iOS 16

iOS 16

Version of iOS
iOS 16 running on an iPhone 12
Version	16.x
Codename	Sydney
Architecture	ARM64
Latest build	20H330 (16.7.7)
Release date	2022-09-12
Replaces
iOS 15
Replaced by
iOS 17

iOS 16 (codenamed Sydney) is the sixteenth version of iOS that was released on 12 September 2022. It was first announced at the WWDC keynote on 6 June 2022. It is the first version of iOS to drop support for the iPod touch platform.

New features and changes

Lock Screen and notifications

• The new Lock Screen is fully customizable in appearance and it can host Widgets. It is very similar to Watch Faces on the Apple Watch.
• It is now possible to create multiple lock screens to be set at any time. Individual Lock Screens can also be assigned to a Focus mode.
• Notifications appear from the bottom so the Lock Screen wallpaper isn't covered up.
• Live Activities have been added, which are special notifications that provide real-time information.
• Focus filters allow apps to show different content based on the active status at that time, for example, Safari can only show opened tabs related to the Work status, etc.

iMessage

• Undo send for messages has been added. It can only be used for up to 2 minutes after sending.
• Messages can now be edited for up to 15 minutes after sending it.
• Ability to mark an entire discussion as unread.
• SharePlay is now supported in Messages.
• Message conversations can now be filtered by individual SIMs.
• Deleted message conversations can now be recovered for up to 30 days.
• Additional Memoji customization has been added.

Camera and Photos

• Introduced iCloud Shared Photo Library, which allows photos from the user’s library to be automatically shared with up to 5 different contacts. Shared photos can be edited or deleted freely by these contacts.
• Quick actions are commands available directly on the Live Text. It is possible to make price conversions to another currency or translations on the fly from the recognized text.
• Duplicate detection has been added to the Photos app.
• Ability to "lift" subjects out of a photo.
• Videos now support Live Text.

Mail

• Added the ability to schedule an email to be sent later.
• Undo send has been added for recently sent emails.

Safari

• Shared Tab Groups have been added.
• Support for push notifications has been added.
• Passkey is a new technology that allows the user to authenticate on sites and apps without using passwords. Passkeys are generated by the phone and the permission is granted via Face ID or Touch ID.

Wallet

• It is now possible to delete Wallet app.
• Users can now add Transit cards to the Wallet app.
• The ability to track Apple Pay orders has been added.
• Introduced Apple Pay Later.

Home

• The Home app received a major redesign.
• Added support for Matter devices.

Health and Fitness

• Users can now track medications, vitamins, and supplements in the Health app.
• Sleep stages allows the user to monitor the sleep phases detected by the Apple Watch.
• Fitness features from the Apple Watch can now be used on the iPhone.

Weather

• Detailed information can now be accessed from the Weather app by tapping a module.
• Apple News integration for supported locations has been added.
• Severe weather notifications have been added.

Music

• Introduced Apple Music Sing, which is a karaoke-like feature for supported songs. It is only available for devices with the A13 chip or newer (excluding the 2nd generation iPhone SE).
• Users can now favorite artists to keep track of their latest releases.

FaceTime

• FaceTime now supports Handoff.
• Options to quickly collaborate with call participants in supported apps has been added.

Privacy and security

• Physical security keys can now be used with Apple IDs.
• Added Advanced Data Protection, which provides end-to-end encryption to several iCloud services.
• Safety check, which helps those in abusive relationships by resetting permissions given to people, apps, and devices.
• Lockdown Mode, which limits certain software functionality to increase security.
• AirDrop will now automatically disable the "Everyone" option after 10 minutes.
• Added a new permission requirement before copying from the clipboard.
• Rapid Security Response updates have been introduced.
• Face ID now works in landscape mode on the iPhone 13 and 14 series.

Accessibility

• Live Captions, which automatically transcribes what is said in videos and calls.
• Apple Watch Mirroring, which allows an Apple Watch to be controlled directly from an iPhone.
• VoiceOver and Spoken Content are now available in 20 additional languages and locales.

