Although iOS 16 was only released on Monday, Apple is already testing the next update of the operating system. iOS 16.1 was seeded to developers today and introduces a handful of new features worth noting.
Lock Screen/Home Screen Customization
When you tap the Customize UI on the lock screen, you can now choose to customize either the lock screen or the home screen instead of just the lock screen. This makes it easier to customize the iPhone’s look from one place, without having to go through multiple steps.
material support
iOS 16.1 introduces a new Matter Accessories section in the Settings app, suggesting that Apple is gearing up for the fall rollout of the Matter smart home standard.
Tapping on the Matter Accessories section suggests that all Matter Accessories that have been added to a connected service will be displayed. “These can also be added to additional services with an app that supports Matter,” the text reads. Matter will enable interoperability between smart devices from different companies, allowing, for example, HomeKit, Alexa and Google Assistant devices to work together.
In the release notes for the update, Apple says that pairing Matter accessories first requires a profile installed on your device. There are also currently several other known issues with the Matter Standard, with workarounds available on Apple’s website.
- Removing Apple Home from the Connected Services in Home Matter accessory menu does not remove the accessory tile.
- You may get a notification that you need to turn on Wi-Fi when pairing a Matter accessory.
- Accessory details may not open if a Matter accessory is unreachable.
- You may not be able to pair with a Matter ECM code via the Matter Support Framework’s pairing API.
- When pairing Matter accessories, notifications about non-certified accessories may appear.
- You may not be able to pair a Matter accessory if the accessory is already paired with a third-party ecosystem.
- The device that initiates the pairing must use the same iCloud account as the home hub. Only the owner of a home, not an invited user, can pair Matter accessories.
Charge with clean energy
iOS 16.1 adds a toggle to turn on “Clean Energy Charging” in the Battery section of the Settings app. Clean Energy Charging will try to reduce your carbon footprint by charging selectively when power with lower carbon emissions is available.
Apple says the “iPhone” will still have a full charge before you need to use it, based on your daily charging routine, and the feature can be turned off if desired. It seems to be enabled by default when updating to iOS 16.1.
Live Activities API
iOS 16.1 re-adds the Live Activities API, which was available to developers for testing purposes during the “iOS 16” beta. iPhone users cannot currently access Live Activities as there are no apps that support it, but developers can start implementing support.
Delete wallet app
iOS 16.1 adds the option to completely remove the wallet app from the “iPhone”. In “iOS 16” and earlier versions of iOS, the app could be removed from the “Home Screen” but not deleted. It can now be erased entirely for those who don’t want to use Apple Pay or other wallet features.
The option comes as Apple faces a lawsuit accusing it of violating antitrust laws by making Apple Pay the only available mobile wallet for tap-to-pay payments on iPhone.
Battery percentage in the status bar
iOS 16.1 adds the battery percentage to the battery icon in the status bar on the “iPhone” XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini, all iPhones that didn’t support the feature in “iOS 16”.
Screenshot UI
When you close the screenshot editing tool, there is an updated UI in the top right corner that offers the options to delete, copy and delete or save a screenshot. This menu used to be at the bottom of the “iPhone,” so this new implementation is slimmer and less conspicuous as it doesn’t take up the bottom of the display.
More new features
Know of a new feature in iOS 16.1 that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.
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