The iOS 16 upgrade is available for the Apple iPhone and brings new functions. But what do you need to know about installing the new operating system for Apple smartphones? On which models can it actually be played? And which of the announced functions will be delivered later with an update? I answer these and other questions for you here. In addition, I will always expand this post when new information is available or we have written a new guide on iOS 16. For example, you can already find a help article about an App Store bug here in the blog. But it is also about instructions for new functions.
Chapter in this post:
- 1 What is iOS 16 and do I need it?
- 2 What new features are coming to iPhone with iOS 16?
- 3 Which iOS 16 features will come later via an update on the iPhone?
- 4 Which Apple iPhone models are compatible with iOS 16?
- 5 How can I install iOS 16 on my iPhone?
- 6 iOS 16 Guides - iPhone Tips and Tricks
- 7 lock screen and widgets
- 8 camera and photos
- 9 phone calls
- 10 messages
- NEVER Mail
- 12 security
- 13 bugs, errors and problems
- 14 collective contributions
- 15 miscellaneous
- 16 Question about iOS 16? We're trying to find an answer!
- 17 Similar posts
What is iOS 16 and do I need it?
iOS 16 is the iPhone operating system that Apple announced at WWDC22 and made available for free download on September 12, 2022. It replaces the iOS 2021 presented and introduced in 15 on compatible Apple iPhones.
It includes new design options, security options, features for the Camera app and Photos app, the Fitness app for iPhone without an Apple Watch, and more. In addition, it is always safest to have the latest version of an operating system installed. So even if you don't need individual functions, I would still recommend the update.
Related articles here on the blog:
- Summary of the WWDC22 keynote including the first iOS 16 presentation
- Upgrade to iOS 16: Information about installation, functions and backup in preparation
What new features are coming to iPhone with iOS 16?
The new operating system brings numerous new functions and improvements to the Apple iPhone. Not only will apps and settings be added or expanded, but familiar ways of using the iPhone will also be improved. These include the lock screen, which gets widgets and live activities, the Photos app, in which there are new editing options, and more. The innovations also include the Safety Check or the pass keys. The entire What's New in iOS 16 catalog from Apple you can find here.
The following is an overview of the areas, functions and apps that have been improved or are new:
- lock screen
- Fokus
- Shared iCloud Photo Library
- News
- Safari
- pass keys
- Live text
- Crab
- dictation function
- Cards
- Apple Pay and Wallet
- Home
- Health
- Fitness
- Family sharing
- C
- Data protection
- Safety
- Accessibility
- App clips
- Books
- Camera
- Contacts
- dictionary
- FaceTime
- Freeform
- Game Center
- notes
- Photos
- Camera
- Memories
- Spotlight
- Visual lookup
- And a lot more
Which iOS 16 features will come later via update on the iPhone?
Both the presentation of iOS 16 at WWDC22 and the catalog presented by Apple with details on the Widgets update for lock screen, apps like Photos, Messages and Co. as well as innovations for security, the display of messages, the use of Live Text and other functions in the operating system of the iPhone and everything else are impressive. But the iOS 16 upgrade for the iPhone, which was rolled out on September 12, 2022, didn't bring everything with it.
The Freeform app, live activities on the lock screen, sharing keys in the wallet, support for the smart home standard Matter, the shared iCloud photo library and more will come later via update. Again, there's a single, small feature here and there that's delayed. For the full list of announced but delayed features, follow the link below: These iOS 16 features will come to the iPhone later.
Which Apple iPhone models are compatible with iOS 16?
But which Apple iPhone actually gets the new operating system for 2022 and 2023 from Apple? Which models of iPhone can perform the upgrade described in this guide? We also have a contribution ready for this: Is my iPhone compatible with iOS 16?
If you don't want to click every link in this post and jump back and forth for all the information, here's the list for a quick overview: iPhone SE (2nd Gen), iPhone SE (3rd Gen), iPhone 8 (Plus), iPhone iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS (Max), iPhone 11 (Pro / Pro Max), iPhone 12 (mini / Pro / Pro Max), iPhone 13 (mini / Pro / Pro Max), iPhone 14 (Plus / Pro / Pro Max). So basically all iPhones since 2017.
How can I install iOS 16 on my iPhone?
So how does a compatible iPhone user get to enjoy this or that new feature? This is basically very easy via the settings, which have the well-known gears as a symbol. Since the iOS 16 release on September 12, 2022, you will find a reference to the upgrade there. This can take some time, since several gigabytes have to be downloaded and then the innovations for each individual app and function have to be installed.
