iOS 16.2 launches next week—here’s all the new features for your iPhone

 iOS 16.2, supposed to be the last major update to this year’s iPhone operating system, is now expected to be released next week. iOS 16.1 brought some big changes to the iPhone when Apple released the software update. But a new iOS 16 update is already underway, and it will bring a new app to the iPhone, along with other enhancements.

The arrival of the new Freeform app ushers in the changes in iOS 16.2, which also includes some other low-level enhancements to other apps and features. Here’s what we know so far about what’s new for iPhone in iOS 16.2.

iOS 16.2: Sing with Apple Music

Apple Music Sing, a new built-in karaoke mode for Apple Music users, is currently expected to launch later this month. It may arrive with the iOS 16.2 update. While you won’t get this karaoke mode for every song in Apple’s library of more than 100 million songs, it promises to be a lot of fun with eligible tracks.

iOS 16.2 Advanced Data Protection

Advanced Data Protection has already started rolling out through the Apple Beta Software Program, but is now expected to arrive with iOS 16.2 or early next year. This security feature brings end-to-end encryption to Apple’s iCloud storage service, which is a huge win for iPhone users. While it doesn’t encrypt mail, contacts, or calendar data, it’s an extra level of data security for many of your most sensitive information.

iOS 16.2: Always-on display improvements

iOS 16 adds always-on displays to the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, bringing it in line with its Android rivals. This allows users to check the time, sports scores, calendar notifications, and more without unlocking the phone. Now, iOS 16.2 promises to let you disable wallpapers and/or notifications on the always-on display. While this might not be a huge feature for everyone, it clears up the clutter in an always-on display and gives you only what you need and nothing more.

iOS 16.2: Regional weather app Apple News story

If you open the iOS Weather app and the current situation is relevant to an ongoing news report, an Apple News widget will pop up, allowing you to read more about what’s happening in the News app.

iOS 16.2: iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island Upgrade

iOS 16.2 has a new Dynamic Island update that now keeps the Wi-Fi icon and signal bar visible while playing music on the iPhone 14 Pro. Earlier, if a user was listening to music on an iPhone 14 Pro, Dynamic Island would display the “now playing” track along with a battery icon and a signal icon or Wi-Fi. With this update, the width of the island will shrink, and all three icons will now be visible when playing music. It will also have a smooth animation setting it into place.

iOS 16.2: Expanded ProMotion support

iPhones with 120Hz displays — the various iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro models — get a performance boost. Apple’s release notes say that animated layout changes now occur at 120Hz on ProMotion displays.

iOS 16.2: New Home app architecture

Home gets a lot of attention in iOS 16, starting with a new design that makes it easier to see and control smart home accessories. The iOS 16.1 update brings support for Matter, an interoperability protocol backed by Google, Amazon, and Apple that helps disparate devices work together.

These changes continue in iOS 16.2, which will introduce a new architecture for the Home app. Apple says the change will lead to faster and more reliable performance, but we’ll have to see it in action before we can understand what it means for day-to-day use.

iOS 16.2: Unexpected emergency SOS call reported

iOS 16.2 Beta 1 apparently added a way to report an unintentional call if you accidentally triggered your iPhone’s emergency SOS call feature. One iOS 16.2 user took to Twitter to say that such a feature appeared when they inadvertently initiated an emergency call on their iPhone.

iOS 16.2: Custom Accessibility Mode

To ensure that anyone can use an iPhone, Apple is developing a new custom accessibility mode that can greatly simplify iOS layouts.

Enabling this mode will replace the default “Springboard” iOS home screen layout with a simpler home screen layout consisting of a large number of icons. Unlocking the phone can also be set to require a long-press input, with a prominent back button at the bottom of the screen no matter where you are on the phone. There are also options to enlarge on-screen text, disable the volume buttons, and change individual apps and the iOS Emergency SOS service.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Apple Battery

iOS 16.2 beta just fixed one of the iPhone 14 Pro’s biggest problems

 Apple had a great time adding always-on display to its phones and brought it to the iPhone 14 models with this year’s iOS 16 update. However, not everyone is a fan of Apple’s approach to always-on displays, which have been a mainstay of Android phones for some time.

