Technologies
11 New iPhone Feature You Should Be Using if You’re Not Already
Every iPhone owner should know about these iOS features.
This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2023, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.
Apple’s iPhone software just keeps getting better. With iOS 16.3, first released in January, Apple adds a number of small but significant updates to the iOS 16 iPhone software, including security keys for iCloud and new wallpaper options. A smaller iOS 16.3.1 update in February then threw in a few bug fixes and security updates as well. And now, the release of iOS 16.4 and its new emojis are just around the corner.Â
All of these updates continue to add onto Apple’s iOS 16, which first came out in September for anyone with a compatible iPhone. Installing the operating system software on your iPhone gives you new features and settings, such as a more customizable lock screen, a way to edit sent messages and a magic photo editing tool. Plus, iOS 16 brings back the battery percentage icon.
iOS 16 was announced last spring at Apple’s WWDC conference prior to its public launch alongside the iPhone 14. If you’re curious about what else iOS 16 offers, read on as we break down the 11 best new features on your iPhone. Just make sure you’ve already completed these three steps first, and check out the lesser-known features lurking in iOS 16 too.
The ability to edit and ‘unsend’ messages
“Embarrassing typos are a thing of the past,” Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, said at WWDC as he introduced three of the most requested features for the Messages app.
First, in iOS 16 you’ll be able to edit sent messages. So if you notice a typo after a message, you’ll be able to edit the message after the fact. A tiny “edited” appears in the status under the message.


In Messages, you can edit previously sent messages.
AppleNext, and this might be my favorite new feature, you can immediately recall a sent message. If you accidentally send an unfinished message, you can use the Undo Send tool to prevent it from being read and hopefully look less chaotic to your friends and family.
Last, you can mark messages and threads as unread. This could be an excellent tool for when you don’t have time to respond to a message in the moment, but want to make sure you come back to it later.
A new customizable lock screen
One of the things you look at the most on your iPhone is the lock screen, especially if you have a Face ID-equipped iPhone. iOS 16 brings the most substantial update to the iPhone’s lock screen yet. Press and hold to edit your lock screen. You can swipe to try out several different styles. Each style changes the color filter for the background photo and the font on the lock screen so everything complements each other. This feels a bit like Apple’s take on Google’s Material You, which launched with Android 12.
You can also customize the fonts for the time and date, and add lock screen widgets like temperature, activity rings and a calendar. The widgets are akin to complications on the Apple Watch lock screen.Â
Your iPhone will become more customizable in iOS 16. You’ll be able to choose how your lock screen looks, down to the font and color.
AppleYou can even set up multiple customized lock screens with different widgets and easily swipe to switch between them. There’s also a photo shuffle option that automatically changes the pictures on your lock screen.
One feature we’d been hoping to see Apple add was an always-on display. It’s something nearly all Android phones have; even the Apple Watch does. Well, with the new iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max, the always-on display has finally arrived.


iOS 16 adds a feature that developers can use called Live Activities. This is essentially a mini view of the real-time progress of a workout, sporting event or Uber ride from your iPhone’s lock screen.
AppleNotifications and live activities
Sometimes notifications can cover up your lock screen’s photo, so iOS 16 moves notifications to the bottom of your display. As you receive them, instead of being compiled into a list, they appear like a vertical carousel. This not only looks better but should be a big help for one-handed use of your iPhone.
iOS 16 also aims to solve another notification problem. Sometimes you get a bunch of notifications in a row from one app, like the score of a basketball game. A new tool for developers called Live Activities makes it easier to stay on top of things happening in real time from your lock screen, instead of getting a series of interruptions.
Live Activities should make it easier to follow sporting events, workouts or even the progress of an Uber ride.
Skip CAPTCHAs using Private Access Tokens
The CAPTCHA — which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart — has been a necessary evil across the internet. CAPTCHAs are designed to make sure that a person is accessing a website or service, and not a bot. I find them annoying, as they often involve reading strangely written letters or having to find all the images that have a truck. With iOS 16, Apple plans to start replacing these awkward interactions with Private Access Tokens.
According to a video on Apple’s website demonstrating Private Access Tokens, websites that support the token will essentially log in and authenticate that you are indeed a human without your having to play any of the usual CAPTCHA games. Apple says in the video that the company is working with other companies to roll out support for this feature, so we can’t say the CAPTCHA will be dead after iOS 16 rolls out to the public. But the concept could provide some relief if it gets adopted.
Wallet and Apple Pay Later
ID cards from more states will be available in your Wallet app along with more security and privacy features. In iOS 16 you can also protect your identity and age. So rather than showing your exact birth date, the Wallet app will display your ID and that you’re over 21.
iOS 16 makes sharing keys easier with apps like Mail and Messages. When your friend receives the key, they can add it to the Wallet app on their iPhone. Apple said it’s working to make sure that shared keys are an industry standard and free for others.


