Apple has started rolling out iOS 16.1 to all eligible iPhones with a plethora of new features and bug fixes. The new update has been released just over a month after the company rolled out iOS 16 which brought several customization options to the iPhone. That includes a customizable lock screen, the ability to edit or 'unsend' messages, bypass captchas on supported websites, a background removal feature from images, Shareplay in messages, and more.
With iOS 16, Apple also reintroduced the ability to display an iPhone's battery percentage in the status bar. The feature has been missing in action since 2017, when the iPhone X debuted without the battery percentage display. The iOS 16 update is available for a number of devices, including the iPhone 8 series, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone 11 series, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 13 series, and iPhone SE (2nd- and 3rd-generation). As for the iPhone 14 lineup, it runs iOS 16 out of the box.
A notable new feature in iOS 16 is a shared iCloud Photo Library that promises to make photo-sharing with friends and family easier. The feature lets up to six users share a photo library across iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The battery percentage indicator in the iPhone's status bar is also now available to more devices, including iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 mini, and iPhone 13 mini. In addition, the battery level indicator will now also decrease over time, depending on the usage. In the original iOS 16 release, the icon stayed full until the battery dipped below 20 percent.
Live Activities Comes To iPhone
With iOS 16.1, Apple has finally introduced the Live Activities API for developers to display the user's current activities, such as cab rides or game scores on the iPhone's lock screen and Dynamic Island. Support for the feature, however, is app-dependent. At the moment, some apps that include support for Live Activities include Discord, YouTube Music, SoundCloud, Audible, Twitter, and Calm, with more apps expected to be added to the list soon.
Another small but notable change is an outline around the Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models that appears when the phone is locked or the Dynamic Island is in use. However, the outline is only visible on very dark backgrounds. Another curious change is that the Wallet app can now be uninstalled, possibly due to antitrust scrutiny in Europe. Finally, iOS 16.1 also includes a 'Clean Energy Charging' toggle that Apple claims will reduce the user's carbon footprint by "selectively charging when lower carbon emission electricity is available."
Source: Apple