If you thought the always-on display on the iPhone 14 Pro was too busy, you’ll want to grab iOS 16.2 when the software update becomes available this month. A new version of iOS 16.2 beta has just landed on developers, and it gives users the option to turn off some features that are displayed on the screen when always-on mode is enabled.

Currently, the always-on feature on the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro Max dims the phone’s lock screen. The clock and lock screen widgets you added to your lock screen will still appear, but so will your wallpaper, and any notifications that were displayed. This is in stark contrast to the way most Android phones present their always-on displays, which feature a clock and possibly some other notifications or widgets.

The iOS 16.2 beta 3 update introduces a way to take Android’s more minimalist approach to your iPhone. You can now turn off the always-on wallpaper and notifications, leaving only the time, data and widgets on a black screen.

You can access this feature by going into the Display & Brightness section of the Settings app. Select the always-on display, and you’ll now see separate toggles that allow wallpapers and notifications to appear on the screen. They join existing switches that allow you to completely turn off the iPhone 14 Pro’s always-on display.

Personally, I like Apple’s different approach to always-on displays, which I think helps them stand out from the way Android phones do it. I also appreciate how the always-on feature takes advantage of the iPhone 14 Pro’s ProMotion display to shrink the refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz so that the always-on feature doesn’t come at the expense of battery life. But I can understand why some people think Apple is going too far.

In addition to the changes to the always-on display, iOS 16.2 also introduces a new Freeform app for real-time collaboration between different Apple devices, as well as a dynamic island upgrade that makes Wi-Fi icons and signal The bar stays visible on your iPhone 14 Pro screen while playing music. Other changes include expanded ProMotion support, tweaks to live events and the ability to bring weather-related news stories into the Weather app.

>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

iOS 16.2 has 6 big changes you need to know before updating your iPhone

 Apple’s next big software update includes brand new Apple apps, better Siri controls, an improved Shortcuts app, interesting Safari upgrades, and more. Read on to find out what iOS 16.2 has to offer your iPhone.

The iOS 16.1 update was released on October 24 with several major features and changes, while the first iOS 16.2 beta was released just a day later, with no expected date for the stable software release. It takes 40 days of testing before iOS 16.1 hits everyone’s devices, so we’re probably looking at a similar timeline for iOS 16.2.

While still in beta development, there are still many new features to try on iOS 16.2. While I’ll be focusing on new features from an iPhone perspective, most of the items listed below also work with iPadOS 16.2 for iPad and macOS 13.1 Ventura for Mac, also in beta. Let’s have a look!

1. New Freeform Application

Apple’s new Freeform app, available for iPhone, iPad and Mac, is another productivity tool you can add to your arsenal. It’s a large, flexible canvas, like a digital whiteboard/corkboard hybrid, where you can add sticky notes, shapes, files, links, scans, photos and videos, audio, typed text, and drawings and highlights etc. mark.

The best thing about Freeform is collaboration, so you can plan projects, brainstorm ideas, create inspiration boards, and more. You can see everything collaborators are doing on the canvas in real time, from adding content to making edits. Collaboration can be started via FaceTime, and everyone’s updates can be seen in the associated message thread. You can show or hide the canvas grid on each board, and the app’s settings allow you to show or hide center, edge, and spacing guides.

2. Prefer Siri’s silent response

On iOS 16.0–16.1, your only option for verbal responses to Siri on the iPhone is between automatic and preferred voice responses. Automatic uses on-device intelligence to determine when it should speak, while Prefer Spoken Responses commands Siri to almost always speak loudly, even when silent mode is enabled. This is in stark contrast to previous iOS versions, which always had a third option that gave you more control to keep Siri silent almost all the time.

