With a new update, Apple has added some serious power to its Photos app, and it’s time to get into action.
Photos are so powerful now that it may finally be time to ditch all other photo and video editing apps on your iPhone. You won’t even need third-party apps to remove backgrounds or block private content from prying eyes, because it’s all included in the latest Photos update.
To get the powerful new Photos features, your iPhone must be running iOS 16. Go to Settings -> General -> Software Update to install it if you don’t already have it. Many changes are also coming to iPadOS 16 for iPad and macOS 13 Ventura for Mac, which are still in beta.
1. Remove the background to isolate objects
In the Photos app, open an image with a prominent object, and press and hold the object to remove it from the background. There will be a glowing line around the object, so you know it’s working, and then you’ll see Copy and Share options. “Copy”adds the clipping to the clipboard so you can paste it elsewhere, while “Share”opens the standard shared sheet for the topic.
Touch Background Removal is part of the interactive Visual Look Up feature that lets you learn more about the objects in your photos, such as art, pets, plants, and landmarks. And there are other ways to use it.
For example, you can press and hold an object in the image, switch to another app like Messages while still holding it, and release to the desired location to drag it into place. This also works for images in other apps like Files, Safari, and apps that use Quick Look. In these apps, you can long press on an image and choose Remove Background, Copy Theme, or something similar.
2. Remove or merge duplicate images
To rid your photo library of duplicate images on iOS 15, you’ll have to manually search for them or use a third-party app that will do the job for you. In iOS 16, you can skip the extra app and open the new “Duplicates”folder under “Utilities”from the Albums list.
When you open “Duplicates”, you will see similar photos in your library. These can be images of any type, including screenshots. Click “Combine”next to a group of images, then “Combine [#] duplicates”to get one file that “combines the highest quality and relevant data from its duplicates.”
In addition, you can touch an image to view it and swipe over duplicate images to compare them. You can then delete the image or click “Select”and then “Merge[#] of duplicates”.
3. Use Biometrics for Hidden and Recently Deleted Albums
In Utilities, you may notice that the Hidden and Recently Deleted folders are now locked, with a small lock icon displayed next to each. When you open it, you need to unlock it with Face ID or Touch ID, depending on your model. If biometrics don’t work, you can still open it using your device’s passcode.
This is a significant improvement in privacy – something that users have long wanted. Previously, you could only go to “Settings”-> “Photos”and disable “Hidden Album”to completely hide it from the album list. Anyone with access to your iPhone or iPad can go into your settings and show it, then view your secret images for as long as they like.
You can still hide your personal media from the album list; now only the “Show Hidden Album”toggle. And if you’re not worried about privacy, you can turn off the “Use Face ID”or “Use Touch ID”toggle in your Photos settings to make it easier to open “Hidden”and “Recently Deleted.”But only you can turn it off, as turning it off requires Face ID or Touch ID authentication – another big security improvement.
4. Access Image Actions Faster
When you open an individual photo, you’ll see a new ellipsis (•••) next to the Edit button. Tap it to open a drop-down menu where you can copy, duplicate, or hide/show the image; run a slide show with it; save it as a video (for Live Photos); add to album highlight a person less (for images with people on them); and set the date and time or location.
In iOS 15, you can find these options on the Sharing page. Some items in the new ellipsis menu in iOS 16 will no longer appear in the shared sheet to avoid repetition.
In addition, when multiple images or videos are selected at the same time, you will also see a new menu with ellipsis (•••). Do not confuse it with the old ellipsis (•••) menu used to filter results, zoom in or out, and display a map that is still available.
5. Copy and paste edits for images and videos
With iOS 16, you can now copy and paste edits made to one image or video into another. So if you like a certain set of presets, you can reuse them without manually adjusting each image or video.
When viewing an edited file in Photos, tap the new ellipsis menu (•••) and you’ll see a new “Copy Changes”option. Select this, then find the file you want to apply these changes to. In the menu with an ellipsis of this file, you will now see the option “Insert edits”- use it to match the settings. You can also use the ellipsis menu (•••) in your photo or video editor to copy and paste changes.
Please note that only certain elements can be copied and pasted to other files, including settings, filters, depth changes, and lighting intensity. Cropping, marking, and keyframing Live Photos will not work.
6. Batch image and video processing
What’s better than copying and pasting edits from one image or video to another? Insert edits to multiple photos or videos at the same time! After copying changes from one file, use Select to select two or more files, click the ellipsis button (•••) and choose Paste Changes to apply the changes in batch mode.
