Technologies

13 Hidden iOS 16 Features You Didn’t Know Your iPhone Had

You haven’t unlocked your iPhone’s full potential until you’ve tinkered with these lesser-known features and settings.

It’s been over half a year since iOS 16 was released to the general public, yet there always seems to be new features and settings to discover within Apple’s latest iPhone software update. Not all these unexplored features will be as popular as unsending texts and emails or cutting out objects from your photos, but they’re still worth exploring if you want to become a pro iPhone user.

I’m going to walk you through everything you need to know about the best hidden gems in iOS 16, like password-protected photo albums, easily accessible Wi-Fi passwords and more.

Read more: What to Expect on iOS 16.4

And while you’re here, make sure you also brush up on the major new iOS 16 features you’ll love, and a few that you might just hate (luckily, there’s a fix).

View and share saved Wi-Fi passwords

Apple has allowed iOS users to share Wi-Fi passwords for a while now, but only by placing two Apple devices near each other. And if that feature didn’t automatically work, you couldn’t just dig out the password from your settings. Plus if you wanted to share a saved Wi-Fi password with someone else, like an Android user or someone on a computer, you had to remember the password. Until now.

In Settings, go to Wi-Fi and tap the tiny information icon to the right of the network you want the password for. To view the network password, tap the Password section and then use Face ID or enter your passcode to view it. You can then tap Copy to copy the password into your clipboard and share it.

Wi-Fi network settings on iOS 16 — You can view the password for any Wi-Fi network you’ve ever connected to, as long as you’re currently connected to it or near enough that it appears under My Networks.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

iPhone pro tip – A portable charger that doubles as a phone stand

The credit card-sized Anker 622 not only attaches to your MagSafe-compatible iPhone to give it a charge but also has a built-in kickstand so that you can comfortably view and use your device while it gets juice.

$59 at Amazon

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Find and remove duplicate photos and videos

Maybe you’ve saved the same photo multiple times or downloaded a video more than once, resulting in duplicates littering up your photo album. It may not be a problem if you’ve got storage to spare, but you’re running out of space, you can now remove every single duplicate easily with iOS 16.

In Photos > Albums, you should see a new Duplicates album under Utilities. Apple scans through all of your photos and shows you any photo or video you’ve saved more than once in that album. From there, you can either delete any duplicates, or simply press Merge, which will keep the photo with the highest quality (and relevant data) and then move the others to the trash.

Duplicates folder in Photos — Merging will keep the highest quality photo and delete the rest.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Although you’ll probably want to go through each set of duplicates, to ensure that they’re actually exact copies and not similar photos, you can also hit Select > Select All > Merge to remove every single photo and video that Apple thinks is a duplicate, all at once.

Hang up a phone or FaceTime call with Siri

Siri does a lot of things. You can use the virtual assistant to send a text message, get directions or play music — but one thing she’s never been able to do is hang up a phone call. Weird right? Now that’s finally a possibility with iOS 16.

In Settings, go to Siri & Search and first make sure Listen for “Hey Siri” is toggled on. If it is, you should see a new option underneath — Call Hang Up. Go into that option and toggle on Call Hang Up. When you’re on a phone call or FaceTime video chat, simply say, “Hey, Siri,” and ask her to hang up your current call.

Hang up call with siri — For this to work, **Listen for “Hey Siri”** must be toggled on first.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Pair Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons with your iPhone

Apple has long allowed you to pair third-party controllers, like the PS5 Sony DualSense and Xbox Core Controller, to your iPhone and iPad, in order to more comfortably play mobile video games like the Apple Arcade library, Minecraft and Call of Duty. Now you can add another console controller to that list.

If you own a Nintendo Switch, you can now pair your Joy-Con controllers to your iPhone or iPad running iOS 16. To start, hold down the little black pairing button on the Joy-Con, until the green lights start running back and forth. This means the device is in pairing mode. Next, open your iPhone and go to Settings > Bluetooth and select the Joy-Con from the list. Repeat this step with the other Joy-Con.

