The iPhone's next operating system, called iOS 16, will revamp the look of the device's lock screen and make mostly minor improvements to the current software. The software updates have become increasingly important in recent years as iPhone owners have started to hold to their existing devices for longer periods of time than they once did.

The iOS 16 also added the Cantonese input method, which allows users to input Cantonese words and phrases using Jyupting and other phonetic methods. The new feature news soon went viral via social platforms.

Jyutping is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong. Although most Hongkongers have not formally learnt Jyutping, those who have tested the iOS16 beta found close English transcriptions of Cantonese words are enough to generate meaningful phrases and sentences. For example, typing “Hong Kong y” and the Chinese characters of “Hongkonger” will show up as predictive text.

Tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong tweeted a demonstration of the input method, showing that users would not be required to adhere to formal Jyutping rules. When she types in “gwong dung wa syu yap faat”, the Chinese characters of “Cantonese input method” can still show up as a result.

In addition, One of iOS 16's most noticeable differences will occur on the iPhone lock screen. The new software, which will be released this fall as a free download, will allow users to anchor their favorite apps as small widgets on the lock screen.

The new software also will enable the lock screen to display live notifications, such the status of a Uber ride on its way to pick up a passenger. Other authorized notifications will come in from the bottom of the screen instead of the current distribution from the top in an effort to avoid clutter on the display.

The iPhone's messaging system will be revamped so texts can be edited after they are sent or even rescinded in their entirety if the sender has a change of heart. Those options will only be available when both users are using Apple's messaging app for texting.

The Apple Pay service that's part of the iPhone's digital wallet is adding a new financing feature likely to be popular as soaring inflation rates squeeze more household budgets. The option will allow consumers to stagger the cost of any purchase made through Apple Pay over four installments completed within a six-week period with no additional fees. Similar financing is already offered through digital services such as

Affirm, whose stock price sank by more than 5% Monday after the news about Apple Pay came out.

Several of the new features for Apple's Macs and iPads are designed to make it easier to sync with the iPhone for things like making video calls. Other tools will enable more apps to run side by side to perform multiple tasks on the same screen.

Helping people toggle from one Apple device to another is one of the main reasons that the company began making Macs that run on the same kind of chips that power the iPhone and iPad in late 2020.

Now Apple in putting the next generation of its Mac chip in it two most popular laptops, the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, which the company said will be available in stores at some point next month. The MacBook Air will sell for $1,200 and the MacBook Pro will sell for $1,300.

The event was held at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.