On Monday, Sept. 12, Apple released the IOS 16 update for iPhones. This update introduced new features ranging from customizable lock screens to enhanced security measures. 

With the new update, users can now add widgets, change the font of the time and make multiple lock screens to switch between. These widgets can include reminders, steps, battery life etc. Lock screens can be accessed, and created, by holding down the lock screen, allowing users to personalize their phones and make them unique to their interests.

“I like to have cute pictures on my home screen…I get bored,” Eva Willis, sophomore, said. 

IOS 16 also updated where notifications show up on the lock screen. Notifications now appear at the bottom of the lock screen and music now shows up at the bottom. 

“I don’t like how the notifications on your lock screen are at the bottom instead of the top,”  Eilis Forman-Burrows, senior, said. “I think it’s really inconvenient and I can’t see it under the time.”

The new update had also made an important change to the messages app. 

By holding a finger over a sent text, users can now edit, and even delete, already sent messages. This change has had a lot of positive reviews but only works when both people have downloaded the update.

“I think it’s good and bad in a sense, because if someone accidentally sends someone something, they can just unsend it, but I think it kinda ruins the fun of texting people,” Willis says.

There are lots of other features added with IOS 16, including shared tab groups in safari, sharable photo libraries, health and fitness apps, locks on hidden and recently deleted photo albums and so much more. 

“I think it’s a way to keep me more organized…it’s like, more organized than any other update,” Gabriella Michels, junior, said.

However, some students have noticed the update is causing a few problems and glitches. 

“[It’s] turning phones off,” Jade Renzi, junior, said. 

She found a lot of her friends had experienced their phones shutting off randomly, which can be problematic and annoying if you are trying to use it.   

Overall, there are a lot of pros and cons to downloading the update, as well as many opinions on the new features. Still, the functionality of iPhones has basically stayed the same.

As Apple continues to release updates, iPhones will continue to change, leading to more exciting features in the foreseeable future.