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9 hidden iOS 16 features you may not have noticed

Not all of the new features with iOS 16 are obvious.

ios 16 icon with blurred iphone in background
Image: KnowTechie

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With iOS 16, iPhone users received a smorgasbord of slick new features, including haptic keyboard feedback, lock screen widgets, and iMessage editing.

But what about the less trumpeted additions to Apple’s mobile OS? Not all of the best features are obvious, and some of the most useful tools take a little digging.

If you don’t have time to explore every nook and cranny of your iPhone’s OS, don’t stress. We’ve compiled a list of the best iOS 16 features you may not have noticed.

1. Unsend emails in the Mail app

If you’ve ever sent an email and immediately regretted it, iOS 16’s Undo Send feature could be a godsend.

Perhaps you typed a few choice words to a colleague that you’d like to take back. Or maybe you signed off an email with “I love you” when a simple “best regards” would have been more appropriate.

Whatever your reason for wanting to recall a sent email, Apple has you covered. You can enable iOS 16’s Undo Send Delay for Mail by following these steps:

  1. Go to Settings Mail
iPhone with arrow pointing to the mail tab in settings
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Scroll down and tap Undo Send Delay
iPhone with arrow pointing to Undo Send delay tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Select a delay time of either 10, 20,or 30 seconds. You can also switch the feature off from here
iPhone with red box around the Undo Send Delay screen options
Image: KnowTechie

Now, when you send an email, Undo Send will appear at the bottom of the screen for the duration specified in the settings—so act quickly!

2. Battery percentage in status bar

Have ever wanted to know your iPhone’s exact battery percentage at a glance? Well, now you can. This new iOS 16 feature shows your remaining charge clearly in the status bar with a quick flick of the settings.

  1. Go to Settings Battery
iPhone with arrow pointing to Battery tab in settings
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Toggle on Battery Percentage
iPhone with arrow pointing to battery percentage tab
Image: KnowTechie

Your iPhone’s remaining charge will now conveniently show on the status bar’s battery icon.

3. View, copy, and share WiFi passwords

Forgetting your own WiFi password is a forgivable offense. How often are you really required to type it in? Rarely, right?

However, when you get a new device or a friend needs to use your WiFi, you may find yourself scrambling to remember the password. Luckily, Apple offers a simple solution.

With this iOS 16 feature, you can view, copy, and paste any of your saved WiFi passwords by following these steps:

  1. Go to Settings WiFi
iPhone with arrow pointing to the WiFi tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Tap the Info icon on the relevant saved network
iPhone with arrow pointing to the wifi info icon
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Select Password and authenticate using Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode
iPhone with arrow pointing to the password tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Tap Copy to copy the password to the clipboard
iPhone with arrow pointing to copy tab
Image: KnowTechie

You’re now free to paste the password wherever you please. If you’re sharing it with a friend, sending it via a secure instant message may be the quickest method.

For security, you should delete the message on both devices when done.

4. Prevent lock button from ending calls

Hitting your iPhone’s side button can be a handy way to end a call. However, it can also be a frustrating way to end a call accidentally.

In iOS 16, you can disable the lock button for ending calls by following these steps:

  1. Go to Settings Accessibility
iPhone with arrow pointing to accessibility in settings with purple background
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Select Touch
iPhone in settings with arrow pointing to the Touch tab in a purple background
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Toggle on Prevent Lock to End Call
iPhone in settings with arrow pointing to Prevent Lock to End Call tab
Image: KnowTechie

Now you can avoid the embarrassment of prematurely ending calls and having to explain yourself to the other party.

5. Automatically lift subjects from photos and remove backgrounds

Perhaps the most magical new iOS 16 feature is the ability to automatically lift a subject out of a photo, essentially removing the background.

