What’s almost better than getting a new device? Getting new features on existing devices. That is exactly the feeling we got when Apple released the second public beta for iOS 16. The update is compatible with iPhone 8 and later models.
In the first iOS 16 public beta, we noticed that our iPhone 13 got a new Lock Screen with customisable widgets, notifications that roll in from the bottom, and the ability to dictate a message while typing at the same time (useful for when we want we use a word that we forgot how to spell).
When the second public beta rolled out, we noticed that most of the changes are to do with Apple’s Messages app. With the beta, we could make up to 5 edits to our messages within 15 minutes of sending one, “undo send” a message 2 minutes after sending one, and mark a message as unread so we can remember to get back to it later.
However, in our testing, these new Messages features do not work if you’re communicating with other iPhones that are not in the beta program. Unsent messages do not disappear and edited messages pop up like another message.
iOS 16 (the full release version) is expected to be released this fall. Our guess, It’ll be available this September along with announcements of new devices from Apple.
If you want to try out iOS 16 Beta for yourself, you can sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program right here. Be warned though, it is a beta for a reason. Stability is not guaranteed and you should definitely backup everything before proceeding.
