What is Apple's iOS 16?

Apple's iOS 16 is a set of memes made after Apple shipped the iOS 16 update on September 12, 2022, split between iPhone 7 and older owners joking about being locked out and iPhone 8+ users showing creative uses of the new background cutout tool.

Where did Apple's iOS 16 come from?

The meme set started on September 12, 2022, launch day for iOS 16, with Twitter user @mn_google's Squidward Looking Out The Window edit about iPhone 7 users being left behind.

What does Apple's iOS 16 mean?

It captures two reactions to Apple's update: older iPhone owners mourning that their devices stopped getting new software, and iPhone 8+ owners finding strange uses for the background cutout tool.

How do you use Apple's iOS 16?

For the exclusion version, pair an older iPhone with a sad reaction character like Squidward. For the cutout version, remove a subject from a photo and compose it into a themed collection, like TikToker @macaulay_flower's daily outfit archive in Notes.

Is Apple's iOS 16 still popular?

Peak activity ran through September 2022, with TechCrunch covering the trend within four days of launch. The format faded as Apple moved on to later iOS versions, so it reads now as a snapshot of that launch window.

Apple's iOS 16

2022image macrodeclining

Published November 10, 2026

Apple's iOS 16 memes started September 12, 2022, launch day for the update that only supported iPhone 8 and newer. iPhone 7 owners posted Squidward reaction images about being locked out, while iPhone 8+ users remixed the new background cutout tool into outfit logs and dog montage jokes. TechCrunch was covering the cutout trend within four days.

tech humor memes smartphone memes consumer culture memes 2022 memes reaction memes

Overview

Two running jokes drive the iOS 16 meme set. iPhone 7, 6s and SE owners posted sad watcher images, most often Squidward Looking Out The Window, captioned to show their outdated phones watching friends with iPhone 8 or newer running the new software3. iPhone 8+ users went the other direction, showing off the Lock Screen customization, iMessage editing, and especially the background removal feature1.

The cutout tool drove most creative posts. Users could tap any subject in a photo and save it as a transparent image, letting them assemble outfit archives, pet collages and custom sticker packs from their camera rolls2. Captions typically set up a mundane reason for the cutout before showing the result, with the humor coming from the specific use case.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Twitter / TikTok (viral spread)

Date

2022

Apple released iOS 16 on September 12, 2022. iOS 16 added a redesigned Lock Screen with widgets and depth effects, editable and unsend iMessages, and improved Live Text across photos and video1. Only iPhone 8 and later received the update, cutting iPhone 7, 6s and SE users off from the new features5.

Memes started the same day. Twitter user @mn_google (Patel Meet) posted a Squidward Looking Out The Window edit of older iPhones watching users on iOS 163. The joke about being locked out had circulated months earlier, with Brazilian user @arthurnumeriano writing on June 6, 2022 that his iPhone 7 was already waiting for the announcement7.

How It Spread

On September 14, TikToker @macaulay_flower demonstrated a workflow using the cutout tool to clip himself from outfit photos and paste each one into Notes as a daily look archive, reaching around 990,000 views in two days4.

The next day, Twitter user @Calistei1 wrote that her father's first request after learning about the feature was a montage of himself with his favorite dog. Her tweet gathered 68,000 likes and 3,200 retweets within a day6.

TechCrunch covered the cutout trend on September 16, spotlighting former Apple employee Matthew Cassinelli, who automated the outfit workflow into a Siri Shortcut called Outfit of the Day2. A separate iPhone 8 upgrade joke ran alongside, with @insanetweet sharing a clip about iPhone 8 users struggling through the update on launch day8.

Timeline

2022-06-06

@arthurnumeriano joked on Twitter that his iPhone 7 was already waiting for the iOS 16 announcement, setting the tone months before launch.

2022-09-12

Apple released iOS 16 for iPhone 8 and later; @mn_google posted the Squidward Looking Out The Window edit about older iPhones being left behind, and @insanetweet shared a clip about iPhone 8 users struggling through the update.

2022-09-14

TikToker @macaulay_flower demonstrated the background removal outfit-cataloging workflow in Notes, reaching 990,000 views in two days.

2022-09-15

@Calistei1 tweeted that her father's first cutout request was a montage with his dog, gathering 68,000 likes and 3,200 retweets in a day.

2022-09-16

TechCrunch covered the creative uses of the cutout tool and highlighted ex-Apple employee Matthew Cassinelli's Outfit of the Day Siri Shortcut.

TikTok

How to Use This Meme

Posts usually fall into two templates. For the exclusion joke, users pair an older iPhone (iPhone 7, 6s or SE) with a sad watcher reaction image like Squidward Looking Out The Window, captioning it with the iOS 16 hashtag3. For the cutout joke, users remove a subject from a photo and compose it into a note, outfit log, or pet montage, with the humor in the specific scenario they describe2.