However, the feature only works on iPhones using the A12 Bionic chipset. You can lift a subject from a photo in iOS 16 by following these steps:

  1. Open the Photos app and select the relevant photo
iPhone photos album of kittens
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Tap and hold the subject you want to lift out of the image
iPhone in photo album showing a kitten in a grass field
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Select Copy or Share
iPhone with picture of a kitten on a grass field with arrow pointing to copy paste tabs
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Paste the subject to a different location or share to another app

Who needs fancy photo editing software when you’ve got iOS 16? Clearly, we’re one step closer to AI taking all of our jobs and rendering us obsolete.

6. Copy and paste photo edits

Apple offers another enhancement to its Photos app in iOS 16. The ability to reuse the same edits on multiple images is a serious time saver.

You can copy and paste edits in Photos using these steps:

Launch the Photos app and open the first image you want to editiPhone photos album of kittens
Tap Edit in the top right corner and make your editsiPhone with arrow pointing to edit with picture of a cat in the grass
Once you’re done editing, tap the More (…) button in the top right corner and select Copy EditsiPhone with arrow pointing to three dots and another pointing to Copy Edits with pic of a cat on grass
Open the next photo you want to edit and tap EditiPhone with arrow pointing to edit and image of cat on grass yard
Tap the More (…) button in the top right corner and select Paste EditsiPhone with picture of a cat and arrows pointing to three dots top right and Paste Edits

That’s it. Your copied edits will now apply to the new photo and any others you repeat the process with.

7. Hidden and recently deleted photo folders are now locked

ios 15 photo app
Image: KnowTechie

To mention the Photos app one more time—in iOS 16, the Hidden and Recently Deleted folders now require Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode authentication to access.

The new iOS 16 security feature makes a lot of sense. If you’ve placed photos in the hidden folder, you likely don’t want people to have easy access, right?

On top of that, most of us don’t want people to be able to peruse our deleted items. Some of those things were purged for a reason.

You don’t need to do anything to lock your Hidden or Recently deleted folders. The OS automatically applies security based on the authentication methods you’ve configured.

8. Install security updates without updating iOS

Software updates can take a while to install, and sometimes we put off downloading them because we don’t want our phones out of action for any longer than absolutely necessary.

However, delaying critical security updates could leave your device vulnerable to hackers and their nefarious ways.

Thankfully, iOS 16 has a new feature that allows you to install security responses separately from major OS updates.

You can enable automatic security updates by following these steps:

  1. Go to Settings GeneralSoftware UpdateAutomatic Updates
iPhone-automatic updates with arrow pointing to the tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Toggle on Security Responses & System Files
iPhone with arrow pointing to tab by security updates
Image: KnowTechie

If you only want to install security updates automatically, you can toggle off automatic updates for iOS itself. You can always manually update when needed.

9. Hang up calls with Siri

If you’re sporting an iPhone 11 or newer, you can command Siri to end your phone calls for you. To enable the iOS 16 feature, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings Accessibility
iPhone with arrow pointing to Accessibility tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Scroll down to General and select Siri
iPhone with arrow pointing to the Siri tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Tap Call Hang-up
iPhone with arrow pointing to the Call Hangup tab
Image: KnowTechie
  1. Toggle Call Hang-up on
iPhone with arrow pointing to Call Hangup tab
Image: KnowTechie

Once you’ve enabled the setting, simply say, “Hey, Siri, hang up” to end the call. As the new iOS 16 feature grows in popularity, it will inevitably become the new “goodbye.”

Some of the best iOS features aren’t obvious

Every iOS release is full of slick new features, but some of the best don’t always get the attention they deserve. We aim to change that.

Security, convenience, and digital voodoo are the focus of the hidden features we’ve chosen to discuss. Some you may never use. Others could change your life.

Well, maybe not. But some of the iOS 16 features are pretty damn sweet.

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Matt is an Australian writer with a degree in creative and critical writing. Prior to commencing his studies, he worked in tech support and gained valuable insights into technology and its users. He is also an editor and author coach at Dean Publishing.

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