Apple’s iOS 16 adds the ability to view Wi-Fi network passwords from the settings menu, bringing to the iPhone a feature many Android phones already have.
While the new feature wasn’t directly mentioned in Apple‘s WWDC 2022 conference keynote on Monday, it did appear in the iOS 16 developer beta. The feature joins the new lock screen personalization and upgraded iMessages highlighted in the keynote. Since these features are currently in development, most people will likely not be able to use them until the public release of iOS 16 later this year.
While iOS does now offer the ability to share Wi-Fi networks, it’s currently limited to iPhones and iPads. In order to work, both devices need to have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on while in close proximity to each other. Then, when the device trying to connect goes to Wi-Fi settings and selects a network, devices already on the network can tap the prompt to share credentials. It’s fast, but it’s not helpful when you want to set up any other device like an Android phone or Nintendo Switch.
In iOS 16, if you want to share your password with others, all you need to do is find the connected Wi-Fi network in settings and tap the new password option that appears. You can then copy and paste the password and send it via SMS, email, and more.
To do this, you must be connected to or have been connected to a Wi-Fi network in the past and be close enough to the router for the network to appear in your settings. If you meet these requirements, launch the Settings app on your iPhone running iOS 16 and do the following:
1. Go to Wireless Networks.
2. Find the Wi-Fi network for which you want a password and tap the blue information icon to the right of the network name.
3. Tap Passcode and use Face ID, Touch ID, or enter your passcode to view it.
4. Finally, click Copy to save the password to the clipboard.
You can then paste the Wi-Fi network password into a text message or email to share with others, or just tell them the password.
With iOS 16, you have more control over how your lock screen looks. During Apple‘s WWDC 2022 keynote on Monday, the iPhone maker showed off the ability to customize the lock screen with new personalization features.
These new features will let you automatically rotate a set of lock screen images, enable filters, change font types and colors, add widgets, and more. If you’ve been waiting for your chance to get rid of Apple’s traditionally limited personalization features, this is a welcome upgrade.
Here’s how to customize your lock screen once iOS 16 is available – possibly this fall.
To customize or add filters to your lock screen image, just hold the image and tap Customize. From there, swipe left or right to choose from different styles, filters, and fonts. If you want to go beyond the suggested styles provided, you can further customize by tapping any element on the lock screen. For example, if you want to change the font or color of the time, you can tap the clock to do so.
You can also add widgets directly to the lock screen if you want to see information like the weather, activity ring or calendar events at a glance. You can tap the plus sign below the clock to bring up the widget library. Then, just drag any widget you want from the gallery onto the lock screen.
After personalizing the lock screen according to your requirements, you can click Done in the upper right corner to save.
You can also create entirely new looks from scratch. Swipe right on the lock screen to bring up a new wallpaper gallery with different preset collections and designs you can choose from. Alternatively, you can choose from your own photo library.
If you want to shuffle a group of photos throughout the day, you can select the Photo Shuffle option. You can browse the suggested photo library to find photos intelligently picked from your photo library.
Apple’s iOS is a far cry from the beginnings of iPhoneOS, and all the best iPhones are built on the operating system’s original promises. And the platform grows every year, adding new features with every update. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of useful features you might have missed. Some are accessibility options, some need to be enabled, and some are just waiting to be used. However, all of these will make your iPhone experience better. Let’s take a look below!
1. Use the cursor to select text
If you’ve ever added a wrong word through autocorrect, but didn’t find it until you wrote dozens more words, this tip is for you. Of course, you can put your finger on the text to jump to it, but this sometimes causes whole words or sentences to be highlighted. For finer control, we recommend the following:
1. Place your finger or thumb on the bottom of the screen, below the keyboard.
2. This will grey out the keyboard and turn it into a trackpad until you lift your finger or thumb.
2. Create text snippets
Text snippets are popular among macOS power users, but you can achieve the same results with an iPhone. Even better, it doesn’t require any third-party software.
Text snippets are ideal shortcuts for copying certain phrases that you pre-registered. With text replacement, you can create a block of text to post as you type a phrase.
1. Open Settings, then go to General, then Keyboard.
2. Select text replacements and you will be able to create new replacements, along with the words needed to trigger them.
