The latest beta version of the next iPhone operating system brings two improvements that users have been hoping for for years.
There are several features in iOS that Apple either made worse years ago or never really thoughtfully implemented. There are often suggestions for improvement submitted via the feedback assistant or Apple’s website, which the iPhone manufacturer feels studiously ignores. But hope dies last: After all, the company fixes two of these “Pet Peeves” in iOS 16, as reported by users of the latest beta version 5, which has just gone to the developers.
How much battery is left?
Problem number one concerns the battery indicator. This was once, and usefully, expressed as a percentage. With the appearance of the first iPhones with “Notch”, i.e. the notch for the selfie camera and TrueDepth module for Face ID facial recognition, this was no longer the case. Since then you can only see a shrinking battery bar, which only allows small statements about the actual remaining battery power. If you want to know this, you usually have to unlock the device and use the control center. The network, WLAN and battery indicators slide down and the percentage appears.
Something is finally happening here in iOS 16 Beta 5: The percentage display is now inside the battery bar. It’s a bit small, but still easy to read. Result: You save yourself a swipe and immediately see how much battery is left. Apple has implemented this on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 as well as iPhone X and XS. However, iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 13 mini are excluded (because of the smaller display), but also, strangely, iPhone 11 and iPhone XR, as users report.
No more screenshot garbage
Another annoying factor in everyday iPhone life is the screenshot function. This can be done comfortably trigger via a key combination, but the processing of the resulting screenshots has so far been rather ugly. If you want to take a screenshot and just copy it to send it to a friend, you always have to endure the prompt asking if you don’t want to save the shot to the photo library. In iOS 16 beta 5 there is now a “copy and delete” option for the first time. This does exactly what it says: once a screenshot has been created, it is copied to the clipboard, for example to paste it into an e-mail or a chat, but then deleted again immediately and without prompting.
Why it took so long for Apple to implement both extremely useful functions remains unclear – it is also surprising that they only appear in the fifth beta of iOS 16, i.e. were only added during the beta phase. However, this also means that there may still be changes: Unfortunately, beta features are never set in stone. With the battery indicator and screenshot function, you should rely on Apple’s common sense that they remain in the operating system.