The Wallet app in iOS 16 gets a bunch of small but notable updates, including the Apple Pay Later payment plan.
AppleApple Pay will support new types of payments and adds a new feature called Apple Pay Later, a Klarna-like service that lets you split the cost of an Apple Pay purchase into four equal payments spread over six weeks, with zero interest and no fees. Upcoming payments are managed through the Wallet app, making it easy to keep track of dates and payments.
But Apple Pay doesn’t stop there. A new feature will also help you track Apple Pay orders and lets merchants deliver detailed receipts and tracking information. This should make it easier to stay up to date on the status of all your orders.


You can tap and hold on the subject of a photo and separate it from the background. Then you can drag it into another app like Messages to share it.
AppleVisual Look Up’s tap and drag for photos
In iOS 15, Visual Look Up analyzes your photos and can identify objects like plants, landmarks and pets. iOS 16 takes this to the next level. When you touch a photo’s subject like the dog in the image above, you can lift it away from the background and add it to apps like Messages. Essentially it’s a tap-and-hold tool that removes a photo’s background.
Apple sometimes overuses the word “magic,” but this feature truly seems like it.


During the keynote for WWDC, Apple executive Craig Federighi introduces SharePlay for the Messages app.
AppleSharePlay comes to Messages
SharePlay, which debuted in iOS 15, lets you have a shared experience while connecting with someone over FaceTime. You can watch TV shows, listen to music in sync and other things. iOS 16 adds the ability to discover more apps that support SharePlay from within FaceTime.
But perhaps one of the coolest things Apple did for SharePlay was to make it work within the Messages app. Apple said that this was one of the biggest requests from app developers. Now when you want to share a movie on Disney Plus, you can start SharePlay together with a friend while chatting in Messages.


Safety Check lets you quickly reset location sharing and access to passwords. It’s intended to be helpful for people in abusive relationships.
AppleSafety Check aims to help people in abusive relationships
Safety Check is a new feature intended to be helpful for people in abusive relationships. It lets you review and reset who has access to location information as well as passwords, messages and other apps on an iPhone.
Focus mode updates and Focus filters
Focus mode gets several updates. The first applies Focus behaviors to widgets and lock screen looks. So you could have one lock screen set for when your Work Focus is enabled and another for workouts.
Apple added specific Focus filters that apply your iPhone’s Focus mode within apps. For example, in Safari, you can limit what tabs are shown depending on what Focus mode you have active.
Apple Maps adds transit fare cards
Maps gets several updates. You’ll be able to plan trips with up to 15 different stops along the way. If you start planning a trip with the Maps app on your Mac, you’ll be able to share that to your iPhone.
And in something similar to what Google announced for Google Wallet in Android 13, you’ll be able to see transit fare estimates as well as add more money to a fare card from within Apple Maps.