The new iOS 16.2 update brings back a third option, Prefer Silent Responses. According to the fine print in Settings -> Siri & Search -> Siri Responses, when this option is enabled, Siri will respond silently, “unless you appear to be driving or using headphones with the screen off.”

3. Shortcuts to lock the screen

The Shortcuts app keeps getting tweaked on iOS 16, and the iOS 16.2 update is no exception. This time, the wallpaper is a little different and a new script action:

Get wallpapers: Gets all lockscreen wallpapers and returns them as output so you can use them for other operations. This action doesn’t work on Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad.

Switch between wallpapers: Switch the current lock screen wallpaper. If the wallpaper has the link’s focus, this action also sets the focus. This action doesn’t work on Apple Watch, Mac, and iPad.

Set Wallpaper Photo: Set the wallpaper to the specified image. This action doesn’t work on Apple Watch.

4. Sleep widget for lock screen

We already have sleep widgets for the home screen and today view, but now there are widgets for the lock screen that can be below the time. The same two widgets are listed below, along with a third option, which is just a shortcut to the Sleep section of the Health app.

Data and Schedule: View your sleep profile and view your sleep schedule.

Sleep: View your most recent sleep periods, including sleep stages.

5. Visual changes for software updates

In a small update to iOS 16.2, the Software Update screen in Settings displays the currently installed version of iOS in bold, large font.

6. Show View Changes

When you go to Settings -> Display & Brightness, you’ll see the “Display Scaling” group at the bottom is now called “Display”, and under the new shorter heading you’ll find “Display Scaling” as a menu item, while More than just “view”. These small changes may be related to the next feature.

>>>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

If these new iOS 16 features annoy you, here’s how to get rid of them

 There’s a lot to discover in iOS 16, Apple’s latest mobile software update. For starters, you can unsend and edit text messages and emails, and easily crop people or objects from photos with just one click. There are several hidden features you should be aware of.

But not all iOS 16 features are universally loved. For example, the new iPhone home screen search button and unexpected photo pop-ups were quickly spurned. Fortunately, most of these iOS 16 features and settings can be completely disabled or removed. I’ll help you learn how to “fix” the most unpopular new iOS 16 feature. Let’s take a look below!

Stop unexpected (and embarrassing) photo pop-ups on your iPhone screen

Apple’s artificial intelligence helps you display photos and videos everywhere on your iPhone as reminders for family vacations, couple photos, and vacations, but you might not always want your personal photos to pop up unexpectedly, especially if they’re private , embarrassing or inappropriate.

In iOS 16, you can now prevent Featured Photos and a Featured Collection called Memories from appearing in the Photos widget on the Home screen and in the Search and For You sections of Photos.

To block these custom photos, launch the Settings app, go to Photos and turn off “Show Featured Content”. All featured content will no longer appear on your device, but will only be available in your photo library and albums.

Avoid accidentally ending your phone

The side/power button on the side of your iPhone lets you quickly sleep and wake your device, but if you accidentally press it during a call, you’ll end the call prematurely. If this is something you’ve encountered in the past, iOS 16 finally allows you to prevent that from happening.

In Settings, go to Accessibility > Touch and turn off “Lock End Call” to prevent the side button from ending a call. If you accidentally press the side button, your screen will go to sleep, but you will continue to receive calls without interruption.

Go back to using old iPhone lock screen notifications

Apple’s latest redesign brings widgets to the lock screen, customizable fonts and colors, a gallery of wallpapers and stylized date and time, and an overlooked notification change. Notifications now no longer appear at the top of the lock screen, but at the bottom, which you can then tap to go full screen.

However, not everyone is happy with the change. If you want to go back to how notifications appear on iOS 15, launch the Settings app and go to Notifications > Display As. Then you will see three options:

Count: Notifications appear as numbers at the bottom of the screen.

Stack: Notifications appear in a stack at the bottom of the screen.

List: Notifications appear entirely on your screen.