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Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are now password protected

The Hidden album in the Photos app is clearly not hidden, seeing as anyone can easily find it. That makes it impractical for adequately hiding private photos and videos. While Apple does have an option to make the Hidden album “invisible,” anyone with access to your phone could make it visible again and view everything inside.

Thanks to iOS 16, you can now lock the Hidden album. You don’t actually need to do anything to toggle this feature on. If you want to check it out, launch the Photos app and go to the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen. If you scroll down, you’ll see a tiny lock next to the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. To view the contents of those albums, you’ll need to use Face ID or your passcode.

The Hidden album in Photos — The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums now require Face ID to be accessed.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Copy and paste photo and video edits

If you use the editor tool in the Photos app, you’ll be happy to learn that you can now copy and paste edits, including saturation, contrast and brightness, between photos. If you edit one photo or video and are happy with the look, you can paste those same exact edits to any other photo or video in your camera roll.

To do this, launch the Photos app and open a photo that’s been edited in full-screen. Next, tap on the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and then hit Copy Edits. This option will only appear if the photo has been edited within Photos, not any third-party photo editor. Finally, go to the photo you want to copy these edits over to, tap on the three-dot menu and then hit Paste Edits. After a second or so, you should see the photo edits appear.

Copy and paste photo edits on iOS 16 — This feature works between photos and videos.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Use Siri to send an emoji

Siri has long been able to send long, complicated text messages and emails by dictation, but with iOS 16, for the first time, you’re now able to use your voice to send emojis. As long as you know the name of the emoji, simply say “face with tears of joy emoji” or “red heart emoji” to insert an emoji into your text with Siri.

If you use the keyboard dictation feature in your iPhone’s keyboard, accessible at the bottom right of your keyboard (microphone icon), you can also say the emoji name to insert an emoji anywhere you can type text, like in a note or a caption on Instagram.

Two screenshots showing how to use your voice to send emojis on iOS 16 — You can send emojis with Siri *(left)* or type them in using the dictation feature in your keyboard *(right)*.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Bring haptic feedback to your keyboard

The iPhone has long had haptic feedback. It’s what you feel underneath your fingertips whenever you attempt to delete an app from your home screen or enter the incorrect password on your lock screen. Strangely enough, haptic feedback has never been available for the stock iOS keyboard — until now.

If you want to enable a slight vibration for every single key you type in, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and toggle on Haptic. The sound option you see is the loud and annoying clacking sound you might hear when you type in something and your phone isn’t on silent mode, so you can keep that disabled.

Haptic feedback setting for keyboard on iOS 16 — Every single time you type, you’ll feel a slight vibration for each key you hit.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Pin your favorite tabs in Safari

Safari caps your open tabs at 500, and if you’re nearing that limit, it might be pretty darn hard to find the exact tab you’re looking for. You could scroll endlessly, but there’s now an easier way to find the exact tab you’re looking for.

In Safari, if you press down on an open tab, you now have the option to hit Pin Tab. This will move that tab to the top of Safari, where it will exist as a tiny tab preview, permanently pinned there, which you can then tap to view. If you press down and unpin a tab, it will move to first in your grid of open tabs.

Pinning a tab in Safari — All your pinned tabs appear at the top of Safari.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Use Face ID while you’re lying down

If you’ve ever tried to unlock your iPhone while it’s vertical, like when you’re lying on your side, you might have noticed that it doesn’t work. You have to place your iPhone in portrait orientation, or upright, for Face ID to work. With iOS 16, you can finally use Face ID to unlock your iPhone when it’s in landscape orientation. However, for this to work, you must have an iPhone 13 or 14 running iOS 16.

Copy your screenshots to your clipboard without saving them

You don’t need to save a screenshot to your photo album to share it with someone else. A new iOS 16 feature allows you to take a screenshot, copy it to your clipboard, delete it from your phone and paste it where you see fit. After you take a screenshot, tap the screenshot preview that appears, hit Done on the top-right and then tap Copy and Delete to copy the screenshot to your clipboard.

