The iPhone has looked different since Monday evening, at least for those Apple friends who immediately updated to iOS 16.

The young operating system also reaches older devices.

As long as it is possible, as long as the old smartphones are sufficiently fast and offer enough memory, they will benefit from the current software.

iOS 16 even runs on the five-year-old iPhone 8. Such sustainability is unusual in the smartphone industry.

Other manufacturers only offer updates for three years.

However, some functions of iOS 16 are so performance-intensive that they necessarily require a younger iPhone.

The old models simply don't have the computing power.

Michael Spehr

Editor in the "Technology and Engine" department.

  • Follow I follow

The most striking change for the eye is the updated lock screen.

More information from individual apps can be seen at a glance when the display is locked.

There is a new menu to customize the screen, which includes colors and fonts.

Mini programs, called widgets, can be placed directly on the lock screen, unfortunately only in one line, i.e. a maximum of four entries.

You can quickly switch between different lock screens.

A static display becomes a dynamic element.

With the new live activities, you can follow real-time events on the lock screen.

For example, how long the Uber taxi needs to arrive or the status of an ongoing soccer game.

So you no longer have to unlock the iPhone and start the desired app, but get the information at a glance on the device.

Always-on display

That look is even shorter with an all-new iPhone 14 Pro.

Because the top devices from Cupertino come with an always-on display, which has long been known in the Android world.

With such an always-on display, you can see specific information at all times without having to pick up the device.

An always-on display can now be used to save the battery if the refresh rate is reduced.

Many other improvements in iOS 16 allow more productive use of the smartphone.

The dictation function of iOS has been completely reworked to switch between finger and gesture control as well as dictation faster.

In addition, punctuation marks are automatically inserted.

This function works exclusively on the device, i.e. without data transmission of the audio snippets to external servers.

Because it requires a lot of computing power, this is only possible on newer iPhones.

Retrieve iMessage and email

Apple's Messages app and iMessage now allow you to retrieve and edit messages that have already been sent.

There is a maximum time window of 15 minutes after dispatch.

If the recipient is using an older iOS, they will still see the deleted or edited message in the original version.

This “lifeline” does not work with SMS either.

The automatic cropping function for objects in videos and photos is very spectacular; you can try it with a portrait photo or a picture of your pet.

The cut-out works with artificial intelligence, says Apple and means “Visual Lookup” in German.

Share digital cards and subscriptions

The Apple wallet for payment transactions or digital IDs is intended to replace even more physical keys and in future keys can be shared like a photo.

Apple's Maps masters the planning of stopovers for route guidance and offers better support for local public transport.

Third-party providers can use the maps to integrate their information.

Family Sharing lets you share Apple subscription services with the entire household.

Now parental control of the child's activities and assignment of age-appropriate content should become easier.

Protection against hacker attacks

The European Commission can look forward to the blocking mode.

As it became known on Monday, a number of Commission employees were "hacked" by state Trojans.

The details are kept secret.

Meanwhile, vulnerable target groups such as politicians or journalists can now stop such third-party attacks with the blocking mode.

However, you have to reckon with a considerable loss of comfort when using the iPhone.

Updating iPad OS to version 16 will take a while.

The Apple Watch also received new software on Monday.

Watch OS 9 comes with new watch faces and the revised compass that allows navigating back to your destination if you get lost.