To return to the old notification style, select the list option.

>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

How to turn on clean energy charging for iOS 16 on your iPhone

 iOS 16.1 introduces a feature we didn’t necessarily expect in the latest iPhone software update – Clean Energy Charging, designed to reduce the carbon footprint your phone builds up while charging. But to take advantage of this smarter way to charge your phone, you must know how to turn on clean energy charging in iOS 16.1.

This is of course a feature you want to take advantage of. With clean energy charging enabled, your iPhone will charge when low-carbon electricity is available. Your iPhone can do this by obtaining forecasts or carbon emissions from the local energy grid, scheduling charging slots when clean energy production occurs.

Currently, clean energy charging is only available for U.S. iPhone owners running iOS 16.1 on their phones. The first thing to do to turn this feature on is to adjust the settings. This is where you need to turn on clean energy charging:

1. Startup Settings

2. Scroll down to Battery and tap to enter battery settings.

3. On the subsequent screen, tap Battery Health and Charging.

4. The clean energy charging switch is at the bottom of the battery health and charging page. Slide the toggle switch to the right to turn on clean energy charging.

If you decide to turn the feature off, you can slide the toggle back to the left and Apple will give you the option to turn it off for just one day or permanently.

You need to check some other settings to make sure that clean energy charging is working as expected. To charge your phone at the right time, you also need to turn on Optimized battery charging. Luckily, that setting is also on the battery health and charging screen, just above the clean energy switch you just turned on.

Optimized battery charging lets your iPhone know when and where you regularly charge your phone so it can work with clean energy charging to ensure you charge your phone at the best time.

Apple recommends tweaking some location services settings to ensure you get a carbon forecast for your current area. This means going to Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Location Services and making sure you have Location Services turned on. From there, you need to click on System Services to make sure System Customization is also turned on. Additionally, selecting System Services from the Location Services screen allows you to turn on important locations.

With all of these features enabled, clean energy charging should work as expected, with greener charging entirely in the background.

>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

The Best Secret Features of iOS 16: Tips to Make Your iPhone Life Easier

 iOS 16 is finally here, and after spending a few weeks on Apple’s best iPhone operating system, we’ve discovered a lot more than the headlines Apple revealed. Yes, the lock screen overhaul is great, the added widgets are great, and so are the deeper integration of focus modes. However, iOS 16 offers more than that. Here are some of our favorite “secret” iOS 16 features you might have missed.

Extract subject from photo

If you’ve browsed your photo library in iOS 16, you might accidentally start dragging parts of your photo out of the background. That’s thanks to a new feature in iOS 16 that lets you drag subjects from Photos to move them to different apps. There are even apps that turn those photos into stickers for use in iMessage.

Change lock screen notification layout

You can show all notifications on the screen, or swipe them down to show only the most recent notifications. You can even hide all of them, leaving only a small section at the bottom of the screen. To do this, just drag the notification to the bottom of the screen.

Bypass captcha

iOS 16 allows users to skip captcha by essentially requesting a security token on their behalf. Go to settings, then your iCloud account and password and security. You’ll find the option to enable automatic verification at the bottom.

Tactile keyboard

The haptic keyboard setup in iOS 16 is great for providing feedback when you’re using your device’s haptic input.

To turn it on, open Settings, then select Sounds & Haptics, then Keyboard Feedback. Here, you can use the toggle switch to turn on haptics, sound, or both.

Clear your photo duplicates

While organizing your photo library isn’t the most enjoyable task, there’s a way to instantly identify duplicates and combine them into a single image.

To find it, open Photos and tap Albums at the bottom. Scroll all the way to the Utilities section at the bottom and tap Repeat. Here, you’ll see all your doubles and can merge them into each image, saving space on your device or iCloud account.

Use Face ID in landscape orientation

It’s a little touch you may not have noticed yet, but it’s certainly a welcome touch. Face ID has been around since the iPhone X, but it always works in portrait mode — which means you’ll often have to flip the phone over. Borrowing a trick from recent iPads, you can now also unlock your phone in landscape orientation.