In the Sir Apfelot Guide Upgrade to iOS 16: Information about installation, functions and backup in preparation you will find helpful tips on the following sub-points: Upgrade from iPhone settings, Install iOS 16 on iPhone via computer, Should I wait to upgrade to iOS 16?, Tip: Make a backup on the computer beforehand and What does iOS 16 actually bring me?.
iOS 16 Guides - iPhone Tips and Tricks
This area will continue to fill up over the coming days and weeks. So far we've been able to publish one or two iOS 16 instructions - but there's so much more about the lock screen and widgets, getting back mail and e-mails, messages and SharePlay, editing photos and cutting out motifs, the home screen and search function as well as much more to say. Here you can find the previously published iOS 16 guides and guides:
Lock screen and widgets
- Lock screen notifications on iOS 16: Count, Stack or List
- Widgets on the iOS 16 lock screen: choice in the first beta
- iOS 16 tip: Show battery charge status in the battery icon (and which models it doesn't work on)
camera and photos
- The top three camera app improvements in iOS 16
- Photos app under iOS 16: innovations summarized for you
- Automatically crop photos with iPhone
- Remove Duplicate Pictures: Merge Duplicate Photos on iPhone
To phone
News
- iPhone Guide: Recall, edit, and more messages
- Messages App: Recover Deleted Messages and Chats on iPhone
- Cancel Sending: Cancel sent email on iPhone
- iPhone Guide: Send Email Later with Mail App
- iPhone Guide: Remind me of email to reply later
Safety
- Forbid web access to iCloud: This is how you only access it via your own devices
- iPhone 14 Accident Detection - Enable and Disable in Settings
- Safety Check from iOS 16: Protection against tracking by people with digital access
- Passkeys - Encrypted access instead of using a password
- Blocking mode / lock mode on iPhone – Better protect against cyber attacks from iOS 16
Bugs, errors and problems
- iOS 16 with old bug: Constant Apple ID query in the App Store
- ImageCaptureCore error 9956 and others - how to solve them
collective contributions
Miscellaneous
- iOS 16 and iPadOS 16: Apple Pay in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge & more browsers
- iPhone search function: Use Spotlight functions on your smartphone
- iPhone 14 Pro (Max) Always-On Display – How it works and when it goes out
- Apple Watch Sync - View and Control Smartwatch on iPhone
Question about iOS 16? We're trying to find an answer!
Do you have any questions, comments or problem descriptions about the new iPhone system? Can't find the right guide on Apple or other blogs? Then feel free to leave a comment on the topic! We try to find an answer to every question and to work out solutions for problems, errors and bugs.
Related Articles
Instructions: Transfer eSIM to new iPhone- RAM list: This is how much RAM the iPhone has (all generations)
- Which Apple devices use Wi-Fi 6E and how do you disable it?
- What's coming to the iPhone with iOS 17.2
- Free use of “Emergency SOS via satellite” on the iPhone 14 has been extended for one year
- Taking photos in the moment: (de)activate the camera spirit level on the iPhone
- iOS 17.1.1 – No more NFC damage from charging in the car
- The 5 best features of iOS 17 (sponsor)
[On vacation] After graduating from high school, Johannes completed training as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which led to his independence. He has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others, for several years now. His articles include product introductions, news, instructions, video games, consoles and much more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.
Good day,
in ios 16 how can I delete the calendar widget on the lock screen or put the calendar widget under the time?
or I would like the calendar widget to be displayed under the time on the lock screen.
How am I supposed to do that ?
With kind regards,
Sherwin
Hello Shervin,
As far as I can tell, the day and date cannot be placed below the time, only above it. However, when customizing the lock screen, you can use the calendar widget to display the next entry/appointment there. In addition to a smaller display of day and date, other widgets (weather, moon phase, etc.) can be added above the time.
Best regards
John
Hi John,
Thanks, I've been waiting for this. I noticed that the cellular has improved on my IPhone 14 Pro. Where I just had 3G, I now have LTE (e.g. in the supermarket). I continue to use exactly the contract that I used on the iPhone XS in the first week of September. Would it be worth switching to 5G? I live in Munich and use my smartphone rather averagely.
Greetings to you and to the Sir Apfelot team
Hello Horst,
in a big city like Munich you could definitely benefit from switching to 5G, so the supply should be secured. But of course it depends on what kind of content you want to load via mobile data. Navigation, e-mails, iMessage and the like can also be easily implemented with 4G LTE. But I don't have any (personal) comparative data or experience, because I very rarely use mobile data and almost never use up my monthly quota of just 1 GB. I also only use it via 4G LTE for messenger apps and for navigating via map services.
