Technologies

11 Hidden iOS 16 Features You Should Be Using on Your iPhone

These lesser-known iOS features and settings will quickly make you an iPhone expert.

It’s been half a year since Apple release iOS 16, and yet there are still new features and settings to discover on the iPhone’s latest software update. These lesser-known features are definitely not as popular as the main features, like the customizable lock screen or ability to unsend text messages, but they’re still worth exploring because they can unlock a whole new experience for you on your iPhone.

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: All the New Features in iOS 16.3

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

This feature works between photos and videos.

Screenshots by 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Thursday, Oct. 30

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 30.

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.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I admit, 1-Across stumped me until I filled the other answers in. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

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: Words on either side of «___ what ___»
Answer: ITIS

5A clue: Breathes like a dog
Answer: PANTS

7A clue: Podcast’s medium
Answer: AUDIO

8A clue: Test with one’s nose
Answer: SNIFF

9A clue: President after Teddy Roosevelt
Answer: TAFT

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Hoppy beers, for short
Answer: IPAS

2D clue: Talk trash to
Answer: TAUNT

3D clue: The «I» of 1-Down
Answer: INDIA

4D clue: How you might feel after a long car ride
Answer: STIFF

6D clue: Pillowy
Answer: SOFT

Technologies

Should You Upgrade to the iPhone 17? Specs, Price and Features vs. Older Models

Apple’s base iPhone 17 appears to be a sleeper hit, but does it offer enough to upgrade from an earlier model? See how it fares against recent iPhones.

While the bright orange iPhone 17 Pro gets all the attention, Apple’s iPhone 17 has quietly turned out to be this year’s early roaring success, with preorders beating out the iPhone 16. If your current serviceable but aging iPhone is starting to feel rusty, maybe this is the year to replace it with a new iPhone 17.

But is the iPhone 17 worth it, or is it better to look for an older iPhone? The new model starts at $829, but here’s the kicker: Apple finally did away with the measly 128GB base storage. The new entry-level model now starts at a much more reasonable 256GB, which is a long-overdue bump that might just make the upgrade a no-brainer.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Several noteworthy updates to the iPhone 17 make it feel like a tempting choice, even over the pricier iPhone 17 Pro models. At long last, Apple has extended a 1-120Hz display across its entire lineup, so you can have smoother scrolling and an always-on display without spending upwards of $1,100 on a Pro model. An anti-reflective coating and higher 3,000-nit peak brightness make the screen slightly easier to see outdoors. And camera upgrades help to level up photos and selfies.

Here’s how the iPhone 17 compares to older iPhones, ranging from last year’s iPhone 16 to 2020’s iPhone 12.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16

Appearance-wise, the iPhone 17 has a lot in common with the iPhone 16. But beneath the surface, there are some key differences.

The display goes from a meager 60Hz on the iPhone 16 to 120Hz on the iPhone 17 (at long last). That means the iPhone 17 finally supports an always-on display, so you can glance at the time and your notifications without waking the screen and enjoy smoother scrolling. A new anti-reflective coating helps reduce glare, especially in the bright outdoor conditions.

The iPhone 17 has a larger 6.3-inch display, versus the iPhone 16’s 6.1-inch screen, thanks to slimmer bezels. That can make viewing content slightly more immersive, though it won’t be a hugely noticeable difference. And a new Ceramic Shield 2 cover on the iPhone 17 offers three times better scratch resistance, according to Apple, so you can worry a little less about etching into your phone’s screen (but maybe still get a screen protector to be safe).

The iPhone 16 and 17 have a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera, but the iPhone 17 bumps the ultrawide camera from 12 megapixels to 48 megapixels. The front-facing camera also gets upgraded from 12 megapixels (on the iPhone 16) to 18 megapixels on the iPhone 17. Both phones have a Camera Control button for quickly launching the camera and snapping photos.

A new Center Stage feature can automatically adjust selfie photos from portrait orientation to landscape to ensure everyone is in the shot, so you don’t have to manually rotate your phone to its side anymore. Dual Capture lets you simultaneously record on your front and back cameras. These upgrades are specifically catered to the latest iPhone lineup, so that they won’t be coming to older models like the iPhone 16, even with an iOS 26 update.

Battery life is a little longer on the iPhone 17. Apple says the iPhone 17 supports up to 8 hours more of video playback than the iPhone 16. This change aligns with improvements CNET noticed in our battery tests. In a 3-hour streaming test, for example, the iPhone 17’s battery dropped from 100% to 89%, while the iPhone 16 hit 86%. It’s an incremental update, but even a little more battery life is a welcome change. The iPhone 17 also supports up to 40-watt charging, which is a boost over the 25 watts you get with the iPhone 16, helping you top off your battery a little faster.