In iOS 16 you’ll be able to customize Quick Start with a specific child’s iCloud parental controls and settings.
AppleiCloud family checklist
iCloud gets several new features. One of the more interesting ones is the option to quickly set up a new device for your child. When Quick Start appears, you have the option to pick a user for the new device and use all the existing parental controls you’ve previously selected and configured. However, this is not what many of us still want: the ability to set up separate users for the same device.
There’s a new family checklist with tips for updating settings for your kids as they get older, like a reminder to check location-sharing settings or share your iCloud Plus subscriptions.
For more, check out everything Apple announced at its Sept. 7 “Far Out” event. Plus, here’s how to download iOS 16.
Technologies
Verum Exchange Launches a $10 Bonus for Online Mining of Verum Coin and Bitcoin
Verum Exchange Launches a $10 Bonus for Online Mining of Verum Coin and Bitcoin
Verum Exchange is expanding its online mining capabilities, allowing users to earn a $10 bonus while continuing to mine cryptocurrency directly from their smartphones. The feature is available not only in the currency converter app but also within Verum Messenger.
Online mining has long been part of the Verum ecosystem. Now, the company has added a new incentive to the existing feature â a bonus for participating in online mining.
The concept of online mining is changing the traditional perception of cryptocurrency mining. Users do not need to set up specialized mining equipment at home or deal with complex technical configurations. The feature can be accessed directly through the Verum digital ecosystem.
Verum Exchange: https://exchange.verum.im
Verum Messenger: https://ios.verum.im
Technologies
Supreme Court permits certain Trump mail-in voting restrictions before midterm elections
The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that prevented the Trump administration from implementing new restrictions on mail-in voting, allowing the administration to proceed with its plan to impose new requirements on states ahead of the midterm elections.
The Supreme Court on Monday sided with President Donald Trump for now in his effort to impose sweeping new restrictions on distributing mail ballots, putting on hold a lower-court ruling that had blocked key parts of the plan ahead of Novemberâs midterm elections.
The justices, over three dissents, paused a ruling by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston that prevented the Trump administration from carrying out portions of a March executive order involving the U.S. Postal Service and voter eligibility lists. The courtâs three liberal justices dissented.
But the decision does not immediately allow the Postal Service to put its new mail-ballot system into effect.
A separate nationwide injunction issued Aug. 11 by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston still blocks USPS from implementing the new procedures for the Nov. 3 elections. The administration would have to overcome that order as well.
The distinction was central to the Supreme Courtâs decision.
The majority said Trumpâs executive order itself does not require states to change how they conduct elections. Instead, it directs federal agencies to develop policies that could later impose requirements on states. Because those policies had not yet been implemented when 23 states and Washington, D.C., challenged the order, the court said the challenge was premature.
The justices stressed they were not deciding whether Trumpâs order or the policies developed under it are ultimately legal.
âThe Courtâs disposition of this application does not mean that any measure taken by the Government to implement the Order will necessarily be lawful,â the majority wrote. âOn that score, time will tell.â
The Postal Service last week finalized rules intended to carry out part of Trumpâs order, including new requirements involving ballot envelopes, barcodes and information states must provide USPS. Those rules remain blocked by Talwaniâs separate injunction.
The case now returns to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as the underlying legal fight continues. Some states have already started preparing to send ballots to military and overseas voters in early September.
Technologies
Trump targets Iranâs trade lifelines â here are the countries most exposed
Washington’s threat of “economic D-Day” collides with a small group of governments that account for most of what remains of Iran’s foreign trade.
The U.S. announced an âeconomic D-Dayâ campaign Monday to isolate Iran from the global economy, threatening penalties against âenablersâ that continue doing business with Tehran.
The move is part of Washingtonâs bid to sever the trade lifeline that has sustained Tehranâs economy through nearly six months of war.
While enforcement details are sketchy, the threat could still put the U.S. on a collision course with some of Tehranâs major trade partners.
China
