Apple’s Far Out event was jam-packed with one announcement after the other. We saw the Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods Pro all get a refresh. The iPhone 14 series is the major announcement, and the lineup will ship with iOS 16 out of the box. But current-gen iPhone users need not wait long to experience the stable iOS 16 update. In fact, you can get iOS 16 starting next week.
Apple’s iPhone 14 and 14 Plus launch press release reads: “iOS 16 will be available as a free software update on Monday, September 12.” So if you are an iPhone 8 and above user, Apple will roll out the latest iOS version for you on September 12.
The upcoming iOS 16 is one of the biggest updates to the iPhone’s operating system in recent years. It includes improvements to the overall UI, including a new way to reach Spotlight Search, updates to Messages and other apps.
Another standout feature is the ability to lift subjects from the background of photos. As we noted in one of our features, iOS 16’s background remover does a brilliant job in well-lit scenarios. It will be one of the most-talked-about features when the stable update goes live and as people discover they can tap and hold an image to remove the background. It works well on pets and objects to clear out the background from the edges. It’ll be interesting to see how much it’s improved with the A16 Bionic chipset on the iPhone 14 Pro series, as Apple seems to be relying on the portrait mode data to lift the subject from the background.
Big changes in iOS 16 are coming to the lock screen. You can now add a touch of personalization to your iPhone’s lock screen, including widgets and a revamped wallpaper selector. Apple is also including more sharing features with SharePlay on Messages so users can watch movies and listen to music together while using the Messages app to chat. Finally, iOS 16 will end captchas, thanks to Apple’s Automatic Verification system. You’ll no longer need to prove your humanity to a computer.
Apple doesn’t say what time on September 12 it’ll roll out iOS 16, but at some point that day, you can expect the update to land on your iPhone.