You can also set emoji to appear as you type, which feels pleasantly nostalgic you won’t get from the emoji picker.
3. Enable Scientific Calculator
The iPad may not have a calculator, but the iPhone does. The problem is that aside from adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing, it can feel a bit limiting — at least until you find a new perspective. Turning your iPhone aside with the calculator app open will enable the scientific calculator. This adds parentheses, square roots, cos/sin/tan options, the very handy pi command, and more.
4. Enable extra “buttons”
Although intended as an accessibility feature, the iPhone‘s “back click” button is handy for power users looking for extra input for their device.
1. Go to Settings, then Accessibility, then Touch.
2. Select Back Tap and you will see a lot of options.
You can use it in many ways. There are also double-tap and triple-tap options, which means you can set a variety of functions for it.
5. Use the camera’s “Burst Mode”
Your iPhone’s camera is powerful enough, but you may be missing a trick: burst mode. Burst mode, which means your iPhone can capture a series of action shots.
It’s also easy to access. Just swipe the shutter button to the left in the Camera app. You can also go into Settings, then Camera, and toggle Burst shooting with volume up to allow your volume rocker to trigger burst mode—just press and hold it while capturing an image.
6. Scan documents with your camera
Your iPhone camera can double as a very respectable document scanner, and while Live Text means you can extract text from images, it’s entirely possible to digitize entire documents. However, because it’s hidden in the Notes application, you may not have discovered how to do it.
1. Open Notes, then tap the camera icon, then Scan Document.
2. Highlight your document and it should automatically save. You can also scan manually using the shutter button.
3. After saving the scan, you can also sign it or just share it via any email or messaging app.
7. Use your camera flash as a notification
As an accessibility feature, you can trigger your iPhone’s camera flash to turn off when you receive a notification, giving you a more intuitive way to know that someone is calling or texting.
1. Go to Settings, then Accessibility.
2. In the Audio/Video section, there is an option “LED Flash for Alerts”.
You can also trigger it to only work when your phone is silent, which is ideal if you don’t want your phone to vibrate on a table.
8. Use Shazam to identify any song in Control Center
While Shazam has an app, you can also add it to your iPhone‘s Control Center for easy access.
Open Settings, then go to Control Center and click the plus button next to Music Recognition to add it.
Now, whenever you hear a good song playing, you can pull down from the control center and tap the Shazam icon to find out what’s playing.
After seeing the release of iOS 15 and the subsequent iPhone 13 series, Apple is slowly refining the features we’ve seen since June, including iOS 15.2 and the recently released iOS 15.4 that brings FaceID to the face while wearing a mask control.
However, that didn’t stop us from thinking about what might be on the horizon for the next version of iOS, which we expect to call iOS 16 at WWDC 2022.
Every iOS release brings an important feature, whether it’s widgets or dark mode. But iOS could still benefit from some new improvements to better manage the way you use your iPhone every day.
iOS 16 release date rumored
Apple follows the traditional schedule of announcing the latest iOS update at WWDC in June, followed by a release around September.
With the launch of iOS 15.4.1, Apple has been focusing on rolling out important features in more .1 updates. In previous years, we’ve seen trackpads come to iOS 13.4, and ProRes came to iOS 15.1 last October.
When we see iOS 16, it won’t be easy to expect iOS 15.5, which will bring even more important features to your iPhone and iPad.
iPhones that support iOS 16
Apple tries to support various iPhone models with each new iOS release. iOS 15 supports at least the iPhone 6S released in 2015.
Early leaks suggest: Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 6S (along with the iPhone 6S Plus and original iPhone SE) won’t get iOS 16, but everything from the iPhone 7 onwards will.
It’s certainly not an easy task to expect iOS 16 to support at least the iPhone 7 series, but some features may be hindered, mainly due to hardware limitations in the cameras or the chips in some iPhone models.
Each iOS version has a major feature, but also some small improvements across the board. For example, if you still have an iPhone 8, you might get the benefit of some small features when iOS 16 arrives. But there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on an important feature that Apple will show.
News and Leaks
Aside from the release date and compatibility details above, the only thing we’ve really heard about iOS 16 so far is that it may feature large interactive widgets.