Best regards
John
Hi John,
Thanks for the answer. It helped me with my decision. Stick to 4G for now.
Greeting Horst
Hi John,
I can't adjust (resize) the background image of my IPhone 14 Pro. Message on the display: “Pin and pinch to crop”. I can change the size, but as soon as I take my fingers off the display, the background image jumps back to full screen size. What am I doing wrong, is there a setting, is it an ios16 bug or am I just too stupid?
Greeting Horst
Thanks in advance
PS
Please help all other Sir Apfelot readers as well!
Hello Horst,
if this happens with a pre-installed background from Apple, I could imagine that they should simply not be changed. You know Apple's Steve Jobs legacy with a penchant for emphasizing one's own creations that shouldn't be altered.
If it happens to your own images or images from the web, I would imagine that they are too small to zoom and crop and would therefore fall below a minimum size for background images if you zoom in further.
If that's not the case and you're using a high-resolution photo or something, then you can crop it in the Photos app as a workaround. There you have the option of cropping a photo or a certain section of a photo in portrait format to fit the display size. Maybe you can do that first and then set the photo adjusted like this as a custom background?
Best regards
John
Hi John,
It didn't work with the photo app either. The main reason was. that I couldn't see the upper status bar because of the white background of the background image. I then inserted a black rectangular area into the picture above on my PC, saved the picture and transferred it to the iPhone using Anytrans. Now everything fits. Actually, I would have expected Apple to always show the status bar, regardless of the background image. That was the case with ios15. There the scaling of the background image also worked without any problems. Hope this will be changed in the next updates of ios16.
Hi John,
What about NFC and where can I enable/disable it etc.
I've already searched the internet and can't find anything about NFC on the IPhone 14 Pro. It also seems to be well hidden in the settings of my IPhone 14 Pro.
Greetings to you and to the team
Eyrie
Hello Horst! You don't have to turn anything on. NFC is always active on the iPhone 14. There is no option to turn this on or off. If you have an NFC tag, all you really have to do is bring your iPhone (top side) close and a message should appear on the display. Unfortunately, I don't have an NFC tag and can't test it. :(
Hi Jens,
Thanks for the quick reply. I don't have an NFC tag either. Just wanted to know.
Greeting
Eyrie
Hi John,
Many thanks for your tips and hints.
Question about Siri on iOS 16 (iPhone 12): How to turn off or mute the annoying Siri replies. Under "Siri Answers" there are only "Automatic" and "Prefer Spoken Answers". The third, earlier option of only activating spoken replies with "Hey Siri" is no longer available.
Hello Wolfram,
I honestly don't know what exactly you mean. Which Siri answers are annoying is also rather subjective. So how do you enter Siri requests if not by voice? (I'm not very familiar with Siri since I make a "Hey Siri" request maybe once or twice a month and then expect a voice response as well.)
Best regards
John
Hi John,
when I say "Hey Siri," Siri responds with voice. That's ok, but if I press and hold the right button on the iPhone 12, Siri also opens and I can give acoustic commands. Siri reacts to these inputs by reading out the (spoken) answer that is also given in writing. Example: I say (while holding the right button) "wake up at twelve o'clock," then Siri replies, "I set your alarm on for noon" (and also shows that as text). The clock information with a green slider remains at the top of the screen. If I move the slider to off, Siri tells me: "Your lunch alarm clock is now off". I would like to mute these voice messages.
Hello Wolfram,
now i understand the problem. I don't think the system makes much of a difference between saying "Hey Siri" and pressing the side button. I can't really offer you a solution. Personally, I would just set the alarm in the Clock app and bypass Siri entirely.
Best regards
John
Hello people,
After updating to iOS 16.1, CarPlay can no longer be used. I mean navigation with Google Maps or Apple Maps. After a few minutes, the display turns many shades of pink. Everything blurry. Until then nothing can be seen anymore. I drive a new Golf and have an iPhone 13 Pro. With or without a cable doesn't matter.
did you hear about it
gruß
Pablo
Hallo,
the notes are now totally cluttered with the file blocks.
Is there a way to put it back into the display as a list?
since the new update on my iphone (16.11/XNUMX), the clock appears in such bold numbers; brrr super ugly. Can you change that?! I would have preferred to display the clock as an analogue clock.
Does anyone have an idea? Thanks!