How To: 20 Things You Can Do In The Photos App In iOS 16 That You Couldn’t Do Before

There are a lot of great things we know and love about the Apple Photos app for iPhone and iPad, and the new iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 software updates bring even more features you’ll love. There is one big change that you may have already heard about and a few small improvements that make the app more useful and enjoyable.

The iOS and iPadOS 16 software is currently in beta, and Apple won’t officially release them to everyone until the fall. Until then, you can join the beta and install the update right now to try out all the new features in the Photos app, or you can wait and read about everything below.

Remove background to isolate objects

Apple hasn’t given this feature a specific name, but it’s still one of the most incredible photo-related features that iOS and iPadOS 16 have to offer.

In the Photos app, open an image with a prominent object, and press and hold the object to remove it from the background. The line will glow around the object so you know it’s working, and then you’ll see Copy and Share options. Tap to send the cutout to someone, share it on social media, or paste it into another app. In my example, I’ve pasted the cutout into a Canva design.

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 artwork, 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.

Remove or merge duplicate images

To rid your photo library of duplicate images in iOS and iPadOS 15, you’ll have to manually search for them or use a third-party app that does the job for you. On iOS and iPadOS 16, you can skip the secondary app and open the new Duplicate 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 up-to-date 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”.

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.

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 and iPadOS 15, these options can be found on the Sharing page. Some items in the new ellipsis menu in iOS and iPadOS 16 will no longer appear in the shared sheet to avoid repetition.

In addition, when selecting more than one image or video 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.

Copy and paste edits for images and videos

With iOS and iPadOS 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.

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.

Reverting changes is easier

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.

Turn a live photo into a static picture faster

To make a Live Photo a static image in iOS and iPadOS 15, you’ll need to turn off 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.

Delete User Album With Less Effort

To delete a custom album in iOS and iPadOS 15, you’ll need to tap “View All”and then “Edit”to display the minus buttons for each album. You can still do this in iOS and iPadOS 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.

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.

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).

Undo and redo edits

When editing a photo or video on iOS and iPadOS 16, undo and redo buttons are now available. You no longer have 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.

“Options”is more visible in 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 they could click on it to disable geotagging (for privacy) or force the image to be sent as a photo or iCloud link.

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.

Click to replay video in flashback

On iOS and iPadOS 15, you can play a video from memory and tap the screen to open the controls. If you touch the first image in the memory timeline, the video will restart and the music will continue. If you return to the first image, the music will start again.

This works the same in iOS and iPadOS 16, but Apple says the new feature lets you “press to restart a video and play it from the beginning while the music continues to play.”This may not be fully implemented since I haven’t seen this option yet.

The silence of the music while playing the 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.

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.

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!

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).

There’s a new iCloud shared photo library

If you’re using Family Sharing to share content with your partner, kids, and other family members, there’s a new option for iCloud Photo Sharing. It can be shared with up to five users and everyone can add, edit, add to favorites, add captions, and remove content.

You can choose to include all of your photos in a shared library, or use the customization tools to only include certain content based on a start date or a group of people. People can also add content manually or share media automatically with a toggle in the Camera app, with a Bluetooth proximity trigger, or by sharing suggestions in For You.

Content from your shared iCloud Photo Library can appear in the Photos widget, in Featured Photos in the For You section, or as a keepsake video.

Other changes to the Photos app

With the new Shared with You feature, starting with iOS and iPadOS 15, you can view photos and videos shared with you via Messages in the Photos app. To view them, you can tap the ellipsis (•••) icon in the album or All Photos view and select Your Photos Only or Yours and Shared from the drop-down menu. In iOS and iPadOS 16, these options are no longer available. We expect them to reappear as the beta progresses.

The Select menu in iOS 16 (left) and iOS 15 (right).