iOS 16 has been available for more than a week, and there’s a lot to discover in Apple’s most recent mobile software upgrade. You’ll be pleased to learn that some new hidden functions can significantly change your phone usage way.
Here’s what you need to know if you want to take a closer look at some of iOS 16’s hidden jewels, such as password-protected photo albums and easily accessible Wi-Fi passwords.
Do you want to find out more about Apple’s next mobile operating system? We’ve got some new iOS 16 features as well as some Apple Maps additions that will improve your trip experience. Here are some best iOS 16 hidden features.
1. Pin your favorite tabs in Safari
Safari limits the number of open tabs to 500; if you’re nearing that limit, it may be challenging to discover the exact account you’re looking for. You could scroll indefinitely, but there’s a better method to get the exact tab you’re looking for.
When you press down on an open tab in Safari, you now have the option to Pin Tab. This will pin that tab to the top of Safari, where it will appear as a tiny tab preview, which you may then tap to view.
When you unpin a tab, it will move to the top of your open tabs grid.
2. Create a sticker from images
With iOS 16, you can make stickers out of photographs and share them with other apps. It may be sent as an iMessage sticker or as a PNG image to other instant messaging systems. Here’s how to go about it:
- Open Photos.
- Choose the image you wish to use as a sticker.
- Hold the image with your finger.
You can copy the image and use it as a sticker in iMessage or any other service that supports stickers. It can also be done by sharing an image from the same page. You can also keep the sticker in your notes.
3. Add Quick Note to Control Center
Quick Notes are one of iOS 16’s more underappreciated features. If you frequently take notes but dislike having to launch the Notes app, just add Quick Note to Control Center. You can do this by going to Settings > Control Center and then tapping the + button next to Quick Note. When you’re finished, you’ll see a new button in the Control Center that resembles scribbles on a notepad. To take a note from any place, tap it.
4. Unsend messages in iMessage
Don’t tell me you’ve never texted the wrong contact, especially if you’re texting two people at the same time and texting the wrong person. Don’t worry, you can still unsend iMessages with iOS 16.
However, the ability to unsend messages is only available for a limited time (you have at least 5 minutes to unsend the message). It should be noted that the recipient must also be running iOS 16 for the message to be unsent. Here’s how to cancel an iMessage.
5. Pair Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons
Apple has allowed you to connect third-party controllers to your iPhone and iPad. It includes PS5 Sony DualSense and Xbox Core Controller. This allows you to play mobile video games like the Apple Arcade collection, Minecraft, and Call of Duty. You can now add another wired headset to your list.
If you have a Nintendo Switch, your Joy-Con controllers can now be paired with an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16. To begin, hold down the little black pairing button on the Joy-Con until the green lights begin to alternate. This indicates that the device is in pairing mode. Next, open your iPhone and navigate to Settings > Bluetooth. Then, choose the Joy-Con from the list. Continue this process with the other Joy-Con.
6. Open links with chosen apps in Messages
When you tap a link in Messages, your iPhone usually opens the link in the appropriate app. My default browser app is Chrome, so if I tap a link to a website, Chrome will open. However, in iOS 16, you may choose which apps should open non-rich URLs. When you long-press a non-rich URL in Messages, you may see numerous app names. You can then select which app the link should open.
7. Password protects the recently deleted and hidden albums
The Hidden album in the Photos app is not hidden, as anyone can readily find it. As a result, it is difficult to adequately hide private photos and videos. While Apple allows you to make the Hidden album “invisible,” anyone who has access to your device can open it again and examine everything inside.
You can now lock the Hidden album with iOS 16. You don’t have to do anything to enable this feature. To see it, open the Photos app and go to the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen. You’ll notice a little lock next to the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums if you slide down. You’ll need to use your Face ID or your passcode to view the contents of those albums.
Apple has always permitted iOS users to share Wi-Fi passwords, but only when two Apple devices are close to each other. And if that feature didn’t work automatically, you couldn’t merely look in your settings for the password. Furthermore, if you wanted to share a saved Wi-Fi password with someone else, such as an Android user or a computer user, you had to remember the password. Until now, that is.
