This Christmas many people may have received the gift of a new iPhone. Here are some of the newest and most useful features of the iPhone 14.
One of these new features is the ability to edit and unsend iMessages. This tool is available to those with iPhones from 2017 and later and is running on the latest iOS — iOS 16.
You can unsend a message within two minutes of sending it by tapping and holding the message and selecting “Undo send” which will make your message vanish.
You can also edit a message within 15 minutes of sending it using the same method, but selecting “Edit.”
However, bear in mind that these features only work when you are texting someone who also has an iPhone running on iOS 16.
Another new feature available on iOS 16 is “duplicate detection.” This feature will detect duplicate photos and delete them to free up some storage space.
You can do so by opening your Photos app, tapping the “Albums” button, and scrolling down to a section labeled “Utilities.” In this section, you should select “Duplicates.” Here you will find a list of your duplicates with the option to “Merge” them into one; merging will delete duplicates.
Another recent update that is exclusive to those with the new iPhone 14 is the ability to use emergency SOS via satellite.
This feature allows users to message emergency services in places there is usually no cell service, in other words, while camping or in remote locations in the mountains. The service will be free for the first two years of usage.
How it works: if you attempt to call 911 and the call doesn’t go through, your phone will try to connect you to another cell tower. In the event that both attempts fail, the option to “Emergency Text via Satellite” should pop up on your screen.
Connecting to satellites often requires the users to hold their phone up toward the sky, preferably in a place where there is a clear view of the sky.
This feature can also be accessed directly through iMessage by texting either 911 or SOS and tapping Emergency Services. There will then be a series of prompts asking the user to describe the emergency situation. This feature also gives users the option to alert their emergency contacts that the user has called 911 and share the user’s location with them.
For something a bit more light-hearted, check out Dynamic Island. This feature was introduced this year with the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.
Dynamic Island resides at the top of the screen where the front-facing camera and microphone are on older models.
This pill-shaped island will shape-shift to become whatever would be the most useful to you. Sometimes it will let you control music, view directions, look at your battery life or a timer, track an Uber or Lyft, or check your AirPod connection status.
The island exists to decrease the amount of switching between applications that the average user has to do, making everything available on their main screen.