Use Live Text in Video

Live Text is a great way to extract key data from images you take yourself or find online. iOS 16 brings this feature to video, with one caveat – it can only handle still images.

Custom Spatial Audio

If you have any Spatial Audio-enabled Apple headphones, connect them to your iPhone and open Settings. Tap Bluetooth, then tap the “i” icon next to the headset. Then head to the Personalize Spatial Audio option.

Your phone will need to scan your ear shape with the camera (it works much like the original Face ID setup process), and you’ll build your custom spatial audio profile in seconds.

Full screen audio player

If you’ve been wondering how to let the audio of your choice take over your lock screen, just tap the album art. Doing so maximizes it and matches the lock screen’s colors to whatever you’re listening to. Click it again to minimize it. It’s a nice feature that adds more variety to your lock screen, but it’s also easy to miss.

Added battery percentage indicator

When Apple unceremoniously removed it, iPhone users were just getting used to having a battery percentage indicator on the status bar.

Thankfully, it’s back with iOS 16, but not on all phones — some users report it’s not present on the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini, or iPhone XR.

However, if your Face ID iPhone is not one of these models, go into your Settings app, tap Battery, and check the battery percentage option.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

2 new iOS 16 features that will literally just drain your iPhone battery

 If your iPhone keeps freezing, it’s time to make some changes. Maybe you need to charge it differently with the proper cable, or invest in a decent power bank that allows you to charge your iPhone from anywhere without relying on a wall outlet. You can also turn on Low Power Mode permanently or put iPhone in Airplane Mode to help preserve the small battery you have.

Not all battery-saving tips are obvious, though, and if you’re running iOS 16, there are some new ways to help you extend the life of your iPhone’s battery. Below, we’ll cover two new features in iOS 16 that both drain your iPhone’s battery to varying degrees, and how to turn them off to improve battery life.

Remove widgets from lock screen

All widgets on the lock screen force your app to run automatically in the background, constantly fetching data to update the information the widget displays, such as sports scores or the weather. And because of your widgets, these apps are constantly running in the background, which means they’re constantly draining battery power.

If you want to help save some battery on iOS 16, your best bet is to avoid widgets on the lock screen. The easiest way is to switch to another lock screen profile – press your finger on the existing lock screen and swipe around to select a lock screen profile without any widgets. However, if you just want to remove widgets from an existing lock screen, press on the lock screen, tap Customize, select the lock screen option, tap the widget box, and then tap the “-” button on each widget to delete them.

Keep haptic keyboard feedback off

Surprisingly, the keyboard on the iPhone has never had the ability to vibrate as you type, something recently added on iOS 16 called haptic feedback. Rather than just hearing a click, haptic feedback provides vibrations to each keystroke, providing a more immersive experience as you type. However, according to Apple, the same feature may also affect battery life.

According to this Apple support page about the keyboard, haptic feedback “may affect iPhone battery life.” There’s no specifics on how much battery life the keyboard feature consumes, but it’s best to disable this feature if you want to save battery.

Fortunately, it’s not turned on by default. If you enabled it yourself, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and turn off Haptics to turn off haptic feedback for the keyboard.

Although they haven’t been released yet, Live Activity and iCloud Shared Photo Library are two iOS 16 features that can also drain your battery, so keep an eye out for updates to this story on how to disable them.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>iPhone battery

iOS 16.1: Update your iPhone now to get these new features

 Apple is releasing iOS 16.1, the next iPhone software update, with a host of new features and some bug fixes. This includes a new way to charge your iPhone, using subscription-based Apple Fitness+ without the need for an Apple Watch, updating Dynamic Island for the iPhone 14 Pro, and more.

iOS 16.1, confirmed to launch on October 24, will also be released alongside other software updates, including iPadOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura.

So how to update to iOS 16.1?