Keyboard

• During text dictation the keyboard is always present and allows the user to switch from speech to manual typing and vice versa without interruptions. It is also possible to insert emojis through dictation. Auto-Punctuation automatically inserts a dot when there's a pause in the dictation.
• An option to enable haptic feedback for the keyboard has been added.

Miscellaneous

System

• Stage Manager for iPadOS, which is a windowed multitasking feature.
• A new button to initiate Spotlight has been added to the Home Screen.
• The battery percentage indicator has been added to iPhone models without the home button.
• Clean Energy Charging, which will reduce the user's carbon footprint by selectively charging their device when lower carbon emission electricity is available.
• Songs identified with Music Recognition in the Control Center will now sync with the Shazam app.

Apps

• Freeform has been added, which is a collaborative whiteboard app.
• The Books app has a redesigned reader view, which allows for additional customization.
• The Game Center dashboard has been redesigned to display play activity and achievements from friends.
• In the Maps app, it is now possible to plan a route that passes between several intermediate stop points (maximum of 15 stops).

List of known builds

iOS 16.0

20A207a (Internal)

20A62560y (Internal)

20A6271s (Internal)

20A5283p (Developer Beta 1)

20A5303i (Developer Beta 2)

20A5312g (Developer Beta 3)

20A5312j (Developer Beta 3 Update/Public Beta 1)

20A5328h (Developer Beta 4/Public Beta 2)

20A5339d (Developer Beta 5/Public Beta 3)

20A5349b (Developer Beta 6/Public Beta 4)

20A5356a (Developer Beta 7/Public Beta 5)

20A357 (RTM for iPhone 14 series)

20A5358a (Developer Beta 8/Public Beta 6)

20A362 (Release Candidate/RTM)

20A8372 (RTM for iPad 10 and M2 iPad Pro)

iOS 16.0.1

20A371 (iPhone 14 series)

iOS 16.0.2

20A380

iOS 16.0.3

20A392

iOS 16.1

20B5027f (iPadOS Beta 1)

20B5045d (iOS Beta 1/iPadOS Beta 2)

20B5050f (iOS Beta 2/iPadOS Beta 3)

20B5056e (iOS Beta 3/iPadOS Beta 4)

20B5064c (iOS Beta 4/iPadOS Beta 5)

20B5072b (iOS Beta 5/iPadOS Beta 6)

20B79 (Release Candidate)

20B82 (RTM)

iOS 16.1.1

20B101

iOS 16.1.2

20B110

iOS 16.2

20C5032e (Beta 1)

20C5043e (Beta 2)

20C5049e (Beta 3)

20C5058d (Beta 4)

20C65 (Release Candidate/RTM)

iOS 16.3

20D5024e (Beta 1)

20D5035i (Beta 2)

20D47 (Release Candidate/RTM)

20D50 (RTM for yellow iPhone 14 models)

iOS 16.3.1

20D67

iOS 16.4

20E5212f (Beta 1)

20E5223e (Beta 2)

20E5229e (Beta 3)

20E5239b (Beta 4)

20E246 (Release Candidate/iPadOS RTM)

20E247 (iOS RTM)

iOS 16.4.1

20E252

iOS 16.5

20F5028e (Beta 1)

20F5039e (Beta 2)

20F5050f (Beta 3)

20F5059a (Beta 4)

20F65 (Release Candidate)

20F66 (Release Candidate 2/RTM)

iOS 16.5.1

20F75

iOS 16.6

20G5026e (Beta 1)

20G5037d (Beta 2)

20G5047d (Beta 3)

20G5058d (Beta 4)

20G5070a (Beta 5)

20G75 (Release Candidate/RTM)

iOS 16.6.1

20G81

iOS 16.7

20H18 (Release Candidate)

20H19 (RTM)

iOS 16.7.1

20H30

iOS 16.7.2

20H115

iOS 16.7.3

20H232

iOS 16.7.4

20H240

iOS 16.7.5

20H307

iOS 16.7.6

20H320

iOS 16.7.7

20H330