Apple is currently working on a major update for the iPhone and iPad. iOS 16 is scheduled to be shown for the first time at WWDC 2022, which will take place in early June. The first innovations that the update should bring should already be known.
Apple likes to use its big developer conference WWDC to announce news about its software. This year it will take place on June 6th. In addition to iOS 16, the focus is also on watchOS 9, macOS 13 and tvOS 16. But especially for the iPhone operating system, the first details are already known. TECHBOOK reveals what users can look forward to.
iOS 16 – this is new
The current information on iOS 16 comes from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, who has often drawn attention to himself in the past with precise Apple forecasts. In his newsletter “Power on” he has now given a first glimpse of the upcoming iPhone update. According to him, Apple is planning iOS 16 – codenamed Sidney – not the major visual redesign some were hoping for, but some new features and optimizations. Gurman himself speaks of “pretty significant improvements across the board, including an update to notifications and new health-tracking features.” But he doesn’t give any details.
Will iOS 16 get a new interface?
The iOS interface has hardly changed in recent years. The last major innovation came with the widgets on the home screen introduced in iOS 14. Many iPhone users are therefore hoping for another upgrade that should bring a breath of fresh air to the software. But according to Gurman, this is not the case with iOS 16. Only iPadOS 16 could offer a further improved surface in terms of multitasking.
The LeaksApplePro leaker, who posted a view of the new interactive widgets that are supposed to be coming to the iPhone with the new firmware via Twitter, takes a different view.
So far, the widgets on the iPhone only show information and open the corresponding app as soon as you tap on it. That could change with the interactive widgets, which would then allow, for example, adjusting the volume and skipping songs directly in the music widget. A clock or stopwatch could also be set directly via the widget.
Also read: 10 iPhone tricks that Apple itself reveals
Notes on Apple glasses
The AR/VR headset has been discussed online for weeks. It should be a kind of glasses that can be used to display augmented and virtual reality content. According to Gurman, the beta versions of iOS 16 should be brimming with references to the headset and its interactions with the iPhone. However, he does not assume that Apple will already show the headset at WWDC 2022.
Rather, the clues in the new software are intended to indicate that the headset will be launched during the iOS 16 cycle. So sometime from the start of the iOS 16 beta in June 2022 until the release of iOS 17 in autumn 2023.
Also read: Apple has problems developing the headset
Which iPhones will get iOS 16?
The first beta of iOS 16 is expected to be available from June 6th. However, the firmware will not be official until autumn, when Apple will present it together with the iPhone 14 in September. iOS 16 is already installed on the iPhone 14 ex works, all other smartphones receive the new firmware via update. But which models does this apply to?
As a rule, Apple also delivers its new firmware to older iPhone models. However, according to the French website iPhonesoft, iOS 16 will only run on models powered by at least Apple’s A10 chip. That would be the iPhone 7 or newer. Models like the iPhone 6s or the first iPhone SE from 2016, which are equipped with the A9, would no longer be compatible with iOS 16.