It is not a surprise that there is so much fuss surrounding the iPhone 14 series even after its launch. This is because Apple iPhones in time past has been a pacesetter for other smartphone brands. However, with the lack of innovations in the new iPhones, this situation is beginning to change. Apple recently released the new iPhone 14 series and announced that the official version of iOS 16 will start to roll out on September 13th. iOS 16 will support iPhone 8, iPhone X or newer. Even so, not all features will work on older iPhones.
Certain iOS 16 features are only available on iPhones with the A12 Bionic chip or newer, i.e. iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone SE (3rd generation) and of course the latest iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Features for a few iPhone users
Here are the features that will only be available to a select few iPhones with iOS 16 later this fall:
- Live text in video: Text is now fully interactive in paused video frames, so you can use features like copy and paste, find and translate, and more. This feature works with Photos, Quick Look, Safari, and other apps.
- Quick Actions in Live Text: Detected data in photos and videos can be manipulated with just one click. Track flights or shipments, translate foreign languages and convert currencies.
- New languages for Live Text: In iOS 16, Live Text recognizes Japanese, Korean, and Ukrainian text.
- Emojis in text: Previewed during the WWDC22 keynote, you can insert emojis when sending messages with Siri. Available in Cantonese (Hong Kong), English (Australia, Canada, India, UK, US), French (France), German (Germany), Japanese (Japan), Mandarin (China, Taiwan) and Spanish (Mexico, Spain).
- Discover Siri features and apps: Open the app and ask “Hey Siri, what can I do here?” Or you can query a specific app by saying “Hey Siri, what can I do with iRobot?” This feature supports German (Germany), English (Australia, Canada, India, UK, US), Spanish (Mexico, Spain, US), French (France), Japanese (Japan), Mandarin (Mainland China) and Cantonese (China) Hongkong).
Others are
- A new dictation experience: You can switch between speech and touch smoothly in iOS 16. Use your keyboard to type, tap text fields, move your cursor, and insert QuickType suggestions, all without stopping your dictation.
- Add medication using an iPhone camera: You can quickly add medication in iOS 16 using cameras like iPhone XR/XS. Just place the drug label in the frame and see the results for the drug name, strength and form.
- Image search in more apps: In iOS 16, Spotlight uses image information from messages, notes, and files to support searching by location, people, scenes, and even things in images such as text, dogs, and more.
- Visual Lookup Improvements: Boost subjects from images or isolate subjects by removing backgrounds. This works for Photos, Screenshots, Quick Look, Safari, etc.
- New Domains for Visual Lookup: Adds recognition of birds, insects and statues.
- Astronomical wallpapers: In iOS 16 Beta 2, Apple has provided astronomical wallpapers for update users such as the iPhone XR and iPhone XS. Previously, it only worked on A13 or newer compatible devices.
iOS 16 features for iPhone 11 and later
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Live Captioning: Automatically generate transcriptions in real-time for deaf users so they can more easily conduct conversations, audio, and video. However, it is important to note that this feature requires the iPhone 11 or newer. In addition, the iPad with A12 Bionic chip or newer and Mac with Apple Silicon chip support this feature. Furthermore, this feature is only available in English (Canada, United States).
iOS 16 features exclusive to iPhone 13 series models
The iPhone 13 models also have iOS 16-exclusive features. They are:
- Foreground Blur in Portrait Photos: Portrait mode blurs objects in the foreground of the photo for a more realistic depth-of-field effect.
- Improved quality when recording in movie mode: When recording video in movie mode on iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, the depth of field effect is more accurate for silhouette angles and around the edges of hair and glasses.
Features exclusive to iPhone 14 series models
- 4k Movie Mode: When recording video in Movie mode on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, users can choose 30fps@1080p, 24fps@4k, or 30fps@4K.
- Sports Mode: The new iPhone 14 series offers a new Sports Mode that reduces noticeable shaking, movement, and vibration, even when shooting video while in motion.
iPhones that support iOS 16’s new battery icon
While some features require specific iPhones due to processor capabilities, Apple adds a new battery icon for some notch devices in iOS 16 Beta 5.
Only a few devices will get this new feature:
- Apple iPhone 13, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max
- Apple iPhone 12, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS and XS Max
- Apple iPhone X
- iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max already support the new battery icon.
Conclusion
It is important to have this information so you don’t get excited about a feature that your old iPhone will not be getting. These are all features unique to the new iPhone models. As you can see, many of these are available for Apple iPhone XR and iPhone XS or newer users. However, only a few camera improvements are exclusive to the iPhone 13 series and iPhone 14 series. If you use older iPhones, maybe it is time to upgrade to a newer one to enjoy some of these features.