These are apparently called “InfoShack” internally, and you can see how they look in the image below. They will basically hold multiple widgets of different styles.
The image also shows redesigned icons, so we might see that in iOS 16 as well. However, the Apple TV remote icon is suspicious because it doesn’t look like an actual Apple TV remote.
The latest version of Apple‘s mobile operating system brings some new features and settings related to your privacy and security. Apple’s latest mobile operating system – iOS 15.4 – is now available for public download. The fourth update to iOS 15 brings several new and enhanced privacy and security features to the iPhone, including several upgrades to iCloud Keychain, anti-tracking AirTag notifications, and more.
Let’s take a look at some of the new privacy and security features and settings that come with iOS 15.4.
AirTags have the potential to be abused by thieves and stalkers to track unsuspecting victims. Over the past few months, Apple has released several new updates to iOS to help prevent AirTags from being used to track people, and that continues with the release of iOS 15.4.
When setting up AirTag with iOS 15.4, you will now receive a notification that your AirTag is linked to your Apple ID, essentially warning you that the AirTag can link back to you if you try to use it to track someone. The notice also states that using AirTag in this way to track someone is considered a crime.
You can add notes to saved passwords
In iOS 15.4, you can now annotate usernames, emails, and passwords you save in iCloud Keychain. To access it, open the Settings app and do the following:
1. Enter Password and verify yourself.
2. New, tap the account you want to leave a message for.
3. Finally, click Add Note and enter your note.
When you’re done, click Done in the upper right corner, and you’ll save the notes for these credentials.
Safari will no longer save passwords without usernames
If you’re having trouble finding a password for a website you know is saved through iCloud, it may be because iOS saves the same password but no username. Without a username, the password won’t appear on your keyboard when you visit the site, but iOS 15.4 aims to fix that.
Now, when you try to save a password without a username in Safari, you’ll get a popup asking you to enter your password. The notification says “To save this password, please enter your [website] account username” and you’ll see a text field where you can enter your username or email.
You can hide those password security suggestions
It’s best not to duplicate passwords across accounts, and Apple is firm about this, which is why when you go to Settings > Passwords, you may see Security for compromised, easily guessed, or reused passwords suggestion.
Alerts are a good thing, but if you don’t want to be reminded every time you enter your password settings, you can hide them: go to an account, then click the X icon in the upper right corner of the alert. In the popup that appears, click Hide to get rid of them Safety advice. If you want to see security advice again at any time, go to Hidden Security Advice in Password Settings.
With Apple announcing its Mac Studio, iPhone SE 3, Studio Display and more at its March 2022 event, the release of iOS 15.4 follows a week later and is available for your iPhone SE, iPhone 6S and later. Released in September 2021, iOS 15 brings SharePlay, widgets, Focus mode, and more to iPadOS, all with a productivity theme. But since then, Apple has been pushing the .1 update in full force, as 15.1, 15.2, and 15.3 all bring bug fixes and improvements to your iPhone and iPad.
With that in mind, here are five features you can familiarize yourself with when iOS 15.4 downloads to your device, let’s take a look!
1. Face ID with mask
While Apple has introduced a feature that allows your Apple Watch to verify your identity by unlocking your phone, that doesn’t help those who don’t have a watch. In iOS 15.4, you can enable an additional feature that requires you to scan your face while wearing a mask. The Face ID hardware will then recognize your eyes and facial features to unlock your phone.
2. iPadOS 15.4 Universal Controls
This was announced at WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference in 2021, but was delayed from the second half of 2021 to the release of iPadOS 15.4. As long as you have a specific iPad model and a Mac running macOS 12.3 Monterey, you can use the mouse cursor on both devices so you can drag and drop your content seamlessly.
3. New emoji
The new update wouldn’t be the same without the new emoji, and this time you can use a bunch. From greetings to gender-specific pregnancy, and many new gestures, your WhatsApp and Twitter messages have plenty to choose from.
4. Better AirTag anti-tracking measures
When you set up the new AirTag in iOS 15.4, you’ll see a pop-up stating that using it to track people is a crime, making users aware of its misuse around the world to date. There’s also a better way to manage its notifications through the Find My app, so you can configure time-tracking when your alerts arrive, while deciding whether to send them all at once or at a certain time of day.
