Another year brings with it more Apple updates and products to obsess over and debate, all while strengthening their bid for global dominion. Today at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2022, several announcements were made and teased regarding iOS 16, which will feature some hotly anticipated tech, and tweaks that will definitely be a little controversial. Here’s a breakdown of all the interesting news out of WWDC 2022.
The option to “edit text messages” could be a slippery slope. A useful tool called “Visual Look Up” expands on the ability to find text in photos which was introduced as part of iOS 15. Now, it’ll be possible to look up and translate text within an image to different languages, and to do currency conversions, which really does seem handy.
One new function that raised some eyebrows online is the ability to “edit or recall recently sent messages,” which seems on the surface like it could open a whole Pandora’s box of gaslighting and miscommunications. Per a crucial footnote in the Apple press release though, “Users can edit or recall a message for up to 15 minutes after sending it, or recover recently deleted messages for up to 30 days after deletion.” From the short video demonstration in the press release, it’s unclear whether the person you’re texting will be notified that you either unsent or altered a message.
Lock your phone in style. A noteworthy aesthetic update for iOS 16 comes in the form of a revamped lock screen, that offers more font and color choice to the user, and creates a pop-out effect where your lock image has a sense of depth relative to the time, date, and new, Apple Watch-inspired widgets that can be installed.
Users can also build multiple different lock screens that can be toggled between for different purposes. Weather and astronomy lock screen wallpapers also add some dynamism and surely hold appeal for the nature-minded person who loves staring at their phone. There is also an expansion of the “Focus” option, where filters allow you to limit what apps like Calendar, Messages, and Safari show you based on what emphasis you toggle on. The four shown in the PR blast are Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, and Sleep, but custom focuses can be created, too.
The new lock screen will also feature “Live Activities,” so you can get updates on your workout stats, the location of your Uber, when your Thai food is arriving, how many three-pointers Steph Curry has hit against your favorite team, etc.
Apple’s taking on Klarna and the like with Apple Pay Later. In a move that should surprise no one, Apple is throwing its hat into the deferred payment plan industry, The forthcoming iOS 16 will include Apple Pay Later, the tech giant’s answer to Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm,
During the pandemic, “buy now pay later” usage skyrocketed, up more than 200 percent from the first two months of 2020 to the first two months of 2021. But there’s a potential risk factor that comes with the growth of deferred payment plans. A survey conducted by Lending Tree published in April 2021 said that of the 1,040 people interviewed, “Two in three shoppers who’ve used ‘buy now, pay later’ financing said it’s caused them to spend more than they would have otherwise.”
Other noteworthy tweaks include a function in the Health app where you can manage and track medication usage, a sports-centric update to Apple News, and the creation of the iCloud Shared Photo Library for up to six people. A new function called Safety Check allows a user to quickly revoke information-sharing access (i.e. iCloud and location data) from an abusive partner. Safety Check gives users the option to disable messaging from any device besides the physical phone itself.
The iOS 16 update is only available for the iPhone 8 or later, meaning the elite contingent of people who’ve kept one iPhone intact since 2015 or 2016 will need an upgrade for these functionality tweaks.