There are dozens–if not a whole bunch–of latest options strewn throughout the main software program updates Apple releases each fall. However for each one which will get prime billing (iOS 16’s new customizable Lock Screens, for instance) there are a complete slew that get little, if any consideration. It’s hardly truthful, however hey, that’s life: we are able to’t all be the celebrities of the present.
Fortuitously, the large variety of individuals these updates helps be certain that no new characteristic stays unknown for lengthy. Having myself spent a considerable amount of time with iOS 16 and watchOS 9 over the previous a number of months, I’ve developed my very own emotions on that are the most effective options that you just won’t instantly attempt immediately—those which are usually squirreled away in an app you haven’t opened for some time, or buried below a number of ranges of menus. And since I would like you to take pleasure in them too, I’m going to share three of my favorites.
Climate or not
Darkish Sky has been my go-to climate app since its launch, and although I’ve experimented with many others, I’ve all the time gravitated again to it. Sadly, I’m not the one one who was a giant fan—Apple thought it was so good that they purchased it again in 2020. Extra just lately, an announcement within the app confirms that it’ll stop to perform beginning on January 1, 2023.
However the excellent news is that a number of the niceties of Darkish Sky have made their method into Apple’s personal Climate app. In case you haven’t given it a attempt shortly, I encourage you to test it out: there’s far more in there than you may assume at first look.
The iOS 16 Climate options interactive playing cards with extra data concerning the climate.
Foundry
For instance, all the playing cards within the Climate app at the moment are interactive; faucet on any of them—temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and so forth—to get an summary of your complete day, in addition to future days. There’s additionally a abstract area for every metric that offers a handy, easy-to-read textual content digest of the general circumstances: for instance, “At this time’s temperature vary is from 53° to 70°.”
For an additional, Climate not solely consists of Darkish Sky’s precipitation maps and forecasts, but in addition affords temperature and air high quality maps (faucet the layers button within the map view). You may even have a look at an inventory view of all of your saved areas and shortly see the circumstances in all of them directly.
Sure, the Climate app might nonetheless be improved. There’s an excessive amount of scrolling in some instances and burying a few of the metrics below a further faucet at occasions means you work together with it slower, however I’ve been genuinely impressed with the Darkish Sky options that it incorporates, proper all the way down to precipitation warnings (which, admittedly, are a bit buried: faucet the listing icon, then the three dots within the prime proper, then choose Notifications).
When Darkish Sky does finally surrender the ghost—and I’ll be pouring one out for it—it’s the Climate app that’ll get first crack at changing it on my house display screen.
All en-Compass-ing
The Apple Watch Extremely might have stolen the present through the firm’s current occasion, however some of the helpful options demonstrated in its introduction is definitely out there to house owners of the Apple Watch SE and Collection 6 and later: compass Waypoints and the corresponding Backtrack characteristic.
That’s constructed into the redesigned Compass app, which is on the market to house owners of Collection 5 Apple Watches as effectively, although they don’t get the Waypoint characteristic. The revamped Compass app is fairly useful by itself, exhibiting you the present course it’s dealing with and any bearing, in addition to providing totally different views you can swap to by turning the Digital Crown. These different views additionally provide your present elevation, incline, and latitude and longtitude—all useful to have proper in your wrist. You too can set compass bearings beneath the menu button on the highest left, serving to you keep on track throughout a hike.
Apple
However the actual gems are the Waypoint and Backtrack options. The primary enables you to shortly drop a GPS marker at your present location, which you’ll assign a coloration and icon. These then present up in a bit of mini map contained in the compass; scroll out on the Digital Crown and so they’ll even present up on the compass ring, serving to you navigate your method to the placement. (I additionally admire that it may well robotically drop a waypoint to the place you parked your automotive—helpful even should you’re not out within the wilderness.)
The Backtrack characteristic takes that up a notch; it may well robotically drop waypoints that you need to use to retrace your steps later. And, should you’re in an setting with out connectivity, it’ll even activate robotically. I took a stroll within the woods final week, and found that Backtrack was already energetic, exhibiting me the trail I’d taken. (Fortunately I did bear in mind the place I parked my automotive.)
Wherefore, Wi-Fi?
Okay, this final one’s a small factor, however it may well make a giant distinction. Final yr, throughout a household vacation journey, my spouse wanted to get her work PC on the Wi-Fi community. Utilizing Apple units, that might be simple sufficient: the Share Password immediate simply pops up and also you’re completed. However we shortly realized that there was no method to get this data off our iOS units in order that she might merely sort within the password on her PC.
iOS 16 fixes that drawback, in the end. Not solely are you able to see the password to the community you’re presently linked to in Settings > Wi-Fi by tapping the knowledge button subsequent to the community title, however there’s now an Edit button within the prime proper nook of the Wi-Fi display screen that permits you to see all of the networks you’ve beforehand linked to. From there, you’ll be able to view any of the passwords of these networks, in addition to delete them, stopping computerized reconnection later.
It’s a characteristic that ought to have been there within the first place, frankly, however that doesn’t make it any much less of a welcome addition now, because it helps lower a ache level with the iOS expertise. Nevertheless it’s a kind of new options that may get misplaced within the shuffle amongst the flashy new headliners, simply one other reminder that there’s a lot extra to seek out in Apple’s newest updates beneath the floor.