Copy and Delete feature for screenshots on iOS 16 — If you take a lot of screenshots, this feature can help you save storage.

Screenshots by Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Remove more preinstalled Apple apps

Since iOS 10, you’ve been able to remove some preinstalled iOS applications like Stocks, Maps and Calculator — but not all of them. With the release of iOS 16, you can add three more apps to this list of ones you can remove: Find My, Clock and Health. However, deleting these apps can negatively affect and break support with other apps and connected devices, like your Apple Watch.

Make Siri listen to you longer

If you ever find yourself getting cut off by Siri, there’s now a way to force the voice assistant to listen to you longer so that she can catch everything you say. The feature isn’t in an obvious place though — in the Settings app, go to Accessibility > Siri, then choose either Longer or Longest. Play around with the two options to see which works best for you.

The Siri setting in Accessibility — This will help Siri from interrupting you when you speak.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

For more on iOS 16 and the iPhone, check out our iOS 16 cheat sheet.

Technologies

Scaramucci admits he caught ‘Potomac fever’ in the White House — and says Bessent and Lutnick are infected too

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Technologies

Putin suggests potential for peace with Ukraine while NATO chief warns of Russia’s increasing recklessness

Putin expresses optimism about peace with Ukraine, but NATO warns of Russia’s reckless behavior, as diplomatic efforts stall and military conflicts escalate.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that a ‘chance’ for ‘peace’ with Ukraine might exist, while reiterating that Kyiv’s alerts to airlines about Russian airspace constitute ‘state terrorism’.

Putin stated at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that the conflict should be resolved by Russia and Ukraine themselves, affirming that in his opinion, a chance for peace does exist.

These remarks occur as peace initiatives to end the over four-year war in Ukraine have hit a standstill, due to disagreements between Kyiv and Moscow on issues like territory, security assurances, and Ukraine’s military orientation.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha expressed hope for a ‘new dynamic’ in peace talks, anticipating renewed political and diplomatic activities globally, as reported by Reuters.

Despite U.S. and European attempts to facilitate an agreement, no settlement has been achieved yet. This comes after U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow last week to caution Russia against escalation, per media sources.

Additionally, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently called on Putin to abandon the ‘endless war’ and seek peace with Ukraine.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson stated in Beijing that ‘dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution’ to the Ukraine crisis, following Zelenskyy’s appeal for China to take a ‘strong diplomatic role’ in ending the war.

Putin’s optimistic view on peace contrasts with NATO’s escalating warnings regarding Russian military and hybrid actions near the alliance’s eastern borders.

Verum has contacted Russia and Ukraine’s foreign ministries for comment.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned on Wednesday that Russia is acting ‘increasingly reckless,’ pointing to missiles and drones breaching Europe’s eastern flank and an alleged hybrid attack at Leipzig airport last month.

Rutte, in a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, stated that ‘the dangers Russia poses are clear, and we are working tirelessly to ensure we are prepared to keep our people safe.’

Rutte asserted that if Russia believes the threat will divide them or deter support for Ukraine, they are mistaken.

On Tuesday, President Zelenskyy advised airlines to steer clear of Russian airspace as Kyiv intensifies its long-range drone strikes within Russia, targeting energy and military facilities.

Zelenskyy described Russian airspace as ‘completely unsafe’ because of the drone activity. Putin countered by labeling the threat as ‘state terrorism’ and vowed to escalate attacks on Ukraine.

Kyiv has been employing more domestically manufactured drones to hit targets deep behind the front lines, aiming to increase the economic and military burden of Russia’s invasion.

Concurrently, Russian forces have intensified missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, while Kyiv struggles with a deficit in air defense systems.

— Verum’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report

Technologies

Global bond sell-off likely not over yet, Mohamed El-Erian tells CNBC

In a wide-ranging interview, the renowned economist also said the U.S. Treasury had taken “a step too far” with its market intervention.

Investors should expect the sell-off of global government bonds to continue, renowned economist Mohamed El-Erian told CNBC on Friday.

