WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO APPLE MAPS, MESSAGING, PHOTO EDITING AND THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DARK MODE, THIS LOOKS TO BE APPLE’S BEST SOFTWARE ROLLOUT TO DATE.
It wasn’t long ago that Apple revolutionised the world of technology with the introduction of the Macintosh back in 1984. Sure, your parents using the computer probably typed with one finger and took twenty minutes simply to type out their own email, but this did nothing to stop Apple from going on to create more – machines that were faster, smaller, lighter, prettier to look at even.
The tech giant’s four software platforms – iOS, macoS, watchOS, and tvOS – provide seamless experiences across all of Apple’s devices, allowing people to attack the day thanks to the efficiency and ease of apps like Apple Maps, Apple Music, Apple Play and more.
At their annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference in San Jose, California, Apple unveiled iOS 13 and its offering of a dramatic new look for the iPhone with Dark Mode and other features across numerous apps.
Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, said, “iOS 13 brings new capabilities to the apps you use every day, with rich updates to Photos and Maps, and privacy-protecting features like Sign In with Apple, all while delivering faster performance. We’re excited for customers to experience what’s coming to iPhone this spring and can’t wait for them to see how great everything looks in Dark Mode.”
Federighi also says Face ID unlock will be 30 per cent faster and apps will launch two times faster on the new iOS 13. While the first iOS 13 beta is available now, it’s been limited to Apple developers only. Apple is still testing features on a larger scale, but is poised to roll out the iOS 13 public beta in July. For those who want to wait for the final version of the software, in its most stable form, is expected to roll out about one week after the next iPhone launch event. The date is expected to be around mid-September.
To help ease you into the transition from old to new, we’ve rounded up all the good stuff from the announcement. Here we explain what the feature is, what you need to know in order to use it, and what makes it so damn exciting for tech fiends.
Dark Mode
The highly anticipated Dark Mode introduces a new dark colour scheme across all native apps. It delivers a great viewing experience, particularly in low-light environments and can also be scheduled to turn on automatically at sunset or at a certain time.
Privacy and Apple sign in
iOS 13 will do a lot more to lock apps out of monitoring your location data and other data, unless you grant it. This is something a number of people are excited about, particularly given the recent security breaches from the likes of Facebook and Amazon.
The “Sign in with Apple” feature allows users to bypass any concerns with Google or Facebook sign-ins. This means that you can hide your real email address and set up a randomly-generated email forwarding address, doing away with the need for filling out forms and verifying email addresses.
Home Kit Secure, another new privacy feature, keeps everything from your home security cameras and accessories in a closed loop that only you can see.
Maps
Believe it or not, but Apple Maps is still chugging along. The tech giant has said that they’ve “totally rebuilt” their map, but only for the US by the end of 2019 and other countries later. That said, iOS 13 will see Maps offer a new “Look Around” feature that looks like a smoother Street View.
Apple said at the launch that Apple Maps will provide broader road coverage, better pedestrian data, more precise addresses and more detailed landcover. iOS has introduced other features to Maps like Collections, which can be used to easily share favourite restaurants, travel destinations or places to shop with friends, as well as Favourites for navigating to frequent destinations such as home, work, your significant other’s house.
Messages update
In messages, you can share your name and Memoji when you message with someone and there’s now an enhanced Memoji creator that even allows you to put AirPods on your character.
Messages will also automatically share a user’s name and photo to identify who is in the Messages thread. Memoji are automatically made into sticker packs built into the iOS keyboard, so they can be used in messages, mail and other apps.
Intelligent reminders
Reminders are getting an update by way of their design, as well as the options to organise and keep track of them. The quick toolbar makes it easier to add times, dates, locations and flags, or add attachments. With deeper integration with Messages, it is easier to tag someone in a reminder so that it surfaces when the user messages with that person.
Photo editing
Using on-device machine learning, Photos curates the entire library to highlight the best images. This works to hide photos that are similar and spotlight significant events from the past day/month/year. This makes it easier to browse through your own photos and relive your favourite memories.
Photo editing has been made easier with the introduction of comprehensive tools that are somewhat easier to apply. In iOS 13, most photo editing tools are now available for video editing, making it possible to rotate, crop or apply filters right within the Photos app.
Portrait Lighting adjustments can also be made in the Camera app itself, allowing you to get the perfect shot as you virtually move the light closer to sharpen eyes and brighten facial features.