Go to Wi-Fi in Settings and press the tiny information icon to the right of the network for which you want the password. Tap the Password area, then use Face ID or enter your passcode to view the network password. You may then copy the password to your clipboard and share it by tapping Copy.
While sharing Wi-Fi passwords between Apple devices has always been simple (if not always effective). This feature has simplified things even further if you want to exchange Wi-Fi passwords with an Android or PC.
9. Recently deleted chats in Message
If you have a habit of deleting texts from the Message app and need them later, you can restore the deleted messages with iOS 16. The deleted messages are relocated to the Message app’s Recently Deleted folder.
- Launch the Message app.
- At the top left, select Filters.
- Choose the Recently Deleted subfolder.
- Choose the chat from which you want to delete or recover the messages.
Deleted messages will be available in the Recently Deleted folder for 30 days, after which the messages will be deleted permanently.
10. Give your keyboard haptic feedback.
Haptic feedback has long been available on the iPhone. It’s the sensation you get beneath your fingertips when you try to uninstall an app from your home screen or enter the wrong password on your lock screen. Surprisingly, haptic feedback has never been accessible for the standard iOS keyboard – until now.
To allow a tiny vibration for each key you type, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and turn on Haptic. The sound option you see is the loud and obnoxious clicking sound you could hear when you type something and your phone isn’t in silent mode, which you can mute.
11. Convert currency through the Camera
We usually use the internet to convert currencies. This strategy can be exhausting, especially if you’re going abroad. However, with iOS 16, you may convert money immediately from your Camera using Live Text, eliminating the need to manually enter currency values online.
Here’s how to convert currencies using your iPhone’s camera:
- Activate the Camera and point it toward the text.
- In the lower right corner, tap the Scan icon.
- When finished, tap the Convert symbol in the bottom left corner.
12. Remove duplicate photos and videos
Perhaps you saved the same photo more than once or downloaded a film more than once, resulting in duplicates in your photo album. If you have enough capacity, it may not be a problem, but if you’re running low on space, iOS 16 allows you to simply eliminate every single copy.
You should see a new Duplicates album under Utilities in Photos > Albums. Apple searches through all of your photographs and displays any photo or video that has been saved more than once in that album. You can then either erase any duplicates or just select Merge, which will maintain the photo with the highest quality (and pertinent data) while deleting the rest.
Although you should go through each set of duplicates to check that they are exact copies and not similar photographs, you can also use Select > Select All > Merge to eliminate every single photo and video that Apple believes is a duplicate at once.
13. Hybrid Dictation
We’re all well aware of how useful the Dictation tool is. However, if you touch the keyboard while dictating, the transcription will halt. However, thanks to the Hybrid Dictation feature in iOS 16, this will not be the case while dictating.
This allows users to dictate and type at the same time. You can even speak emojis. And automatic sentence punctuation is more effective than ever.
14. Copy and paste a photo and video edits
If you use the Photographs app’s editor tool, you’ll be pleased to know that you can now copy and paste changes, such as saturation, contrast, and brightness, between photos. If you modify one photo or video and like the way it looks, you may copy and paste the identical edits to any other photo or video in your camera roll.
To do so, start the Photos app and open a previously altered photo in full-screen mode. Then, in the top-right area, tap the three-dot menu and select Copy Edits. This option will appear only if the photo was modified in Photos rather than a third-party photo editor. Finally, navigate to the photo you want to copy the edits to, touch the three-dot menu, and then select Paste Edits. After a few seconds, the photo edits should display.
15. Live translate through the Camera
Another new feature in iOS 16 is the ability to translate text immediately from the camera. It should be noted that the translations are not always perfect and can be hit or miss at times, but they accomplish the job just fine. How to Use Live Translate on Your iPhone
- Activate the Camera and point it toward the text.
- At the lower right, tap the Scan icon.
- At the lower left, click the Translate icon.
16. Lock Hidden albums and Recently Deleted Photos
The option to hide photographs has been there in the Photos app for quite some time. However, photographs added to the Hidden album were just moved to the album, with no apparent utility because the album could not be secured. The Recently Deleted album was open as well, exposing the material to inquisitive eyes. This is changing with iOS 16!
Images added to the Hidden album and images in the Recently Deleted album are protected and will require authentication in the form of Face ID or Password to view their contents.