16 Essential iOS 16 Tips and Tricks (You Should Use)

1. Customize Your Lock Screen

Apple’s iOS 16 has a completely redesigned lock screen, which you can now customize to fit your preferences and needs.

Bored with your current lock screen? Make a new one easily:

• Go to your lock screen
• Press and hold
• Scroll right to see the options
• Then customize with widgets, colors

2. Remove Background From a Photo

My favorite feature of iOS 16 is the ability to effortlessly remove the background of an image from the subject. Want to separate a subject from the rest of the pic?

Here’s how it works:

• Press and hold on to the photo to lift the subject from the background.
• Tap Copy to paste it into another app.
• Or Share it through the share sheet.

3. Unsend Messages

Let’s say you send someone a message and regret sending it straight away. No big deal! iOS 16 lets you unsend or edit text messages within 15 minutes.

4. Find Deleted Messages

Want to find that message you deleted?

Here’s how to show your recently deleted messages:

• Open the Messages app.
• Click the Edit option in the upper left corner.
• Choose “Show recently deleted messages.”

5. Disable Haptic Feedback on the Keyboard

If you prefer not to receive haptic feedback while typing, you can disable it in Settings/Sounds & Haptics.

To disable haptics, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings.
• Choose Sounds and Haptics.
• Scroll to Keyboard Feedback.
• Then, turn off Haptic.

6. Show Your Wi-Fi Password

Before iOS 16, there was no way to see your saved Wi-Fi password on your iPhone. You could easily share your Wi-Fi password between Apple devices, though. But if you want to share it with an Android or Windows user, you’re out of luck.

To see your Wi-Fi password on your iPhone:

• Go to Settings
• Tap Wi-Fi
• Press the info icon next to the Wi-Fi network you’re connected to.
• Tap on the password to reveal it. You’ll need to authenticate yourself first with Face ID or Touch ID.

7. Copy Text From Video

With iOS 16, you can easily copy text from videos. It works the same way as copying texts from photos.

Here’s how:

• Play the video and pause it right where you can see the text.
• Tap on the text you want to copy.
• It’ll highlight the text.
• Press Copy.

8. Take Quick Notes

With Quick Notes, you can copy a piece of information from a website that will link back to it. When you click on the particular Quick Note thumbnail in the Notes app, it will take you right to what you were viewing before.

Here’s how to take Quick Notes:

1. Open the website on Safari (for now, it only works in Safari)
2. Highlight the text.
3. From the popup option, select New Quick Note. You may need to click on the arrow on the right to find it.
4. This will create a Quick Note thumbnail in the Notes app.
5. Tap Save at the top right corner of the screen.

9. Use Face ID in Landscape Mode

In iOS 16-compatible phones, you can unlock your iPhone in landscape mode. This makes it easier to unlock your iPhone when you’re not holding it in the usual portrait orientation. The feature is only available on iPhone 13 and later models.

10. See Your Battery Charge

Due to the notch, the iPhone X‘s Face ID technology didn’t leave space for the battery percentage. But iOS 16 finally brings the percentage indicator back.

To see your exact battery percentage rather than just a bar.

• Go to Settings.
• Tap Battery.
• Turn on ‘Battery Percentage“.

11. Schedule an Email

Want to schedule your emails to be sent during working hours? With iOS 16, you can schedule an email in your iPhone’s Mail app, so it gets sent at your convenience.

How to schedule an email on your iPhone with iOS 16:

• Go to the Mail app.
• Compose your email as usual.
• Long-press the send icon (blue arrow) at the top.
• You can choose from the preset options or Tap Send Later… to create a custom schedule.
• Tap Done in the top-right corner of the screen.

12. Create Smart Folders for Your Notes

Have a gazillion notes on your phone?

Set rules to organize them smartly:

• Open the Notes app.
• Click the folder icon with the plus sign on the bottom left.
• Give your folder a name.
• Tap Make Into Smart Folder to create a smart folder
• Select your filters and tap Done at the upper right corner of the screen.

Pro tip: You can also convert any regular folder into a smart folder.

• Just open the folder.
• Tap on the ellipsis (three dots) icon at the top right corner of the screen.
• Select Convert to Smart Folder from the dropdown menu.

13. Copy and Paste Edits From Photos

With iOS 16, you can use the new copy-and-paste tools to replicate changes you make in one photo in another.

Here’s to copy and paste photo edits with iOS 16:

• Open the Photos app and select your photo.
• Make the edits that you want and tap Done when you’re finished.
• Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the screen.
• Tap Copy Edits in the dropdown menu.
• Select another photo
• Click the three dots again
• Tap Paste Edits to get the same modifications.

15. Convert Currency Using Your Camera

You’ve learned how you can convert units within iOS native apps. But what about if you want to convert something outside of your phone?

Here’s how it works:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Hold your iPhone, so the text appears within the camera frame.
3. In the viewfinder, tap the Live Text icon so that it turns yellow.
4. In the bottom-left corner of the viewfinder, tap the currency conversion icon to get a real-time conversion.

You can also use the same method to do any of the following:

• Copy Text: Copy text to paste into another app such as Notes or Messages.
• Select All: Select all the text within the frame.
• Look Up: Show personalized web suggestions.
• Translate: Translate text.
• Search the web: Look up the selected text on the web.
• Share: Share text using AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or other available options.

16. Delete Duplicate Photos

Want to save space on your iPhone? Get rid of duplicate photos clogging up your photo library.

Here’s how to delete duplicate photos with iOS 16:

1. Open the Photos app.
2. Tap Albums at the bottom of your screen.
3. Scroll down to the Utilities section, and select Duplicates.
4. You’ll see duplicate matches and an option to Merge.
5. Tap Merge to delete duplicate photos.