CIOInsider India Magazine

Cellular technology was a mystery two decades ago now it has become a necessity both in rural and urban areas. It's not just the bestselling gadget ever created, but probably the most influential one too. Since Steve Jobs announced the iPhone in 2007, Apple has sold more than 1.5 billion of them, creating giant businesses for app developers and accessory makers, and reimagining the way we live. Recently Apple held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) announced major changes to the software for smartphones, tablets and computers.

From Apple’s 2022 software updates, iOS 16 is probably the operating system people are most excited to try out. With a revamped Lock Screen, this software update will also bring more capabilities to Messages, Photos, and more. For example, Apple is readying the ability to edit, unsend, and even mark a message as unread with Messages on iOS 16. Another great feature is Live Text in videos. With it, the text is completely interactive in paused video frames, so you can use functions like copy and paste, lookup, and translate.

Here are the five most important features and software:

Unsend Messages or Edit them After Sending
One of the most important and differentiating new feature, that is talked less of iOS 16, is the ability to edit and send message one has recently sent out. Apple users will be enabled with editing options after they send or unsend the messages. Basically, users are given time up to 15 minutes to edit the messages after they send it to another person. One thing is not clear till now is that it only works for the users of the Messages app or would it also work if you sent out a message to someone who owns an Android device. According to Apple, the users will be able to recover the deleted messages for up to 30 days on iOS 16.

New Lock Screen
We safeguard the information and apps from others by putting the lock screen for the devices. Android smartphones have had the customized lock screen for years. For iPhone users customizable lock screen are a new concept. Features are enabled to the customers to apply different styles and fonts and other information at a glance. When it comes to a mini widget that shows the weather, activity, alarms, and more it works as an Apple watch, users need to long-press the screen to navigate different lock screen options and find the best settings for you. Additionally, users can create custom lock screens based on when they’re at work or home.

How to Use an iPhone as a Mac Webcam?
Users can forget the high resolution cameras of iPhone, now that the new Continuity Camera feature comes as part of macOS Ventura, an upcoming update to macOS. Apple envisions MacBook users clipping an iPhone to the top of their laptops and using the camera to improve video calls in FaceTime, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, and more. Continuity Camera simply takes the rear camera feed from your existing iPhone and converts it into a webcam that can be used in macOS apps. Continuity Camera even includes Center Stage and Portrait Mode support, so there are plenty of video modes for a variety of calls.

iPadOS 16
Apple has come up with the new iPadOS 16 which is up to the mark of the expectations of the users. With iPadOS 16, the iPad behaves more like a Mac. A new feature called Collaboration makes it easy to communicate with people on office apps like Pages, allowing them to jump in and start making edits to the main document. Just like Google Docs. Another feature called Freeform is an app that lets users interact with a virtual whiteboard. It’s again designed to be collaborative and has support for Apple Pencil. Freeform is due for release later this year. But that’s not all. For iPads with the M1 chip, Apple is adding support for external displays. With a monitor connected, those supported iPads will be able to run up to eight apps simultaneously.

Track Medication on Apple Watch
Apple is adding a new tool to remind people to take medications in its iPhone health app. The company is building new sleep tracking features for Apple watches. The new medication app will let users add any drugs they take by either scanning a label on a medication bottle or searching through a list of medicines. People can create custom schedules for each drug they are taking and receive alerts to remind them when it’s time to take one. In the US, the app will also alert users if there are any dangerous interactions between the drugs that they take.

Watch OS 9 also includes upgrades to the sleep feature, which the company says can now track when users are in different sleep stages like REM or deep sleep. Monitoring sleep stages is tricky, though; experts say that it’s often inaccurate, and that people shouldn’t put too much stock in what a wearable device says about the type of sleep they’re getting. Wearables are typically better at calculating the amount of time someone spends asleep. The new health feature that watches constitutes a temperature sensor on the Apple Watch, which could be used for fertility tracking. Body temperature changes for the women during the menstrual cycle and the device can help the people to predict their pregnancy as well as menstrual cycle.