Technologies

10 iOS 16 Hidden Features That Just Make Your iPhone Better

Hidden under the surface, you’ll find features and settings that might change how you use your iPhone.

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.

Your iPhone is way more powerful than you think. Underneath all the major new features on iOS 16, like home screen widgets, Live Activities and Emergency SOS via satellite, there are impressive features and settings that Apple may not give as much shine to, but that you should definitely know about.

If you want to take a closer look at some of the iOS 16 hidden gems that will make your mobile experience better, like password-protected photo albums and easily accessible Wi-Fi passwords, here’s what you need to know.

Want to learn more about Apple’s latest mobile operating system? We’ve got new iOS 16 features that you’ll love and a few that you might just hate (luckily, there’s a fix).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For more on iOS 16 and the iPhone, check out the iOS 16 Cheat Sheet.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, July 19

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 19.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a delight. I was thrilled to spot a cute salamander with a funny name in the clue for 9-Across. Good thing I remembered how to spell it! Keep reading for help with today’s Mini Crossword. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: See-through
Answer: CLEAR

6A clue: «Anybody home?»
Answer: HELLO

7A clue: Winged horse of Greek myth
Answer: PEGASUS

9A clue: Salamander known for its regenerative abilities (and adorable appearance)
Answer: AXOLOTL

10A clue: Texting format, for short
Answer: SMS

11A clue: Birthplace of bossa nova
Answer: RIO

12A clue: Even score
Answer: TIE

13A clue: Insect seen in Dalí’s «The Persistence of Memory»
Answer: ANT

14A clue: Directory abbr.
Answer: EXT

15A clue: Metroid console, for short
Answer: NES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Party snack made with cereal and pretzels
Answer: CHEXMIX

2D clue: Gift with many interlocking pieces
Answer: LEGOSET

3D clue: Airline whose name comes from the Book of Hosea
Answer: ELAL

4D clue: Election loser
Answer: ALSORAN

5D clue: Stand-up comic’s act
Answer: ROUTINE

7D clue: Command that uses the «V» key
Answer: PASTE

8D clue: Pulling their arms might win you money
Answer: SLOTS

Technologies

It’s the End of the Road for Microsoft Store Movies and TV Shows. What It Means for You

Microsoft has abruptly stopped offering rentals and sales of TV shows and movies on its media platforms.

Microsoft is exiting the market for selling and renting TV and movies across its platforms. There was no reason given for the abrupt change, with Microsoft simply posting the news on a support page on its Xbox website.

«Microsoft has stopped selling new movie and TV content. Existing customers can continue to access their previously purchased content on Windows and Xbox devices,» Microsoft said in the post.

The company said playback and download options will continue to be available for shows and movies people bought previously, but it’s the end of the road for new sales.

On the same page, Microsoft directed users to sign up for Movies Anywhere if they aren’t already members, which makes purchased content available across platforms, and to shop at other media stores including Amazon’s Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

A representative for Microsoft didn’t offer additional comment, but pointed CNET to a similar support blog post on Microsoft’s website.

Microsoft has partnered with many companies over the years to distribute video content since the early 2000s. The move comes as the company has been experiencing mass layoffs and cost cutting across many divisions, including its gaming studios, resulting in the cancellation of multiple upcoming Xbox games.

What happens to content I’ve bought from Microsoft?

Although Microsoft says previously purchased content isn’t going to be unavailable, there are some things to be aware of. According to the support page, you can’t transfer your purchases to another service (although they can be accessed on other services if Movies Anywhere makes them available, but that doesn’t apply to TV shows).

Microsoft isn’t offering refunds for any purchased content, either.

Microsoft says that downloads of movies and TV shows will still work and will be available, «on Windows and in HD max resolution.» Movies and TV shows will still be playable on the Microsoft Movies & TV app.

The company says anyone who is having trouble accessing their purchases can reach out to Microsoft Support.

Technologies

Microsoft Will Erase Your Passwords in 2 Weeks: What to Do Now

If the Authenticator app is your go-to password manager, you’ll need to pick a new one soon.

Microsoft is axing passwords starting in August — and if you use its Authenticator app, you’ll want to be prepared.

For years, Microsoft Authenticator has been a go-to for managing multifactor authentication and saved passwords. However, starting next month, it will no longer support passwords and will move to passkeys instead. That means your logins will soon rely more on things like PINs, fingerprint scans or facial recognition.

Using a passkey can make your account safer, and it’s a move I’m excited about. I recently uncovered that 49% of US adults have risky password habits that can open the door to scammers getting access to your sensitive data.

If you’re a fan of Authenticator and not sure where to start before the switch, here are other password managers CNET recommends and steps you should take before August.

When will Microsoft Authenticator stop supporting passwords?

Microsoft Authenticator houses your passwords and lets you sign into all your Microsoft accounts using a PIN, facial recognition like Windows Hello, or other biometric data like a fingerprint. Authenticator can be used in other ways, such as verifying you’re logging in if you forgot your password, or using two-factor authentication as an extra layer of security for your accounts. In June, the company stopped letting users add passwords to Authenticator.

Starting this month, you won’t be able to use the autofill password function. And next month, you’ll no longer be able to use saved passwords.

If you still want to use passwords instead of passkeys, you can store them in Microsoft Edge. However, CNET experts recommend adopting passkeys during this transition. «Passkeys use public key cryptography to authenticate users, rather than relying on users themselves creating their own (often weak or reused) passwords to access their online accounts,» Tomaschek said.

Why are passkeys a better alternative to passwords?

So what exactly is a passkey? It’s a credential created by the Fast Identity Online Alliance that uses biometric data or a PIN to verify your identity and access your account. Think about using your fingerprint or Face ID to log into your account. That’s generally safer than using a password that is easy to guess or susceptible to a phishing attack.

«Passwords can be cracked, whereas passkeys need both the public and the locally stored private key to authenticate users, which can help mitigate risks like falling victim to phishing and brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks,» said Attila Tomaschek, CNET’s software senior writer and digital security expert.

Passkeys aren’t stored on servers like passwords. Instead, they’re stored only on your personal device. More conveniently, this takes the guesswork out of remembering your passwords and the need for a password manager.

How to set up a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator

Microsoft said in a May 1 blog post that it will automatically detect the best passkey to set up and make that your default sign-in option. «If you have a password and ‘one-time code’ set up on your account, we’ll prompt you to sign in with your one-time code instead of your password. After you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to enroll a passkey. Then the next time you sign in, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your passkey,» according to the blog post.

To set up a new passkey, open your Authenticator app on your phone. Tap on your account and select «Set up a passkey.» You’ll be prompted to log in with your existing credentials. After you’re logged in, you can set up the passkey.

Other password manager alternatives

Since Microsoft will get rid of all of your passwords in two weeks, you’ll need a new place to store your passwords safely. Tomaschek has a few of the best password manager recommendations after testing and reviewing several.

The top recommendation is Bitwarden for its transparency. It’s open-source and audited annually. From a price perspective, the free plan lets you store infinite passwords across unlimited devices. The free plan also includes features most password managers would charge for, including password sharing and a username and password generator.

Bitwarden’s upgraded plans have other upgraded features that could be worth the cost, too.

Personally, Tomaschek has been using 1Password for a while, and he likes the interface and family plan. Even though it’s second on the list, Tomaschek says it’s just as good as Bitwarden.