These features are not in the initial release of iOS 16

Posted:
in iOS edited September 2022
It's been a rocky road to the iOS 16 launch. Here are the high-profile features that didn't debut in the initial release of Apple's operating system.

Apple's iOS 16
Apple's iOS 16


As is often the case, Apple's software aspirations are too ambiguous. Some features were announced as coming in future updates while others will go missing during the beta process.

So far, here is what we know about the features that didn't make it to the point-zero release of iOS 16.



Some features aren't available right away

One of the most notable delayed features is support for Live Activities. These allow you to view real-time updates directly on your Lock Screen. This could be your GrubHub order, your Uber's status, or the score of the ongoing football game.

Live Activities in iOS 16
Live Actives in iOS 16


Apple's Freeform app won't be in iOS 16, though the iPhone-maker said this from the start. It will be arriving in a future update across all of Apple's platforms.

Freeform app coming later in iOS 16
Freeform app coming later in iOS 16


Another feature that we won't see for a bit is support for Matter. Technically, iOS 15 already supports the beta of Matter and iOS 16 will fully support Matter -- when the standard is released itself.

Matter is supposed to be available to end-users this fall, and iOS 16 will -- theoretically -- be ready when it arrives.

Groups who were looking to take advantage of iCloud Shared Photo Library are also out of luck, as that's not in iOS 16, but will be in a later update. The feature allows up to six people to share photos and videos with each other in a private collection, and for everyone to be able to edit what's added by others.

Contact integration for Game Center as well as SharePlay support for Game Center are also missing.

One feature that surfaced post-release that didn't make it to the release itself was Clean Energy Charging. The theory is that the iPhone would prefer to be charged during periods when it knew the local power grid was using renewable energy sources, in turn cutting down the carbon footprint generated by the iPhone's usage.

Then there's iPadOS

With a few major issues still lagging in iPadOS 16 beta, Apple is planning on delaying its release until at least October.

When Apple issued the seventh beta of the updates, iPadOS 16 was renamed iPadOS 16.1, confirming it as the first public-facing release.

We expect iPadOS 16.1 to be released alongside new iPads in October, instead. Hopefully, we'll see enhancements to Stage Manager and the missing iPad-specific Focus filters.

When was iOS 16 released?

Following Apple's special event on September 7, press materials indicated that iOS 16 and watchOS 9 would arrive on Monday, September 12. As announced, the operating system was released to the public on September 12.

The operating system was available to download ahead of the availability of Apple's newest smartphones, the iPhone 14 and Plus, and the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    Again (and again and again and again…)
    An iOS16 Beta is a Beta only if it has a frozen feature set. A Beta with retarded features is….think 3 times….an Alpha !
    Well answered. Now just keep that in mind.

    And so - if the consequence is that in the Cookist’ Apple era there will be no more beta’s (as things only are finished when they are finished which they obviously  never are…) there probably won’t be any more beta’s.
    Just face it.
    edited August 2022 FileMakerFellerelijahgwatto_cobrawilliamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 12
    Roderikus said:
    Again (and again and again and again…)
    An iOS16 Beta is a Beta only if it has a frozen feature set.
    I can have a planned feature set but, based on beta testing, decide not to ship a feature.
    jony0wg45678watto_cobrawilliamlondonmike1StrangeDaysnarwhalspheric
  • Reply 3 of 12
    You say Apple’s iOS 16 software aspirations are too “ambiguous”… did you really mean too ambitious?

    Or am I being too ambitious in my expectations?


    wg45678muthuk_vanalingamelijahgCluntBaby92StrangeDayswatto_cobrawilliamlondon
  • Reply 4 of 12
    hmlongco said:
    Roderikus said:
    Again (and again and again and again…)
    An iOS16 Beta is a Beta only if it has a frozen feature set.
    I can have a planned feature set but, based on beta testing, decide not to ship a feature.
    You can (and Apple obviously will…), but then by definition it was alpha testing instead.
    edited August 2022 elijahgwatto_cobrawilliamlondon
  • Reply 5 of 12
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,759member
    hmlongco said:
    Roderikus said:
    Again (and again and again and again…)
    An iOS16 Beta is a Beta only if it has a frozen feature set.
    I can have a planned feature set but, based on beta testing, decide not to ship a feature.
    Removing or pushing back major things from a beta is generally a sign of feature creep, and not freezing your development goals early enough, since as @Roderikus ;
    correctly points out, convention is that features should be complete by the beta stage, but may be buggy. Alpha is used for testing new features that might be completely broken/removed.
    edited August 2022
  • Reply 6 of 12
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    iOS needs a Snow Leopard release.
    elijahgmacguiMrBunside
  • Reply 7 of 12
    looplessloopless Posts: 329member
    Software development is either "date driven" or "feature driven". if you are "date driven" it is very common to drop features fairly late in development. Apple is date driven - they have hardware that requires a iOS version and they cannot have hardware piling up and not shipping because the iOS version is not ready. So the responsible and prudent thing is to drop features.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobrawilliamlondonnarwhalspheric
  • Reply 8 of 12
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,876member
    Roderikus said:
    Again (and again and again and again…)
    An iOS16 Beta is a Beta only if it has a frozen feature set. A Beta with retarded features is….think 3 times….an Alpha !
    Well answered. Now just keep that in mind.