5. Notes in iCloud Keychain
Since 2019, with the release of iOS 13, you’ve been able to save and sync your passwords in iCloud. But 15.4 allows you to add notes to your custom iCloud password via iCloud Keychain.
While this may sound like a small feature, it’s important because other password apps have been around for years, and the convenience of adding a few extra reminders to these sections can be helpful, especially if you have a lot of accounts for the same site.
If you own an iPhone, you can use Face ID to unlock your phone or use Apple Pay. But the pandemic has made Face ID almost useless in public, because it doesn’t work when you’re wearing a mask, which covers almost half of your face.
Usually this leaves you with one of two options: put on the mask and manually enter the passcode, or take off the mask and let Face ID work that way. Neither option is perfect, which is why Apple’s upcoming iPhone software update is an improvement. Thanks to iOS 15.4 coming next week, you can finally use Face ID while wearing a mask.
As long as you have an iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 running iOS 15.4, you can easily go into your phone’s settings and open a new setting that uses features around your eyes to verify that you’re really you, even if you’re wearing a mask.
But if you have an older iPhone model, or just don’t want to update to iOS 15.4 for a while, there’s another way to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask—with the Apple Watch. Let’s take a look at how to use it!
How to use Face ID with a mask
This new feature is exclusive to iOS 15.4 and only available on iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max and iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max. If you have both software and hardware, do the following to use Face ID with a mask:
1. On your iPhone, open the Settings app.
2. Next, go to Face ID & Passcode and enter your passcode.
3. Toggle Use Face ID with a mask.
4. On the next page, select the Use Face ID with mask option.
5. Wear a mask to set up Face ID.
Setting up Face ID with a mask is almost the same as setting up regular Face ID, but the emphasis is on verifying the unique features around the eyes. Once set up, which takes about a minute or so, you can unlock your iPhone masked (and unmasked).
If you don’t have iOS 15.4 or an iPhone 12 or 13, you can still unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch. To do this, you need to be running iOS 14.5 or later and WatchOS 7.4 or later. To set up this function:
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Select Face ID & Passcode and enter your passcode.
3. Scroll down to Unlock with Apple Watch, find your Apple Watch and turn on the feature.
Now, when you’re wearing a mask, all you have to do is raise your phone as usual and unlock it with Face ID. You’ll feel a touch on your wrist letting you know your watch has been used to unlock your phone.
The alert on the watch goes beyond just confirming that your phone is unlocked, though. It includes a button to lock the phone in case it’s unlocked by someone else. This is a safety feature that ensures that others cannot pick up your phone and unlock it while wearing a mask. While this is unlikely to happen, it’s a reassuring fallback to keep your data more secure.
A new iOS and iPadOS update has been released that fixes a security flaw, suggesting it could be a big one that users should patch as soon as possible. Apple has hastily rolled out a pair of iPhone and iPad software updates to fix security flaws that may have been exploited by bad actors.
The iOS 15.3.1 and iPadOS 15.3.1 updates fix only one issue, which is unusual since Apple typically bundles multiple bug and bug fixes into each update. This suggests that the flaw is serious enough that Apple rushes to fix it.
In fact, the updated support page says “Apple is aware of reports that this issue may have been actively exploited,” a rare confirmation from the company that the vulnerability is not only theoretical, but may have been exploited.
If this rush to update iPhones and iPads to fix security flaws sounds familiar, it’s because Apple did just that with iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 a few weeks ago. As far as we know, this new security update addresses different vulnerabilities than previous patches were supposed to fix.
As with all Apple software updates, these security patches are free and available for all modern devices that can download iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. These are iPhone 6s and later, and iPod Touch (7th generation) and iPad Pro (all models) for iOS, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and for iPadOS Newer iPad mini 4 and later.
Updating a compatible iPhone or iPad is easy: just open the Settings app and go to General > Software Update.
Apple released iOS 15.2 on Monday, bringing a lot of updates and new features. This is the first major update of Apple’s iPhone software since iOS 15.1 in October. It brings features such as FaceTime SharePlay and ProRes support to the iPhone. Here is what we have learned for everyone, let’s take a look!
