iOS 16 release: Will your iPhone be compatible with these new features?

Apple held its WWDC Developers Conference earlier this week with the US firm announcing a swathe of updates including the release of its fully refreshed iOS 16 operating system. This blockbuster upgrade will be pushed out to millions of iPhones in the autumn and there’s plenty to look forward to including a new design, improved health features and better messaging.

If you’re excited about this upcoming release and missed all the news from Apple’s HQ in Cupertino here are the top 5 features arriving in iOS 16

NEW LOCK SCREEN

The most exciting change coming to iOS 16 has to be the new Lock Screen. Apple has completely revamped it with iPhone owners able to fully customise how things look before the display is unlocked.

Once iOS 16 is installed, you’ll be able to tweak the colours, fonts and styles and even move things around to suit your needs.

If you get bored of looking at the same image all day, Apple has added the option to automatically shuffle photos throughout so you’ll get a different look in the evening compared to when you wake up.

Clever AI can even search through your photo album and pick the most suitable images for the Lock Screen with styles and text colours instantly switching to match the photo.

Another nice addition arriving in iOS 16 is the ability to add widgets to the lock screen. This is the first time Apple has allowed users to add extra info without unlocking things and it will allow you to easily see things such as daily weather reports and activity data.

Apple is also opening things up to developers so things such as your Uber ride will appear on the lock screen or you’ll be able to instantly check the football scores.

Finally, notifications have been redesigned to roll up from the bottom, ensuring users have a clear view of their personalised Lock Screen.

IMPROVED MESSAGES

If you send a message and suddenly spot an embarrassing mistake you’ll soon be able to edit things. In iOS 16 there’s the option to tweak what’s been written after things have been sent with users getting 15 minutes to make any changes.

Along with full editing, there will also be the option to undo a sent message and recall it completely.

Finally, Apple is bringing the ability to mark messages as unread which will help users to remember to respond to a chat.

READ MORE: The new MacBook Air is the laptop upgrade Apple fans have been waiting for

HEALTH & FITNESS

There’s a whole swathe of useful benefits arriving in iOS 16 including the option to use the Fitness app even if you don’t own an Apple Watch. Using the iPhone’s motion sensors, your steps and distance can be tracked with an estimate of your calories then displayed on the screen.

Another useful health benefit coming to phones is the ability to track medication. With iOS 16 you can add all of the tablets you take to the Health app with reminders then popping up when they are due to be taken.

You can even add custom visuals so you know what each different tablet looks like.

BETTER WAYS TO FOCUS

Apple has long offered iPhone users numerous focus settings which shut off certain services during the day to help them concentrate. Now things are getting more advanced in iOS 16. Once installed, users will be able to have a Focus turn on automatically at a set time or location or while using a certain app.

There’s the option to set boundaries within Apple apps like Calendar, Mail, Messages, and Safari.

For example, you can choose a set of Tab Groups to show up in Safari while in the Work Focus, or hide your work calendar when you’re using the Personal Focus.

IMPROVED PHOTO SHARING

For anyone who loves snapping photos, there’s a new way to share images with family members thanks to the new iCloud Shared Photo Library. This gives families a new way to share photos seamlessly with a separate iCloud library that up to six users can collaborate on. Users can choose to share existing photos from their personal libraries or share based on a start date or people in the photos.

So, will your iPhone be compatible with iOS 16?

Sadly, iOS 16 isn’t going to work on all iPhones currently running iOS 15. Apple has confirmed that a number of devices are losing support for this upgrade including the original iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 7.

Here’s the full list of iPhones that WON’T work with iOS 16.

• Original iPhone SE

• iPhone 6s

• ‌iPhone‌ 6s Plus

• iPod touch

• iPhone‌ 7

• iPhone‌ 7 Plus

Speaking about the upcoming release, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “iOS 16 is a big release with updates that will change the way you experience iPhone.”

“We have reimagined how the Lock Screen looks and works with exciting new features that make it more personal and helpful, introduced iCloud Shared Photo Library for families, streamlined communication through new capabilities in Messages and Mail, and harnessed enhanced intelligence with updates to Live Text and Visual Look Up.”