The bottom line: While the updates to the iPhone 17 help it stand out as an all-around solid device, the changes over last year’s iPhone 16 are incremental enough that there’s not much reason to upgrade — unless you’re really excited about that smoother display and faster charging. But for most people, subtle differences mean you should probably just hold onto your iPhone 16.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 15

The iPhone 15 has a lot in common with the iPhone 16, including a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 6.1-inch display. The 6.3-inch display on the iPhone 17 has slimmer bezels to expand that real estate a bit, and the 48-megapixel ultrawide camera can lead to slightly sharper shots.

The baseline iPhone 15 doesn’t have an Action button that you can customize to launch various apps and functions, and instead has the more traditional ring/silent switch. The iPhone 17 has an Action button and a Camera Control button.

Both phones have a Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the display for showing alerts and Live Activities, such as the time your DoorDash order is arriving, flight updates and what song is currently playing.

With each generation, Apple touts longer battery life, so you can expect to get a couple more hours of video playback with the iPhone 17 than you would with the 15.

Perhaps the most significant difference between the iPhone 15 and 17 is that the iPhone 15 doesn’t have Apple Intelligence; those AI features only arrived on that year’s Pro models. If you upgrade to the iPhone 17, you’ll have access to writing and image editing tools, as well as newer features like Live Translation for calls and messages.

The bottom line: Like the iPhone 16, there aren’t many drastic differences between the iPhone 15 and 17, though upgrading will notably grant you access to Apple Intelligence. But the other hardware and software-related updates are relatively minimal, so you’re probably good keeping your iPhone 15 for at least another year.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 14

The iPhone 14 was the last Apple phone with a Lightning port and that’s one of most significant differences between it and the iPhone 17, which has a USB-C port. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 means you won’t have to rely on an outdated and limited-use charging cable anymore, and can instead use one that works with most of your other devices.

The baseline iPhone 14 also doesn’t have a Dynamic Island cutout in the display, as that feature launched with just the Pro models that year. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will let you quickly tap into activities like your rideshare trip or flight information.

The iPhone 14 has a 12-megapixel wide and ultrawide-angle camera on the back, while the iPhone 17 bumps that to 48 megapixels across the board. The iPhone 17 also increases the front-facing camera’s resolution from 12 megapixels to 18 megapixels, while adding a new Center Stage selfie feature to automatically adjust between portrait and landscape images without you having to rotate your phone.

But the two phones also some key similarities, like having eSIM and satellite connectivity on board.

The bottom line: The iPhone 14 has the most noticeable differences with the iPhone 17. Upgrading could offer some fresh features like an Action button and, at last, a USB-C port, as well as Dynamic Island and an upgraded camera. But if you want to save some money and keep your current phone, you won’t be missing out on anything too drastic.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 13

The iPhone 13 has a similar A15 Bionic chip as the iPhone 14, and shares the same dual 12-megapixel camera system. But unlike the iPhone 14, the iPhone 13 doesn’t have crash detection or satellite connectivity, or camera features like Action mode for more stable videos.

At this point, your iPhone 13 may be showing its age. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will give you access to newer features like Apple Intelligence, Dynamic Island, USB-C charging and the Camera Control and Action buttons. You might also notice faster speeds by switching to the iPhone 17, now that it’s been a few years since the iPhone 13 came out.

The bottom line: It may be time to upgrade to the iPhone 17 if you have an iPhone 13. It’s possible your phone is starting to show its age, and switching to Apple’s latest baseline will get you a longer-lasting battery, an upgraded camera, AI features and a handful of new hardware and software capabilities.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 12

Like the next couple of iPhones after it, the iPhone 12 has a dual 12-megapixel camera system, as well as a 6.1-inch display. Upgrading to the iPhone 17 will get you a slightly more immersive 6.3-inch display with thinner bezels, along with a 48-megapixel dual camera system.

The iPhone 12 lacks features like crash detection, satellite connectivity, Dynamic Island and USB-C charging. It also doesn’t support the Apple Intelligence suite of AI features for writing, photo editing, language translation and more.

It’s possible your iPhone 12 has become sluggish and your battery isn’t holding up like it used to. Taking age out of the equation, at launch, the iPhone 12 boasted up to 17 hours of video playback, while Apple says the iPhone 17 supports up to 30 hours. So there’s likely to be a noticeable difference between how long each phone can hold up.

The bottom line: Swapping your iPhone 12 for the iPhone 17 could be a smart move. There have been noticeable changes over the last several years, from the addition of the Action and Camera Control buttons to the introduction of Apple Intelligence. The swap to USB-C and expanded battery capacity can also make the newest iPhone more tempting; you won’t have to cling to your now-outdated Lightning cable. And you’ll likely notice faster speeds and higher performance across the board when switching from a 5-year-old device to the latest generation.