7. Simplified Revert Edits
Whether you’ve made changes a long time ago or just edited a bunch of photos or videos, it’s easy to revert these files back to their original state. Previously, you had to do this from within the photo or video editor itself, but now you can use the same ellipsis (•••) menu discussed above to copy and paste changes to Revert to Original. You can also undo changes from the quick actions menu.
8. Make a live photo a static picture faster
To make a Live Photo a static image on iOS 15, you need to disable the “Live”part when posting or editing a photo. Now there is an easier way. When viewing a Live Photo, tap the Live menu, where the Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure options are, and you’ll see a new “Off”option.
9. Delete User Album With Less Effort
To delete a custom album in iOS 15, you need to click “View All”and then “Edit”to display the minus buttons for each album. You can still do this in iOS 16, but there are better options. When viewing the contents of an album, tap the ellipsis (•••) and you’ll see a new “Delete Album”button. Alternatively, you can press and hold an album in the album list and select “Delete Album”from the quick actions menu.
10. There are quick actions for albums
Speaking of the quick action menu for albums, you can do more than just delete an album. Previously, there was not even a quick action menu. Now you can also share files from an album, add photos to it, play videos as a keepsake, or rename an album.
11. Sort people alphabetically
On iOS and iPadOS 15, you can only view contacts in the People album in the order in which they are presented. You can now click the new ellipsis button (•••) to switch from Custom Order, which already shows you are sorting by Name instead.
The People album in iOS 16 (left) and iOS 15 (right).
12. Undo and Redo Edits
The Undo and Redo buttons are now available when editing a photo or video in iOS 16. You no longer need to manually reset the value of each effect every time you don’t like a change—just hit the Undo or Redo button. They work for any changes you make, including cropping, and you can undo all changes up to the first edit in the current session.
13. “Options”are more visible on the exchange sheet
When sharing an image, video, or group of files in Photos, the Share sheet now has a more prominent Options button at the top. It wasn’t very noticeable before, so people might not even know that they can tap on it to disable geotagging (for privacy) or force the image to be sent as a photo or iCloud link.
14. There are new types of memory
The Apple Memories feature has new memory types that it can use in your photo library. If you have media from the same day in previous years, you can see the flashback “This Day in History”. And if you have media of children playing, you can see the memory of that now as well.
15. Click to replay video in flashback
In iOS 15, you can tap the left side of the screen when viewing Memories to return to the previous photo or video in the timeline. This still works for images on iOS 16, but when playing a video, tapping the left side of the screen restarts the video without interrupting the music. Double tapping will take you back to the content before the video.
16. Mute Music When Replaying Memories
When playing Memories in Photos, there is a new speaker icon next to the exit button that you can tap to turn off the music. Previously, you had to manually adjust the volume to turn off the sound.
17. Disable Suggested Content
If you don’t like showing featured content in the For You tab, there’s now a way to turn it all off. In Settings -> Photos, you can turn off the new Show Featured Content toggle under Memories & Featured Photos. Turning it off also prevents featured content from appearing during searches or in the Photos widget.
18. Use live text in your video
You used to be able to use Live Text to extract text from images in photos, but now it works for videos too!
19. Use Quick Actions with Live Text
When using Live Text on images or videos in the Photos app, you can see available quick actions that you can tap to complete a task. For example, if tracking numbers for UPS are visible, you might see the “Track Shipment”quick action. And if there is time, you may notice that as an option you can click to add to your calendar.
Quick Actions visible in iOS 16 (left) compared to not present in iOS 15 (right).
20. The “Available to you”filter has been moved
With Shared with You, you can view photos and videos that have been shared with you through Messages in the Photos app. To make it easier to see them, in iOS 15 you can tap the ellipsis (•••) icon in an album or All Photos view and select Your Photos Only or Yours and Shared from the drop-down menu. In iOS 16, you need to tap “Filter”in the menu with ellipsis (•••) and then you can turn the “Shared with you”toggle on or off. It’s more work, but it makes sense because it’s content filtering.
Menu in iOS 15 (left) and iOS 16 (right).
What is missing?
In June, Apple announced iCloud Shared Photo Library, which lets you share and collaborate on photo albums with family members. While it’s not in iOS 16.0, it does ship with iOS 16.1.
