A smarter lock screen, emails that can be undone and new type of password. Here are the iOS 16 features that point to the future of Apple’s mobile operating system.

The new system shows two trends. Firstly, that the user experience between mobiles and computers (Mac in this case) is increasingly merging. Partly because the differences between Ios and the arch-rival Android from Google are getting smaller and smaller.

1. A lock screen like you've never seen it before

Widgets, widgets and more widgets. These little app windows have been around on Android for a long time, but it wasn't until Ios 14, released in 2020, that iPhone and iPad widgets moved out of their locked place in the Today view, and could be placed on any home screen.

The next step in development means that widgets can also be attached to the lock screen. In this way, it will be possible for iPhone users to see information about things like calendar events, weather and battery level directly on the lock screen - without having to unlock the phone.

Lock screen notifications will also work a little differently with iOS 16. Instead of being stacked in the middle of the screen, the notifications will "roll in" at the bottom of the screen. The lock screen notifications will also be able to update to show new information about your Uber order, for example

2. Use your iPhone as a webcam

Raise your hand everyone who devotes large parts of the working day to various video meetings. There have previously been third-party apps to use your iPhone as a webcam, but now Apple is building that feature into the upcoming iOS and Mac OS Ventura operating systems for computers.

But – in classic Apple spirit, the new feature will only work if you have a Macbook with an M1 or M2 chip.

Apple users who have that type of hardware will, for example, use functions such as center stage, where the webcam pans, and a special portrait mode during video calls with their Macbooks.

3. Fitness moves into the iPhone

The Fitness app provides an aggregate view of your daily physical activity, but previously required an Apple Watch to function. In iOS 16, that requirement is removed. Starting this fall, Apple users will thus be able to close their daily activity rings without having an Apple Watch around their wrist.

4. Messages and Mail become better

Spelling errors make no one happy - and in the worst case, it can lead to misunderstandings. A new feature in Ios 16 that will become popular is that you can change misspellings and other things in Imessage messages that have already been sent.

Apple's own Mail also gets support for scheduling emails - a feature that is certainly already available in other mail apps. But with iOS 16, it will also be possible to recall an email for a short time after it has been sent. Great for anyone who has happened to write something ill-thought out in an affect.

5. Share Safari tabs - and skip the passwords

The Safari browser has been able to group open tabs for some time now. Now it will be possible to share groups of, for example, work-related tabs to other users. It should be possible to see in real time which of these tabs your colleagues and friends are looking at.

Passkeys is a new security feature that makes its entrance in Ios 16. Basically, it's about unique digital keys that are created using biometric finger or face data from Touch id/Face id.

The new type of password is then automatically synced between devices via iCloud Keychain. Furthermore, the keys are only on the device itself and are never stored on a web server.

According to Apple, Passkeys should be significantly more secure than corresponding passwords consisting of characters.

The iPhone maker goes so far as to claim that passkeys are more or less immune to mischief like phishing attacks, but that remains to be seen.

Apple is also working with the Fido alliance to make Passkeys work on other platforms as well.

6. Apple's maps are getting smarter

The next update to iOS will bring Apple Maps support for adding multiple stops during a run. In total, the user should be able to add 15 stops during a route.

If the drive has been planned via the maps program on a Mac, the routes are automatically synchronized from the computer to the iPhone before the drive.

7. Pay later with Apple Pay

"Buy now and pay later", with the new function Apple Pay Later, which is built into the Wallet app, it is possible to split a purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks - without interest or fees being added.