Apple, in its annual developer conference, announced the iOS 13, which is the next version of its mobile platform that will be released alongside the new iPhones this fall. Here’s everything you need to know about the new iOS 13 update that is going to hit iPhones and iPads.
Dark Mode
Apple is bringing the Dark mode in iOS 13. It will not necessarily be true black in all the apps but the built-in apps of Apple will support it automatically. Similarly, the third-party app developers will be able to integrate into their own apps. So, you can turn it on automatically during sunset or any time you want it. Also, if you have got an iPhone with an OLED screen, you will be able to extend its battery life to some extent using the dark mode.
Faster App Launch and Face Unlocks
The new iOS 13 is fast as well. With it, the face unlocks seemingly takes 30% less time. The app launch is also twice as fast as before and the downloaded app will be up to 50% smaller. Similarly, the app updates will be 60% smaller.
Swipe Keyboard
You get swipe typing functionality in Apple’s built-in keyboard. The feature is pretty old for Android users and now Apple users are finally getting it.
Privacy and Security
The privacy is also expanded and includes more crude location permissions for apps, and thus you can allow an app to see your location only once. The background tracking alerts are also added that provides you more details regarding the use of the location by apps.
Moreover, Apple introduces a Sign in with Apple system that you can use to sign into apps with your Apple account pretty easily, authenticating with FaceID or TouchID (and with two-factor authentication included). Apple sends a unique random ID to the app. If the app requires your email address, you can choose to give it your actual email or a random one that is created automatically by Apple with a built-in forwarding (the throwaway emails are indeed per-app to allow you delete only one, which is associated with a specific app if you want to).
Apple Maps
The built-in apps in Apple also get updates. The map will come with a new user interface. It will now have a bar at the bottom so that you can store and navigate to favorites. You get Look Around feature that’s Google’s equivalent to Street View. And by the end of this year, the Apple map will get an entirely new map of the US, however, it’s already available in selected cities and states. It will offer better road coverage; pedestrian data, precise addresses, and better-detailed land cover.
Revamped Editing UI
The editing UI in the ‘Photos’ has also been redesigned. You now get a new default photos view that will be free of duplicates and other clutter like screenshots, receipts, etc. You can browse this in multiple views, by day or by month, and videos autoplay as you go. But the Years view is a bit different. For e.g., if you look at someone’s birthday, it’ll show you his/her images over the years. Majority of the photo editing tools are attainable for video as well, allowing you to rotate, crop, as well as apply filters within the ‘Photos’. You can even adjust lighting effects in the Camera app.
Siri Refined
What about Apple’s voice assistant then, i.e. Siri? Well, it also gets an update; better sounding, and less robotic voice, and has gotten slightly smarter. Like, if you are wearing AirPods, Siri will read out messages to you as they come in, allowing you to reply at the same time through voice. It can also play live radio from over 100,000 stations across the globe.
You’ll also be able to share audio from your iPhone via Audio Sharing to anyone by tapping the devices together. You can access Siri on the iOS 13 home screen near you as the Siri Shortcuts is now its own app. And the shortcuts are primarily macros, i.e. the agglomeration of step-by-step actions, which can all be taken at once as you invoke the shortcut. The app suggests new ones for you, allowing you to choose a third-party app that can use Siri Shortcuts.
And Many More
The Reminders app also gets a fresh look and the CarPlay gets an update, which is the biggest ever providing a new dashboard to view music, maps, and more in one view. It too has a Calendar app and Siri support for Pandora and Waze. You can share folders with the ‘Files’ app with iCloud Drive and access files via SD cards and USB flash drives.
The first developer preview of iOS 13 is already available to registered developers while the public beta program will be available soon, probably later this month. And the iOS 13 will only be available for iPhones and iPod touch devices, with iPads using the iOS fork, a.k.a. iPadOS.
