the VPN app.
