Millions of iPhones can now take back messages and change them. Here's who will get the news.
Apple just released an update that includes one of the most-requested features, but there's a lot more.
Apple's new mobile software, iOS 16, came out on Monday. It has new features that let users customize their iPhone lock screens and change how they text their friends through iMessage.
One of the most-wanted changes is the ability to edit and resend iMessages that have already been sent. Users will also be able to mark messages as unread if they want to come back to them later.
Recipients will get a notice that the original message was changed or deleted, and it only works if both parties are using iOS 16. Apple said before that this was one of the features that users asked for the most.
But the interactive lock screen might be the most important change. It now has custom fonts, new photo effects, personalized wallpapers, and widgets that add information at a glance.
Widgets can show calendar events, battery life, alarms, Apple Watch activity rings, and the weather. They can also show "live" information, like the progress of an Uber ride, updates on a sports game, or food deliveries.
Last year, Android added a lock screen that you can interact with.
With the iOS 16 update, you can make multiple lock screens with different backgrounds that you can switch between as the day goes on.
The user's photo library can be used to suggest wallpapers, and notifications will now appear at the bottom of the screen so they don't get in the way.
The updated software works with every model of iPhone since the iPhone 8, which came out in 2017. Apple had given hints about these features at its annual developer's conference in June.
Apple (AAPL), among other things, showed off its new iPhone 14 line last week.
Customers who aren't sure they want to trade in their old iPhones for a small upgrade, especially if they fear a recession is coming, might find that downloading iOS 16 gives their phones new life.
With the new updates, users will also be able to share browser tabs with groups and find more filters for its focus app, such as not muting preferred apps and messages from certain people.
Apple is also making it possible to track movement with the fitness app without an Apple Watch for the first time.
And the most fun thing may be that you can cut out the subject or background of an image and put it somewhere else, like iMessage.
To get the new software, go to Settings and look for "Software Update."
But the first version of next-generation mobile software updates often has bugs, so users may want to back up important photos or files before downloading or wait until the second version comes out, which is likely to happen in the coming weeks.