Table of Contents
Not every new function in iOS 16 is immediately apparent.
There are many features in Apple’s most recent mobile software update, iOS 16, which has been available for more than a week.
The biggest new features are a new lock screen that can be customized, the ability to edit and delete text messages, and the straightforward removal of people, animals, or objects from photos. (See every announcement made at Apple’s “Far Out” event.)
However, iOS 16 has a lot more features than just those. You’ll be glad to know that the iPhone has many new, undiscovered features that could completely change your use.
What you need to know about some of the iOS 16’s hidden gems, like password-protected photo albums and readily available Wi-Fi passwords, is provided below.
Want to know more about the newest mobile operating system from Apple? We have some exciting new Apple Maps features and new iOS 16 features that you’ll love.
Additionally, iOS 16.1 is readily available right now. See the instructions for downloading and setting up the iPhone developer beta.
Pair Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons with your iPhone
To play mobile video games like the ones in the Apple Arcade library, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and the PS5 Sony DualSense more comfortably, Apple has long been able to pair third-party controllers with your iPhone and iPad. You can now increase that list by one more console controller.
You can connect your Joy-Con controllers to an iOS 16-compatible iPhone or iPad if you have a Nintendo Switch. Hold down the Joy-tiny Con’s black pairing button until the green lights flash back and forth. The device is in pairing mode if this is the case. Next, open your iPhone and select the Joy-Con from the list under Bluetooth Settings. Use the other Joy-Con to repeat this process.
View and share saved Wi-Fi passwords.
Since a while ago, Apple has allowed iOS users to share Wi-Fi passwords, but only when two Apple devices are close. Additionally, you couldn’t simply pull the password from your settings if that feature didn’t operate automatically. Additionally, up until now, you had to remember the password if you wanted to share a saved Wi-Fi password with someone else, such as an Android user or someone using a computer.
Tap the tiny information icon to the right of the network for which you want the password in the Settings’ Wi-Fi section. Use Face ID or your passcode to view the network password after tapping the Password section. To share the password, tap Copy to add it to your clipboard.
Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are now password protected.
The Photos app’s Hidden album is not hidden because anyone can find it. Because of this, it is impossible to conceal private images and videos adequately. The Hidden album can be made “invisible” by Apple. Still, anyone with access to your phone could make it visible and see everything inside.
You can now lock the Hidden album thanks to iOS 16. To turn on this feature, nothing needs to be done. Launch the Photos app and navigate the Albums tab to see it at the bottom of the screen. If you scroll down, the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums have a tiny lock next to them. You’ll need to use Face ID or your passcode to see what’s in those albums.
Copy and paste the photo and video edits
Utilize the Photos app’s editor tool. You’ll be glad to know that you can now copy and paste adjustments to photos, such as brightness, contrast, and saturation. Let’s say you edit a single image or video and like how it turns out. If so, you can copy those edits and paste them onto any other photo or video in your camera roll.
Launch the Photos app, then open an edited photo in full-screen mode. Next, select Copy Edits from the three-dot menu in the top-right corner. This choice will only be available if the image was edited in Photos and not a third-party image editor. Next, tap the three-dot menu next to the image you want to paste these edits into and select Paste Edits. You should see the photo edits appear after a brief while.
Find and remove duplicate photos and videos.
Perhaps you downloaded a video more than once or saved the same picture, leaving duplicates all over your photo album. If you have enough storage, it might not be an issue. Still, iOS 16 makes it simple to eliminate every single duplicate if you’re running low on space.
You should see a new Duplicates album under Utilities in Photos > Albums. Apple searches through your entire photo library and displays any image or video saved more than once in a given album. Duplicates can be removed or merged, with the best picture (and pertinent data) kept while the others are moved to the trash.
If you want to get rid of every image and video that Apple deems to be a duplicate, you can use the Select > Select All > Merge command. However, you should probably go through each set of duplicates to make sure they’re exact copies and not just similar photos in one go.
Pin your favorite tabs in Safari
Safari only allows 500 open tabs; if you’re getting close to that number, it might be challenging to locate the precise tab you’re looking for. There is now a quicker way to find the same tab you’re looking for rather than having to scroll endlessly.
Pressing down on an open Safari tab now allows you to select Pin Tab. This will pin that tab to the top of Safari, where it will always be visible as a small tab preview that you can tap to view.
A tab will move to the top of your grid of open tabs if you hold down the mouse button and unpin it.
See why some people aren’t happy with the new battery icon for more information on iOS 16 and the iPhone. After installing iOS 16 in these three steps, find out what you should do first.
Bring haptic feedback to your keyboard.
The iPhone has had haptic feedback for a long time. When you try to remove an app from your home screen or enter the wrong password on your lock screen, you can feel it beneath your fingertips. Strangely, the stock iOS keyboard has never had haptic feedback available until now.
Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and turn on Haptic to make each key you press slightly vibrate. You can keep the sound option disabled because of the annoying clacking sound you might hear when typing something, and your phone isn’t in silent mode.