Apple iPhone 17 vs. Older iPhones

	Apple iPhone 17	Apple iPhone 16	Apple iPhone 15	Apple iPhone 14	Apple iPhone 13	Apple iPhone 12
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.3-inch OLED; 2,622 x 1,206 pixel resolution; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate	6.1-inch OLED; 2,556 x 1,179 pixel resolution; 60Hz refresh rate	6.1-inch OLED; 2,556×1,179 pixels	6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels	6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels	6.1-inch OLED; 2,532×1,170 pixels
Pixel density	460ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi	460 ppi	460ppi
Dimensions (inches)	5.89 x 2.81 x 0.31 in	5.81 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches	2.82 x 5.81 x 0.31 in	5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 in	5.78 x 2.82 x 0.3 in	5.78 x 2.82 x 0.29 in
Dimensions (millimeters)	149.6 x 71.5 x 7.95 mm	147.6 x 71.6 x 7.8mm	71.6 x 147.6 x 7.8 mm	147 x 72 x 7.8 mm	147 x 72 x 7.65 mm	146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	177 g (6.24 oz)	170 g (6 oz.)	171g (6.02 oz)	172 g (6.07 oz)	6.14 oz; 174g	5.78oz; 164g
Mobile software	iOS 26	iOS 18	iOS 17	iOS 16	iOS 15	iOS 14
Camera	48-megapixel (wide) 48-megapixel (ultrawide)	48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	48-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	12-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultra-wide)
Front-facing camera	18-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K at 60 fps	HDR video recording with Dolby Vision up to 4K at 60 fps	4K
Processor	Apple A19	Apple A18	A16 Bionic	Apple A15 Bionic	Apple A15 Bionic	Apple Bionic 14
RAM + storage	RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB	RAM N/A + 128GB, 256GB, 512GB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB	RAM NA; 128GB, 256GB, 512GB	128GB, 256GB, 512GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB
Expandable storage	None	None (Face ID)	None	None	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
Battery	Up to 30 hours video playback; up to 27 hours video playback (streamed)	Up to 22 hours video playback; up to 18 hours video playback (streamed). 20W wired charging. MagSafe wireless charging up to 25W with 30W adapter or higher; Qi2 up to 15W	Undisclosed; Apple claims up to 20 hours of video playback (16 hours streamed)	Undisclosed; Apple claims 20 hours of video playback	No	No
Fingerprint sensor	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)	None (Face ID)	Undisclosed; Apple lists 19 hours of video playback	Undisclosed; Apple lists 15 hours of video playback
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C (USB 2.0)	Lightning	No (Face ID)	No (FaceID)
Headphone jack	None	None	None	None	Lightning	Lightning
Special features	Apple N1 wireless networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. 1 to 3,000 nits brightness display range. IP68 resistance. Colors: black, white, mist blue, sage, lavender. Fast charge up to 50% in 20 minutes using 40W adapter or higher via charging cable. Fast charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using 30W adapter or higher via MagSafe Charger.	Apple Intelligence, Action button, Camera Control button, Dynamic Island, 1 to 2,000 nits display brightness range, IP68 resistance. Colors: black, white, pink, teal, ultramarine.	Dynamic Island; 5G (mmw/Sub6); MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; eSIM; satellite connectivity	5G (mmw/Sub6); MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; eSIM; satellite connectivity	No	No
US price starts at	$829 (256GB)	$799 (128GB)	$799 (128GB), $899 (256GB), $1,099 (512GB)	$799 (128GB), $899 (256GB), $1,099 (512GB)	5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)	5G enabled; MagSafe; water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM)

Technologies

China Cracks Down: Fake Experts Banned From Social Media

China is going all-in with strict social media policies surrounding educational topics.

Misinformation is tough to decipher in this day and age of social media. Over in China, the internet regulator has announced that it is further enforcing laws prohibiting social-media influencers from sharing advice on finance, medicine, law and education on social media unless they have the professional credentials to back up their content.

China’s social media platforms, such as Bilibili, Doyin (China’s TikTok) and Weibo, must follow the new regulations set down by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Saturday.

Creators will have to share studies to support their information and reveal whether they used AI to generate any of their content.

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CAC is also banning advertising for supplements and medical services, and similar posts that pose as educational content to sell a product. Prior to this regulation, China declared a two-month campaign to eliminate pessimistic, hostile or violent content.

China has been criticized for its attempt to control online content and public opinion. But it wouldn’t be the first country to enforce laws surrounding social media policies.

Spain implemented its own influencer law in 2024, which required influencers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok earning over 300,000 euro to be transparent about partnerships with brands and sponsorships. Influencers must also adhere to copyright laws and restrictions on targeting of minors with content related to tobacco, alcohol and medications.

A study conducted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization found that only 36.9% of influencers verify that the content that they share is true before posting.

That’s especially troubling since a 2025 Pew Research Center report found that one in five young American adults receives their news through TikTok.

A representative for UNESCO didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.