To update, your iPhone may have an “Available Software Updates” option at the top of the settings for easy download. If not, you need to go to Settings > General > Software Update.

While iOS 16.1 fixes some bugs, this update includes some more interesting features – especially for those interested in Apple Fitness+, reducing carbon footprints, and live events. Let’s take a look below!

Apple Fitness+ is available to iPhone users

Starting October 24th, Apple Fitness+ will be available to iPhone users to subscribe, even if they don’t have an Apple Watch. It will be fully integrated with the Fitness app. Users without an Apple Watch won’t be able to see metrics like their heart rate and calories on the screen during a workout, but will still be able to follow up.

Clean and energy efficient

A new battery charging feature will be available on iPhone called Clean Energy. Available in Settings and currently only in the US, the feature will “attempt to reduce the iPhone’s carbon footprint by selectively charging low-carbon electricity when electricity is available.” This may result in slower charging, but is designed to reduce your carbon footprint.

Real-time activity of third-party applications

Want to check your sports scores or see your riding distance at a glance? iOS 16.1 brings live events to third-party apps, which allows iPhone users to watch live events directly on their lock screen and, for those with an iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max, on Dynamic Island.

Live activity will appear at the bottom of the lock screen on iPhone 14 and 14 Max models and earlier, while iPhone 14 Pro models will feature a feature set at the top of the screen to work with the new Dynamic Island.

iCloud Shared Photo Library

iOS 16.1 makes it easy for users to share photos and videos with up to five people with the iCloud Shared Photo Library feature. By setting up a shared gallery, users can allow photos taken by themselves to be sent directly to the gallery, and allow users in groups to add, edit, favorite, caption, and delete photos.

Enter the Home app

Matter, the new smart home connectivity standard, will now be supported in the Home app. This allows a wider selection of smart home accessories to work together, whether it’s Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and of course Apple’s Homekit.

Dynamic Island Reachability Support

For those with an iPhone 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max, iOS 16.1 will bring Reachability support to make one-handed access easier. It lowers the top of the iPhone‘s display by swiping down on the bottom of the screen. This is an optional feature that can be turned on through accessibility settings.

Key Sharing in Apple Wallet

iPhone users will be able to share their car, hotel room and other keys through iOS 16.1’s key sharing feature. This can be shared via messaging apps, including Messages and WhatsApp. What’s more, Apple Card customers will have access to a savings account that will automatically deposit “Daily Cash” cash back rewards into a high-yield savings account.

>>>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

Android 13 and iOS 16 are no different: A look at four common features

 There was a time when Android and iOS were two completely different worlds, each with a completely different target audience and experience. But as both operating systems become more mature, the difference between them becomes less obvious. The latest iterations — Android 13 and iOS 16 — are now more similar than ever. Today, we’ve listed some of the latest features that actually help bridge the gap between these two beasts.

Android 13 and iOS 16: Customization

When people think of Android, they think of infinite customization across interfaces – and iOS is seen as the exact opposite. However, this has changed dramatically since iOS 14 introduced custom icons and widgets. In iOS 16, both the home screen and the lock screen can be customized. Apple has also added widget support to the lock screen, which is no longer an option on Android.

On iOS 16, users can choose from multiple widgets, customize colors, and use depth effects with wallpapers for a truly unique look. When it comes to customizing the lock screen, Apple’s iOS 16 actually beats Android here.

In Android 13, the “Material You” theme actually goes one step further, even customizing the app’s icon based on the overall system color theme. That’s not yet an option on iOS 16, but it’s safe to say that both operating systems now offer users a ton of customization.

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Language options per app

While iOS has supported per-app language switching starting with iOS 13, Android only got it in its latest version. The feature makes apps on both operating systems more friendly to multilingual users who may prefer to access certain apps in a language different from the system default. Once set up, the feature works very similarly on both – although setting it up on either is a completely different experience.