How to download iOS 15.2 first?
To download the latest update, go to “Settings”> “General”> “Software Update” and select “Download and Install”. After the download is complete, restart your iPhone to start the installation. Once your phone restarts, you will be using the latest version of iOS. Let’s take a look at the new features!
App privacy report
The biggest new feature of iOS 15.2 is the application privacy report. This report is designed to help users control who has access to their data. If you’ve ever checked the weekly screen usage report, the app privacy report is organized in a similar way-but instead of telling you how much time you spend in different apps, it shows which data and sensors each app can access. Network activity of these applications and other privacy-related data.
Apple Music Voice Plan
One of the new features of iOS 15.2 is the Apple Music Voice Plan, which is the new subscription tier of Apple Music. The voice plan tier cuts the subscription price in half—to $5 per month. Spatial audio and lyrics features will not be available, but you can access the full Apple Music catalog.
Apple Music playlist search
If you already own Apple Music, iOS 15.2 now allows you to search for songs in your playlist. It is difficult to find at first-you have to enter the playlist and swipe down from the top of the screen to display the search bar above the playlist image.
Communication security settings
After postponing the controversial setting of Messages, Apple released it as part of iOS 15.2. This message setting allows parents to enable warnings for their children when they receive or send photos containing nudity. When children receive these photos, the warning will also show their resources. Although the intent behind this feature is strongly supported, privacy experts believe that the cost of Apple’s approach outweighs the benefits.
Macro control of photos
Users with iPhone 13 Pro or Max can now use the ultra-wide-angle lens to take close-up photos and videos in 15.2 on these models. To open it, go to Settings, then Camera, in this menu there is a toggle switch labeled Macro Control. When it is turned on, you should see a flower icon on the screen when taking a photo. When you are close to an object, tap the flower icon to enter macro mode.
More details in Apple Maps
Apple Maps will now display detailed road information, such as bicycle lanes, turning lanes, central barriers, and pedestrian crossings that support the city.
Updates to the “Find My” function
The current iOS has also updated Apple’s Find My function. This change reported by MacRumors allows you to use the “Find My” app to scan “Items that can be tracked by me” to identify nearby items that can send location data. You can then choose to disable tracking on any device you find.
The update caused some controversy because it dragged the “Find Me” feature into two contradictory directions. The update appears to be aimed at helping people better control their privacy by preventing unwanted devices from tracking them. However, it also seems to weaken the functionality of AirTags, as it may enable thieves to turn off any AirTag tracking of stolen items.
Parts and service history
The update also allows you to view the repair history on your iPhone by going to “Settings”> “General”> “About”> “Parts and Service History”. The new section will detail any repairs made by Apple and whether the parts come from Apple or an unknown supplier. However, if you have not sent your iPhone for repair, this feature will not be displayed.
Other new features in iOS 15.2
The second version of the iOS 15.2 beta adds the ability to designate old contacts as part of the Apple Digital Heritage Program. Designating someone as an old contact allows them to access your iCloud account and personal information after you die.
iCloud Plus subscribers can also use Apple’s “hide my email” feature from the mail application itself instead of in and out. The complete list of updates can be found on Apple’s developer website.
Although Netflix Games has begun global promotion on Android devices, iOS users are still waiting to see the latest content products of the streaming giant. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims to have seen regulations that Netflix will “separately” release the code for its games on iOS in accordance with App Store requirements. This means that, unlike the Android implementation that allows users to download and launch games directly from within the Netflix application, the iOS Netflix application will simply act as a gateway to the App Store, where users must install each game separately.
Although the news that iOS users may have to install each Netflix game separately is disappointing, it’s not surprising given Apple’s walled garden strategy for apps.
The Cupertino-based company is known for maintaining strict control over how apps and games are distributed on iOS, which led to a large-scale legal trial between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games. The case revolves around the App Store’s policy, which takes 30% of all purchases in the store, although Apple does not provide iOS users with the option to purchase elsewhere.
Although judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogersin ruled that Epic won the case, saying that Apple can no longer force developers to make in-app purchases through the App Store, Apple has appealed the ruling, which means that we have not heard the last battle.