China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil and serves as a crucial link to the global economy for Tehran, accounting for about 90% of its oil exports, according to the U.S. government.
China reported $9.96 billion in bilateral trade with Iran in 2025, excluding the roughly $31.2 billion in unreported Iranian crude oil exports to China that year, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Independent Chinese refiners take in the bulk of it, often rebranded as Malaysian or Indonesian crude and settled through intermediaries outside the dollar system, according to Kpler. The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned several of those refineries this year for Iranian oil purchases, while sparing Chinese financial institutions.
Beijing has openly opposed U.S. sanctions against Iran, arguing that economic pressure will not resolve the disputes. In May, China ordered domestic firms to disregard U.S. sanctions on five refiners linked to the Iranian oil trade.
While Beijing is unlikely to push back directly on Washingtonâs sanctions push, it will âquietly step up complianceâ among state banks and oil companies to avoid getting caught in the net, said Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group, pointing to âa dichotomy between the official statement and the private practice.â
âChinese authorities care more about dollar access in financing and market entry to the U.S.,â she said.
United Arab Emirates
The Emirates, located just 50 miles from Iran across the Persian Gulf, has long been a major trading hub for Iran.
The bilateral trade amounted to around $28 billion in 2024, when the Emirates was its largest source of imports, contributing over 30%, according to the World Trade Organization data. The UAE was also Iranâs third-largest export destination, making up 12% of its shipments, totaling more than $7 billion.
That relationship hit a snag last week as the UAE moved to suspend all trade and financial transactions with Iran, following two ballistic missiles fired toward Emirati territory, one of which targeted UAE-owned tankers.
Iran has relied on UAE banks and its financial system to access the world economy through illicit, often murky transactions, and cutting off Iran would require more forceful actions from Emirati authorities to crack down on opaque financial and trading activity, according to U.S.-based think tank The Washington Institute.
âThe majority of Iranâs transshipment, smuggling, and shadow banking activity takes place in Dubai, so Washington must do what it can to help the UAEâs national leaders in Abu Dhabi convince and cajole Dubaiâs leaders to play ball,â Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. Treasury official, wrote in a note on Monday.
Turkey
Turkey maintains significant commercial ties with Tehran, importing Iranian natural gas and exporting manufactured goods south.
The Turkey-Iran bilateral trade reached $5.7 billion in 2024, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Ankara exporting mostly machinery and parts, chemical and agricultural products, while importing energy products from Tehran.
Meanwhile, under a 25-year gas supply contract between the two countries that expired at the end of July, Turkeyâs imports of Iranian gas spiked this year while Iranâs share of Turkeyâs total natural gas imports rose to 18.6%, according to local media.
While Ankara has sought to diversify toward other suppliers, expanding pipeline imports from Azerbaijan and Russia, it has, so far, not signaled that it intends to cut Iran off.
Iraq
Iraq, dependent on Iranian electricity and gas, has historically traded billions with Tehran.
Iran renewed a five-year contract in March 2024 to supply Iraq with up to nearly 660 billion cubic feet of natural gas a year, and electricity imports from Iran accounted for more than 30% of its electricity generation in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Iraq-Iran trade reached more than $10 billion in 2025, according to Reuters, with Tehran exporting food, consumer goods and other products to the Iraqi market. The trade has dwindled this year amid increased security risks in the region and intermittent disruptions along border crossings since the war started in late February.
Iraq reportedly pays Iran around $4 billion to $5 billion a year for natural gas for electricity generation. The fresh U.S. sanctions could curtail Baghdadâs payments for Iranian energy.
India
India, among Iranâs top five trading partners, has seen its bilateral trade with Iran fall in recent years to around $1.6 billion in the year ending March 2026, according to Indiaâs Department of Commerce, down from $2.3 billion in the year through to March 2023.
New Delhi primarily exports rice, tea, sugar and pharmaceuticals to Iran, and imports dry and fresh fruits from Iran.
In April, India resumed importing crude oil from Iran following a seven-year halt, after the U.S. temporarily lifted sanctions on Iranian crude exports.
But those trades now will be tested if Washington makes good on its threat to sanction any entity, including Indian refiners, that have procured Iranian energy.
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