The upcoming iOS 16 will help battle the growing problem of spam text messages. The latest beta includes the ability to report SMS messages as “junk” to the user’s wireless carrier.
iPhone users already can report spam messages that come through Apple’s own iMessage service.
iOS 16 was announced with some awesome, radical new features: a completely redesigned Lock Screen, a shared Photo Library for families, editing and un-sending iMessages, advanced new features in Maps and more. It’s especially hard this year to wait until September to get your hands on it.
Developers have a busy summer ahead of them, too. I spoke with some developers while at WWDC (no, I’m not done flexing that yet) and afterwards on Twitter. Developers are especially excited about creating Lock Screen widgets for their apps, using the new advanced features of SwiftUI and experimenting with the Live Text API.
But you don’t have to wait to get your hands on the beta. Registered developers can install the iOS 16 developer beta today. According to Apple, the Public Beta will be coming sometime in July. If you pay $99 for a developer account, installing the beta on your device is fast and easy. Here’s how.
There’s a lot to like in iOS 16, so I couldn’t resist installing the first beta to test the best new features. Here’s my hands-on experience with the new Lock Screen, improvements in the Messages and Mail apps, and more. These are just my favorites from the couple of days I’ve had to test the initial beta.
Plus, the next version of iOS adds other features that might be great — when Apple gets them working right.
The iPhone’s Dictation feature that lets you enter text just by speaking gets even simpler in the upcoming iOS 16 by combining voice and text input.
And it won’t even be necessary to enter punctuation. The phone will handle that on its own.
This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: With WWDC22 coming next week, it’s time for last-minute predictions about what Apple will hit us with. The next-gen versions of iOS, macOS, iPadOS and watchOS are a given. But what about an AR/VR headset or the realityOS it supposedly will run on? A new MacBook Air with an M2 chip?
It’s time to talk turkey about Monday’s big keynote.
Also on The CultCast:
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One of Apple’s biggest events is right around the corner. This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote promises to deliver our first look at the company’s next-generation software updates for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more. And it’s all happening on June 6.
Just like past WWDC keynotes, this year’s will be streaming online, so you’ll be able to watch it in its entirety as it all unfolds. Here’s how.
Update: The WWDC22 keynote is behind us, but if you want to get caught up you can watch the whole presentation on YouTube. Or check Cult of Mac‘s in-depth coverage.
June 3, 2011: iOS overtakes Research in Motion’s BlackBerry operating system for the first time.
While Android remains comfortably in the lead in terms of market share, the news marks the beginning of the end for BlackBerry as a smartphone powerhouse.
We’re less than a week away from WWDC22, but it’s not too late to take a look ahead to the unveiling of iOS 16, macOS 13, iPadOS 16 and watchOS 9. As always, these operating system upgrades are expected to be the highlights of Apple’s annual developer conference.
Some details about them already leaked out, though. Here’s a foretaste of WWDC22.
WWDC Bingo is back ahead of next week’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. The crew behind the Flighty flight-tracking app put together the contest, which doubles as a survey about what participants expect during Monday’s WWDC22 keynote.
Unlike your granddad’s bingo, where something like five correct numbers in a row constitutes a win, WWDC Bingo serves up 74 possible outcomes to vote on. Contestants strive to achieve the highest percentage of correct answers.
And both the biggest winner and the biggest loser get prizes, sort of.
When Tim Cook and other Apple executive first show off iOS 16 in early June, there’s a good chance it’ll have much in common with a recently released artists’ concept. The new video shows some of the most-anticipated features, including an always-on screen and interactive widgets.
Watch the iOS 16 concept video now for a sneak peek at what might be coming soon to iPhone.
