Technologies
12 iOS 16 Features That Will Help You Make the Most of Your iPhone
You don’t even need a new iPhone to take advantage of most of these 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 keeps adding new features, and you don’t even need a new iPhone 14 to take advantage of them. With iOS 16.3, first released in January, Apple added 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 available for the iPhone, too.
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.
New emoji include animals and a new smiley


A sample of the new emoji arriving with iOS 16.4.
Karisa Langlo/CNETAfter downloading iOS 16.4, your iPhone’s emoji keyboard will expand to include 31 new symbols to decorate your chats — many of which have a festive theme. Maracas, Pink Heart, Light Blue Heart and Folding Hand Fan arrive alongside animals like the Donkey, Moose and the Goose. Meanwhile the Shaking Face could help you express shock and confusion.
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’re 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.
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
Skip Your iPhone’s Lockscreen: Here’s the Hidden Flashlight Trick You Need to Know
A couple of taps can really make a difference on your iPhone.

Not long ago, your iPhone’s lockscreen would only allow two app shortcuts that you couldn’t change: camera controls and a flashlight toggle. However, iOS 18.2 allows you to customize these shortcuts to almost anything you might want. This small but impactful change is one of many ways iOS 18 supercharges customization for iPhone and iPad users. But what if you still want an easy-to-access way to toggle your flashlight without unlocking your phone?
Apple introduced an accessibility feature in iOS 14 that, once enabled, allows you to perform actions by just tapping on the back of your phone. The feature is called Tap Back and it remains a sleeper feature that’s sneakily hidden away in your settings menu. Enabling Tap Back essentially allows you to create a button on the back of your iPhone to perform an action without needing to take up any space.
Once you have Tap Back enabled, it doesn’t take long to see how much of a game-changer it can be with its added convenience. Below, we’ll show you how to set it up so a couple of taps on the back of your iPhone will let you launch just about anything you want.
For more, check out what’s in the latest iOS 18.4 release.
How to set up Back Tap on iPhone
Whether you want to link Back Tap with your flashlight, camera or launch a different iPhone app, the path through your iPhone settings begins the same way.
On your compatible iPhone (iPhone 8 or later), launch the Settings application and go to Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap. Now you have the option to launch your action (in this case, your flashlight) with either two or three taps. Although two taps is obviously faster, I would suggest three taps because if you fidget with your phone, it’s easy to accidentally trigger the accessibility feature.
Once you choose a tap option, select the Flashlight option — or a different action if you prefer. You’ll see over 30 options to choose from, including system options like Siri or taking a screenshot, to accessibility-specific functions like opening a magnifier or turning on real-time live captions. You can also set up Back Tap to open the Control Center, go back home, mute your audio, turn the volume up and down and run any shortcuts you’ve downloaded or created.
You’ll know you’ve successfully selected your choice when a blue checkmark appears to the right of the action. You could actually set up two shortcuts this way — one that’s triggered by two taps and one that’s triggered by three taps to the iPhone’s back cover.
Once you exit the Settings application, you can try out the newly enabled Back Tap feature by tapping the back of your iPhone — in my case, to turn on the flashlight. To turn off the flashlight, you can tap on the back of your iPhone as well, but you can also just turn it off from your lock screen if that’s easier.
For more great iPhone tips, here’s how to keep your iPhone screen from dimming all the time and canceling all those subscriptions you don’t want or need.
Technologies
All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free
Bad news: Mario Kart World will cost $80. Good news: These classic games will get free revamped versions for Switch 2.

Nintendo’s Switch 2 launch event on Wednesday has upset some fans for one key reason: pricing. The new console will be released on June 5 at a starting price of $450, and it will have new games, like Mario Kart World, Kirby Air Riders and Donkey Kong Bananza. But those games could cost as much as $80 (and that’s before factoring in possible tariffs).
Fortunately, Nintendo has also announced that some Nintendo Switch games will get free updates to improve playability on the upcoming console.
«By connecting your Nintendo Switch 2 to the internet, you can download free updates that may improve performance or add support for features such as GameShare in select games,» the company posted.
Here are all the Nintendo Switch games that can get a free update for the Switch 2.
- Arms
- Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
- Super Mario Odyssey
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
- Game Builder Garage
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
- Pokemon Scarlet
- Pokemon Violet
- Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain
Nintendo also announced that other Switch games will have upgraded versions of the base game, called Switch 2 Editions. These games, which include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, may offer improved graphics, unique ways to play the game with the Switch 2 hardware, and other features.
You can buy a digital or physical copy of these games if you’re purchasing them for the first time. But Switch 2 Edition games are not free if you already own the Switch version of one of these games, so you’ll have to buy an upgrade pack to play the updated version.
It’s unclear how much Switch 2 Editions of games and upgrade packs will cost, and it’s also unclear how upgrade packs will work with physical versions of Switch games.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will also be backward compatible with certain games. While we don’t know all the Switch games that will be playable on the Switch 2, we know some Switch games have startup (PDF) or in-game (PDF) compatibility issues with the upcoming console.
For more on the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, here’s what we know about the upcoming console and what to know about games like Mario Kart World and Duskbloods.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, April 4
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 4.

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 NYT Mini Crossword about knocked me out. I struggled with 1-Across, «Elphaba’s broom in ‘Wicked’ or Aladdin’s lamp in ‘Aladdin,’ thinking it was a word like «magic» but with one less letter. And I was also stumped by 4-Down, «kibble nibblers,» which I thought for sure was «dogs» or «pups.» Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. 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 at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Elphaba’s broom in «Wicked» or Aladdin’s lamp in «Aladdin»
Answer: PROP
5A clue: Thorough investigation
Answer: PROBE
6A clue: Metaphor for an unquestioning rule-follower
Answer: ROBOT
7A clue: Harvard and Yale, for two
Answer: IVIES
8A clue: ___ Wearhouse (department store chain)
Answer: MENS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Definitively determine
Answer: PROVE
2D clue: Herald of spring
Answer: ROBIN
3D clue: Orchestral reeds
Answer: OBOES
4D clue: Kibble nibblers
Answer: PETS
5D clue: Fastidiously proper
Answer: PRIM
How to play more Mini Crosswords
The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.
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