iOS 16.1 Updates & Features in 2023

Jess Ailion 04 January 2023

iOS 16 came to us in September after months of waiting for an Apple update. Shortly after, in October, iOS 16.1 was released. This is the most up to date version.

According to Apple, “iOS 16 enhances [the] iPhone with all-new personalisation features, deeper intelligence, and seamless ways to communicate and share.”

Throughout this article, we’ll explore Apple’s updates through an app marketing/ ASO lens. What impact will each of these updates have on apps and their development? Get expert advice from our ASO experts here at Moburst.

Live Activities

With the Live Activity API, developers will be able to automatically update notifications through the smartphone lock screen. Live Activities help to provide information in the Lock Screen more quickly.

ASO insight: users can use Live Activities to stay up-to-date on important changes, such as taxi arrivals, without having to open the app in question.

Focus Filter

The new Focus Filter will prevent users from being distracted while working. With this feature, developers can make their app more user-friendly by displaying only essential information. It can help to improve app usage time because unnecessary information won’t be distracting users when they use a specific filter.

ASO insight: Focus Filter will help your users focus on what is important in your app, avoiding them being distracted by unnecessary features. Their user journey and user flow will be optimized and enhanced.

Shared with You & SharePlay

Developers can now use the Shared with You API and connect it with their applications. This allows them to highlight content that users have shared from their app in the Messages and Shared with You sections. This will make it easier for users who received the content to return it.

SharePlay enables users to use an app concurrently with their friends. The app can be used during a FaceTime call. Content from the app can be shared via iMessage.

ASO insight: Shared with You and SharePlay may assist app developers in increasing the number of active users who will use apps with their friends.

Live Text

Users can copy, translate, look up directions, make a call, or send an email by tapping text in photos or paused videos. This new feature will be especially useful for streaming.

ASO insight: Live Text will make it easier for users to comprehend/understand the text on your app’s videos.

Pay Later

Users will be able to pay for apps and in-app purchases in installments using Apple Pay Later. Apple will now allow them to divide the payment into four equal parts without incurring any additional fees or connecting to an additional API – it will work within the standard Apple Pay feature.

ASO insight: Pay Later will increase the profit of apps because users will be more likely to make an in-app purchase now that they can divide the payments.

App Clips

The App Clips feature was introduced with iOS 14. It allows users to use some of an app’s functionality without having to download the app in full. However, there are iOS 16 brings with it some improvements, such as adding up to 15MB in size for iOS 16 devices, giving developers the chance to test their App Clips faster with the Diagnostic tool in Developer Settings, allowing developers to read data and resources stored in a CloudKit database, and allowing them to store secure items in the keychain which will be relocated to the app once it is installed.

ASO insight: developing and testing App Clips, as well as reading and storing their data, will now be simplified.

Benchmark App Analytics

New benchmarks will be available in App Store Connect next year. They will allow app developers to assess the performance of their apps in relation to similar apps in peer groups on the App Store using benchmarks in App Analytics. The peer groups will be based on the App Store category in which your app sits and your app’s monetization model. Developers will not have control over creating their own custom peer groups.

Unfortunately, although this long anticipated feature was announced with the iOS 16 release in September, it will only become available in early 2023.

ASO insight: the ability to compare results with competitor results and analyze user behavior across relevant app categories with Benchmark App Analytics will prove invaluable for app developers and app marketers going forward. It will allow developers to pinpoint the quartile in which their app ranks in various categories from retention rate to conversion rate. Developers will also be able to see how their app compares to others and make decisions on how to achieve their goals accordingly.

SKAdNetwork API

The SKAdNetwork API now includes new features that assist ad networks and advertisers in better evaluating ad performance in apps or online while protecting user privacy.

ASO insight: SKAdNetwork API updates provide more features for better evaluating and optimizing ad campaign results.

App Intents Framework

With App Intents Framework, everyone can use an app with their voice using App Shortcuts and Siri. Nothing needs to be set up first.

ASO insight: App Intents Framework updates enable people to use Shortcuts, Setup, and Siri to run apps.

Jess Ailion

Jess is Moburst's Content Marketing Manager who came to us all the way from the UK. After studying English Literature, she found herself writing about all things mobile marketing. When she's not spending her time writing, you can find her cooking for her friends or exploring new places.