Hands-on with the standout features of Apple’s huge new iPhone update

• Image credits: Apple Inc

Last month, Apple hosted its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) online and taking centre stage was the unveiling of iOS 16. This update, due for mass rollout, as ever, in the autumn, offers new intelligence, sharing and communication features that are going to enhance so much of what you do with your iPhone. And these come together with an incredible set of new personalisation features that will make your experience feel fresh and completely you.

Over the following pages, we showcase some of the standout features coming your way in iOS 16, but there is so much more in the update that we’ll cover in detail in the coming months, such as multistep routing in Maps, that lets you plan up to 15 stops on your journey. Or how the Fitness app is coming to iPhone to monitor your fitness levels, even if you don’t have an Apple Watch.

The iOS 16 update is a huge one that is packed full of rich content to enjoy and adopt – here is the very best of what’s coming to your iPhone soon.

The all-new Lock Screen

With iOS 16, there are exciting new ways to customise your Lock Screen and get at-a-glance info…

• Image credits: Apple Inc

The Lock Screen is the first thing you see every time you pick up your iPhone. It’s a place where you can check the date and time, look out for key messages, and launch the Camera app to quickly capture a moment. And it’s just as much a place for personalisation, where so many of us replace the wallpaper with a photo to make the device uniquely ours. In iOS 16, Apple brings the biggest update ever to the Lock Screen, completely reimagining how it looks and works for you.

What’s even better is that you’re not limited to just one. You’ll be able to access a new wallpaper gallery which showcases a bunch of options for inspiration, and there are plenty to choose from. With Photo Shuffle, for example, you can choose a set of photos to shuffle throughout the day and there are also Suggested Photos intelligently curated from your personal library, like the best family shots that look great on the Lock Screen. The Weather wallpaper shows live weather conditions, there is a new rainbow Pride wallpaper and you can marvel at how planetary pickings from the Astronomy collection animate fluidly as you swipe up from the Lock Screen and into your Home Screen.

“The new Weather wallpaper shows live weather conditions”

Personalising your Lock Screen

The new Lock Screen remains undeniably iPhone, while also giving you new ways to make it more personal, beautiful and helpful than ever.