The New iOS 16 Features for App Owners and Users

Implement the latest development trends in your app or lose out

For app owners, it’s a must-do to ensure your app development agency is aware of the new iOS 16 features so you can take advantage of them in your app from day one.

There’s a reason Apple is hosting a developer iOS 16 unveil a couple of months before the official release to the public. iOS developers get access to the Apple Beta Software Program, enabling them to install iOS 16 a couple of months before the rest of us, to give them ample time to gear up their app and align it with Apple’s latest iOS release.

With that in mind, the whole iOS app development process is about more than crafting a strategy, wireframes, prototypes, design, development and launch the iOS app to Apple’s App Store. If your mobile agency does not follow and include the latest features, chances are your users are likely to abandon your app to go with a competitor who did.

So consider that fact, if you’re going to either change or hire a new app company. It’s simply not enough to know Swift and best design practices anymore.

The best app agencies must have a high level of know-how of the marketplace techniques, trends and future iOS features.

That knowledge does often come with a premium, but the saying “you get what you pay for” rings true.

What are some of the new iOS 16 features an app owner should know about and users can look forward to?

Apple is still being secretive about the upcoming iOS 16 features, but we’ve managed to get insights on the cool new features coming soon.

Some of the highlights of iOS 16 are advanced health-tracking to improve the doctor/patient relationship, ID cards in the Apple Wallet, AR/VR headset integration, better notification management, spatial audio and SharePlay in FaceTime calls, Live Text and beefing up the already market leading privacy features.

Below we’ll get into what these features and more means for app owners and users.

Advanced health-tracking for mHealth app owners

One of the highlights of the new iOS 16 feature release is good news for mHealth app publishers. These apps include tracking your heartbeat, calorie usage, step, run, and cross-trainer activities all to help people live a healthier lifestyle.

The new iOS 16 will include new advanced health-tracking features making for more sophisticated apps in the future.

iOS already enables sharing health information with family members, caregivers, and healthcare providers, but with iOS 16 you can expect a tighter integration and that is especially beneficial for the doctor/patient relationship.

The latest smartwatches will be able to measure body temperature. Blood pressure and blood sugar are coming soon as well, but the last kinks are ironed out by Apple, and likely won’t be ready by launch. We expect they are going to be added in a later iOS 16.x release.

With the detailed health monitoring system, app developers will be able to integrate sharing of more precise information to provide doctors a technologically advanced platform for better diagnosis and treatment.

Using the high-tech sensors built into the Apple Watch, enables app owners to start building the next generation of healthcare apps very soon.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) headset integration in iOS16

There is talk about a brand-new mixed reality AR/VR headset integration using Apple’s own ARKit. Apple’s plan is to introduce two brand-new augmented reality devices their R&D have been working on intensely for the past few years.

The first, a traditional headset design code-named N301, will be a digital reality headset combining VR and AR and feature 3D scanning and advanced human detection.

The 8K headset will improve on already existing VR technology and enhance the real world with digitally fed information.

The N301 headset is not only going to be used for games, but also in social settings such as events, business meetings, and educational forums.

As with everything Apple, it’s going to be a polished and high-quality device at a rumored price tag around $3,000.

The second device, resembles regular glasses and is code-named N421. This AR/VR device will be a light-weight but technology heavy AR/VR hybrid suited better for leaving the premises and enhancing your out-and-about experiences.

The N421 also known as Apple Glasses will be controlled by taps and likely Apple Watch and iPhone integration.

Wearing the Apple Glasses you can expect to be fed information on the go, such as email, calls, appointments, and information to enhance where you are and what you are doing.

Since Apple haven’t revealed the N421 officially, the price tag is still up for debate. The latest numbers we received were $499, but that number could easily double before release.

For app owners, tapping into the untouched market of Apple’s new AR/VR devices is a goldmine for first-movers. Brand recognition is going to be high with sparse competition for those with the foresight to start developing apps for these new devices.

Team with an app agency to be the first ones hearing about these new devices from Apple, so you can start building third-party AR/VR apps ready for release day.

iOS 16 notifications will get an overhaul

A much better notifications system was introduced in iOS 15, but it wasn’t without flaws. A second generation overhaul is coming for iOS 16.

There has been a lot of critique of Apple’s notifications area in contrast to the well-organized and efficient notifications area on Android.

The new iOS is expected to address most of the issues that have been troubling the previous generation iOS 15.

A synced notification center across devices, expanded focus mode configuration, and better management of notifications are sought after features that will be welcomed, but not yet confirmed by Apple.

Small percentage of app audience market lost on older iPhones

Since the release of iOS 12, Apple has not dropped support for any of the older iPhone generations, to great appreciation of smartphone users and app owners alike.

The yearly increased market share by supporting both the same older generation phones along with the newly released versions has been applauded by app owners. You may wonder why.

With the market share increasing every year, there’s also a wider reach which is any seller’s dream. The market share is already impressive, two years ago more than one billion people owned an iPhone.

Though the app market share will decrease, it’s not a significant drop app owners need to worry about.

There’s already an astounding 42 percent using iPhone 13 models and with 7 preceding iPhone generations, few are still on the iPhone 6s released back in 2015.

Crash detection feature for apps targeted cars and driving

Despite not officially confirmed by Apple, there’s a strong likelihood of ‘crash detection’ being included in the next iOS version.

This feature is similar to the ‘fall detection’ mode in Apple Watch Series 4 or later models, where emergency services are contacted after a fall if the user does not respond to an alarm within 60 seconds.

This feature has shown useful by saving several documented people previously.

Similar to ‘fall detection’, the new ‘crash detection’ iOS feature will automatically dial 911 (or the 911 equivalent in other countries) if the phone detects a car accident.

Apple has been analyzing data and already detected more than 10 million vehicle impacts from other Apple products, with more than 50,000 of those resulting in 911 calls, and this is the basis for why they are going to include ‘crash detection’ in iOS 16.

It is a great feature to implement in any car related app, such as navigational apps, gas price apps, engine measuring apps, or car manufacturer apps.

Spatial audio and SharePlay in FaceTime calls

For a richer and more immersive movie experience, SharePlay will be added to FaceTime calls.

App owners in the video and streaming app industry should customize their apps to accommodate this new way of interacting, where more people can watch a TV-show or movie at the same time.

Embedding app functionality to highlight and utilize the spatial audio and SharePlay combination will be a new way of watching entertainment together.

Sleep tracking is getting an overhaul

Most people value a good night’s sleep and there are plenty of sleep apps as proof of that.

Sleep apps like Sleep Cycle, SleepScore and Calm will soon be able to include more advanced sleep tracking features as Apple is expanding the functionality.

Expect advanced real-time analysis of breathing, snoring, and recordings of individual sleep stages to better advise on how to improve your sleep.

Make sure your app conforms to even stricter privacy regulations

Apple has been hammering down on safeguarding its users’ privacy since iOS 14, but especially in iOS 15 they introduced some pretty industry-changing privacy practices. Not surprisingly data-collection firms such as Facebook were not happy about it.

With iOS 15 came App Privacy Reports, security improvements to Apple Mail, not the least with Mail Privacy Protection (obfuscating tracking images in emails) and more.

iOS 16 will no doubt have even better privacy safeguarding their users as it is a key value for Apple. While we can’t say specifically what new technology is being used to safeguard users’ privacy, app owners better be sure their app will conform to the new requirements or face being removed from the App Store.