On Android phones running Android 13 — still very limited given the fragmented ecosystem — you can do this directly from the app info page. This can be accessed via the menu that pops up when you long-press any app icon. Meanwhile, on Apple, you need to launch System Settings and search for the app in the app list. Click on it and then you will find that option. Keep in mind that not all apps on iOS and Android add support for multiple languages.

Android 13 and iOS 16: Focus Mode

The feature actually has the same name on Android and iOS, although the two are implemented slightly differently. In fact, Apple’s version recently got a major upgrade with iOS 16. For iPhone users, Focus has dedicated modes such as Do Not Disturb, Driving, Personal, Sleep or Work. You can customize these modes to ensure that only certain apps are allowed to show notifications, and that only selected people can call you. Apple’s implementation even allows you to hide certain parts of the app and show only the parts relevant to your focus.

Meanwhile, Android’s Focus Mode will gray out the icon of the selected app and “pause” it. It also ensures that their notifications are hidden. If you tap the app, it will notice that focus mode is on, but you can choose to use it for five minutes. Android 13 will also let you see a schedule for Focus Mode. So this will be turned on at a specific time each day according to your preference.

Android 13 and iOS 16: Dictation

Both operating systems have supported text-to-speech functionality for several years. But only recently has this become accurate enough that users can really consider giving up typing. The Pixel 6 series introduced a very powerful dictation feature in Android 12 last year, but Apple is catching up this year with iOS 16.

With Android 13 and iOS 16, you can now talk and type seamlessly across both platforms, and handle punctuation automatically. Another common feature is support for emoji, which you can add to your text using just your voice. The steps to start voice dictation are the same – on iOS you just tap the microphone icon in the bottom right corner of the keyboard, and on Gboard on Android it’s in the top right corner.

>>>>>>>>>Phone battery

iOS 16 just got Google Maps lockscreen widgets — here’s how to add them

 If you didn’t already know, Apple added the ability to add a handful of widgets to the lock screen as part of its massive iOS 16 lock screen customization update. Third-party apps are just starting to introduce their own lock screen widgets, Google has added these for Gmail, Chrome, Google Drive and Google News, and now we have new widgets for Google Maps and regular Google apps .

You can choose between two types of lock screen widgets. The first is for frequent travel and acts as a shortcut to one of your favorite locations. Another is a quick search option that quickly scans your area for a specific type of business or service, similar to the chip you’ll find at the top of your Google Maps home screen.

As lock screen widgets, these buttons will be available when you wake your iPhone and are on the relevant lock screen. If you own an iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max, you’ll be able to access widgets from the always-on display at any time.

While Apple would no doubt prefer you to use its own Maps app, the truth is that Google Maps is just as widely used on the iPhone, if not more. Additionally, Apple Maps doesn’t currently offer a lock screen widget, which means if you want the fastest way to map your way home or to a nearby coffee shop, Google Maps is your best bet.

If you want to add these Google Maps lock screen widgets to your own iPhone, you can follow the steps below.

How to Add the Google Maps Widget to Your Lock Screen in iOS 16

1. Sign in to the App Store to make sure the Google Maps app is up to date. You are looking for 6.40 or later, otherwise you won’t have any widgets.

2. In order for the iPhone to recognize that new widgets are available, please open the Google Maps application at least once before attempting to add a widget.

3. By tapping and holding the lock screen with the phone unlocked, or by opening the lock screen customization through the settings menu. Click Customize, then Lock Screen to get to where we can add widgets.

4. Tap the box below the clock to open the widget of your choice, then scroll down to Google Maps and tap it.

5. Now select the “Frequent Travel” or “Search” widget and tap or drag it to snap it into place.

6. The “Frequent Travel” widget defaults to your home address and the “Search” widget defaults to the Google Maps search box. If you want to change it, click on the widget when it’s in place and choose a new option from the menu that appears.

7. After sorting, tap Done in the upper right corner to confirm your location. You are all done!

>>>>>>>>>Apple battery