Top Stories: iPhone 16 Features, iOS 18.1 Improvements, and More

Apple’s latest devices have been in users’ hands for about a week now, so the latest features and upgrades are getting thoroughly tested as users figure out how best to take advantage of the improvements.

We’re also still looking forward to additional enhancements like Apple Intelligence features coming in future software updates, while we took a look back at a long-term feature Apple launched with last year’s iPhone models to see how it held up over the past year, so read on below for all the details on these stories and more!

iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro: How to Use All the New Features

With some new things to get used to on Apple’s latest iPhones, we’ve put together a thorough list of how-tos walking you through some of the new features like Camera Control, the Action button (for those who weren’t on an iPhone 15 Pro model previously), updated Photographic Styles, Audio Mix, and more.

Apple’s 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?

With the ‌iPhone 15‌ models that came out last year, Apple added an opt-in battery setting that limits maximum charge to 80 percent. The idea is that never charging the ‌iPhone‌ above 80 percent will increase battery longevity, so we ran a long-term test keeping a daily driver ‌iPhone‌ at that 80 percent limit from September 2023 to now, with no cheating.

Battery health definitely still took a drop over that yearlong period even with the limit engaged, but check out our report for the details and how it compared to other iPhones that didn’t use the limit.

Apple Seeds Fifth Developer Betas of iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 With Apple Intelligence

Apple is continuing work on its first Apple Intelligence operating system updates, issuing a fresh round of betas this week for iOS 18.1 and other updates.

There are quite a few changes and additions in this beta, including tweaks to Control Center functionality, a new Camera Control option to access the front-facing camera, and the ability to drag and drop files between iPhone and Mac while using the ‌iPhone‌ Mirroring feature.

25 New Features You May Have Missed in watchOS 11

While iOS is the star of the show for each round of operating system updates given the popularity of the ‌iPhone‌, Apple’s other platforms also see significant updates most years.

This year is no exception, so we’ve put together a list of 25 new features in watchOS 11 that you may have missed. They range from new health and fitness features to entirely new apps and brand-new functionality, so be sure to check out the list.

iPhone 16’s ‘Revolutionary’ Battery Removal Process Shown in Video

The iPhone 16 and ‌iPhone 16‌ Plus include a clever new technology to assist in battery repairs, and that’s the ability to use low-voltage electrical current to loosen the adhesive that holds the battery in, allowing a depleted battery to be easily removed and replaced.

The iPhone 16 Pro and ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ Max do not include this technology, instead relying on the traditional stretch-release adhesive to secure their batteries, though the smaller ‌iPhone 16 Pro‌ includes a metal-enclosed battery for the first time rather than a foil-wrapped one.

Apple Announces iPhone Driver’s Licenses Will Come to These Additional U.S. States

Following through on a previous announcement from Apple, California last week became the seventh U.S. state to support digital driver’s licenses and IDs in Apple Wallet, rolling out its mDL pilot program to iOS. The feature is also currently supported in Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, Ohio, and Hawaii.

In addition, Apple announced that Montana, New Mexico, and West Virginia have signed on to support the feature. A time frame for those new states is unclear, as it has been several years since other states like Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah were announced as planning to support it but have yet to do so.

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we’ve covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

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