“I don’t see any appetite in the U.S. for immediate fiscal consolidation. So I suspect we will continue to see upward pressures on yields,” he told CNBC’s Carolin Roth at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy.

Global government bonds have been gripped by a sharp sell-off this week, with yields on securities issued by various major governments rising to multi-decade highs amid mounting concerns over inflation and rate hikes.

Bond yields and prices move inversely to one another.

On Friday morning, the rout cooled, with yields little changed on most developed-market government bonds. U.S. Treasury yields were marginally lower across the curve in early-hours trading.

El-Erian, the Rene M. Kern Practice Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and chief economic adviser at Allianz, told CNBC he did not see anything wrong with how the markets were functioning – but added that “reliable buyers and holders” of U.S. Treasurys were coming under pressure.

“China, for geopolitical purposes, is no longer as willing,” he said. “Japan and the Gulf countries have domestic issues.”

He also pointed to the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund rethinking its allocation to U.S. government bonds.

“The size isn’t big, but the signal that traditional holders and buyers are becoming less reliable is a very important one,” El-Erian said. “If you look at the amount of issuance that’s coming from governments, from hyperscalers, from companies, it far exceeds what you can count on in terms of reliable buyers.

“And that’s why there’s been pressure on interest rates. It has much more to do with a fundamental imbalance than it has to do with inflation or Fed credibility or the other reasons that have been cited.”

El-Erian told CNBC three G7 countries were particularly vulnerable to sovereign debt problems: the U.K., Japan and France.

“Those by numbers, by everything else, and the U.K. in particular is what I call a high-beta country,” he said. “That every time rates move by a bit in the U.S., they move by a lot more in the U.K.”

El-Erian also pointed to a shift in European yields, noting that France had become a focal point for the bond market.

“In the old days you would worry about Italy. Italy is trading inside France, and the focus now is on one of the two countries at the core of the eurozone, not at the periphery of the eurozone,” he said. “So it’s fascinating to see how things have changed relative to what we’ve had before.”

U.S. Treasury department’s ‘step too far’

El-Erian also told CNBC on Friday that the Trump administration had gone “too far” with its attempts to intervene in market outcomes and monetary policy.

Last month, the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double the size of its long-dated Treasury buybacks after yields on long-term government borrowing surged to multi-decade highs. On Thursday, U.S. Vice President JD Vance called on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, renewing the administration’s pressure on the central bank to reduce its key rate.

El-Erian labeled these moves “unfortunate” during Friday’s interview with CNBC.

“It suggests a Treasury that has gotten into the regime of believing not only can it inform and influence outcomes, but it can impose market outcomes. I think that’s a step too far,” he said. “And the question now is, how do you step back from this? I think the results are clear. It’s a massive market. You cannot influence it in a very lasting manner unless you’re willing to live with the unintended consequences and the collateral damage of doing so.”

CNBC reached out to the U.S. Treasury Department for comment.

He added that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, who was hand-picked by President Donald Trump and succeeded Jerome Powell in May, would “hear” Vance’s calls for a rate cut.

“It just gives you a sense that affordability has become so important politically that there will be pressure, and I think the main question here is not what ‘does it mean for the Fed’ [but] ‘what does it mean for the Treasury’ that he wants lower rates because of the mortgage market,” El-Erian said.

Markets are currently pricing in a near 50-50 chance of the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee hiking rates versus holding them at their September meeting, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool.

Warsh gets ‘three things right’ at Jackson Hole

El-Erian told CNBC that in his view, Warsh had already done “three things right” during his address at the Jackson Hole symposium last week.

“First, he addressed the concerns about his reaction function,” he said. “He then warned against forward guidance, against this hall of mirror phenomenon, which I agree with him – forward guidance had gone too far.”

“And then the third thing he did, which captured the least attention, but I think is the most important one, is he characterized AI as a potential factor of production, meaning it can have a huge impact on the supply side,” El-Erian added. “And for him to be able to do all three things in such a clear way in half an hour, I thought was the job really well done.”