    And so - if the consequence is that in the Cookist’ Apple era there will be no more beta’s (as things only are finished when they are finished which they obviously  never are…) there probably won’t be any more beta’s.
    Just face it.
    Ignorant nonsense. This is not your domain area and it shows. 
    Roderikus said:
    hmlongco said:
    Roderikus said:
    Again (and again and again and again…)
    An iOS16 Beta is a Beta only if it has a frozen feature set.
    I can have a planned feature set but, based on beta testing, decide not to ship a feature.
    You can (and Apple obviously will…), but then by definition it was alpha testing instead.
    Incorrect. The beta is the beta. If a feature (scope) is delayed to a later point release, that doesn't make it not a beta just because you want it now. 

    Stomping feet on the floor when not getting what you want when you want does not somehow mean Apple/Cook are big meanies.
    edited August 2022 watto_cobrawilliamlondonmike1dewmesphericunbeliever2
  • Reply 9 of 12
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,876member
    loopless said:
    Software development is either "date driven" or "feature driven". if you are "date driven" it is very common to drop features fairly late in development. Apple is date driven - they have hardware that requires a iOS version and they cannot have hardware piling up and not shipping because the iOS version is not ready. So the responsible and prudent thing is to drop features.
    Yes, people familiar with project management product development will understand this -- there are a few constraints, known as the Iron Triangle. If two sides are locked (time, cost) then another is adjusted (scope).


    edited August 2022 Alex1Nwatto_cobrawilliamlondonunbeliever2
  • Reply 10 of 12
    macguimacgui Posts: 2,357member
     ...just because you want it now. 

    Stomping feet on the floor when not getting what you want when you want does not somehow mean Apple/Cook are big meanies.
    That's a bullshit response and you know it. Mischaracterizing what you quoted is bush league. That isn't what happened and has nothing to do with defining/differentiating alpha and beta releases. There was no reason to be a dick about it but that's the path you chose.
    elijahgwilliamlondon
  • Reply 11 of 12
    macgui said:
     ...just because you want it now. 

    Stomping feet on the floor when not getting what you want when you want does not somehow mean Apple/Cook are big meanies.
    That's a bullshit response and you know it. Mischaracterizing what you quoted is bush league. That isn't what happened and has nothing to do with defining/differentiating alpha and beta releases. There was no reason to be a dick about it but that's the path you chose.
    It's not bullshit. I work in this field every day, and some guy on the web claiming it's not a "beta" because a feature he wanted was pushed to a point release is ignorant nonsense. Don't misunderstand me, that's not an insult or me being a dick -- it's just stating what it is...nonsense. We move features in releases all the time. 

    I know there's a lot of entitlement from people who want what they want, when they want it, but that's irrelevant. And it doesn't somehow invalidate the process of software development as claimed.
    williamlondonsphericunbeliever2
  • Reply 12 of 12
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,361member
    macgui said:
     ...just because you want it now. 

    Stomping feet on the floor when not getting what you want when you want does not somehow mean Apple/Cook are big meanies.
    That's a bullshit response and you know it. Mischaracterizing what you quoted is bush league. That isn't what happened and has nothing to do with defining/differentiating alpha and beta releases. There was no reason to be a dick about it but that's the path you chose.
    It's not bullshit. I work in this field every day, and some guy on the web claiming it's not a "beta" because a feature he wanted was pushed to a point release is ignorant nonsense. Don't misunderstand me, that's not an insult or me being a dick -- it's just stating what it is...nonsense. We move features in releases all the time. 

    I know there's a lot of entitlement from people who want what they want, when they want it, but that's irrelevant. And it doesn't somehow invalidate the process of software development as claimed.
    Unless something changed while I wasn’t watching, there has never been a “standard” software development life cycle (SDLC) model nor a “standard“  definition for the release criteria that every independent software vendor (ISV) including Apple must adhere to. 

    There are several models that are generally followed because they’ve been used with reportedly higher levels of success by industry leaders like Microsoft or academia-industry alliances like the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at CMU just to name a couple of the longer lived ones. 

    Of course none of these organizations have any authority over any ISV on the planet, regardless of whether or not the organization paying for the work done by an ISV stipulates that a certain model must be followed. Even then, it’s more of a guideline and the actual nuances and details of the processes, like release criteria, are defined, tailored, and negotiated to meet the overall objectives of the product or system being built. 

    The bottom line is that any ISV can define the specific criteria for pre-alpha, beta, release candidate, gold master, etc., however they want. A lot of ISVs do use similar terminology for convenience and clarity, but to say that removing a feature from a beta release regresses it to an alpha stage has no universal applicability. It’s only true when an ISV defines it as such within the scope of their organization, and chances are very high that they break their own self-imposed rules on many occasions. 

    At the end of the day, it’s just a moniker and the only thing that matters is the quality and stability of the delivered product at a given point in time, whatever tag it carries. 


    spheric
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