iOS
iOS 12 released: date, features and compatible devices
iOS 12
released: date, features and compatible devices
iOS 12, the
next version of iOS - the operating system that runs on all iPhones and iPads -
will hit Apple devices in the autumn of 2018,
Release date
iOS updates
roll out initially in a beta, or pre-release testing version. The official
version follows after.
The first
iOS 12 developer preview was made available after the WWDC keynote and the
second appeared on 19 June, but as the name suggests these are for registered
developers only. Members of the public had to wait until 25 June, when the
public beta was made available for download.
Features
There will
be native USDZ support in Adobe Creative Cloud, covering apps such as
Photoshop.
Apple
demonstrated the clever measurement tools made possible by ARKit 2. You can
view a real-world object using your iPhone's camera, tap two points on a table,
for example, and see a measurement for its length and width. More impressively,
you can view a rectangular object such as a photo and the system will
automatically recognise the shape and give you measurements.
AR content
will now appear in the News app - you'll be able to tap to zoom in, manipulate
the object in 3D and so on. And lots of websites will start to display AR
content too: such as the Fender website offering configuration options then
letting you see your guitar in the real world, at real size.
You can
search for cards, dog, flowers... there are already smart object searches in
iOS 11 but it seems there will be far more categories in iOS 12.
More ambitiously,
iOS 12 thinks about photo searches before you do, offering search suggestions:
places you've taken photos, events, categories such as hiking. Photos indexes
millions of events, and you can use this to find photos you took at that event.
It also tries
to predict what photos you'd like to share. It pre-ticks photos that it thinks
you'll want to share, and people to share them with. Ingeniously, their phone
then searches for photos at the same event, and suggests sending them back.
Finally,
there's a new tab in Photos: For You. This shows featured photos, 'On This
Day', Effects Suggestions, shared album activity and more.
Siri gets a
new feature called Shortcuts. These are (potentially multi-step)
voice-triggered actions tailored to individual apps.
Any app can
add Shortcuts. It just displays an 'Add to Siri' icon, and this allows you to
create a voice shortcut for a specific feature of that app. Examples include
"Help me relax" triggering a meditation app, and "Order my usual
groceries".
Siri in iOS
12 will contextually suggest shortcuts in the lock screen: if you order a
coffee every morning, it will suggest triggering an action in the Starbucks
app, say. Or it will suggest "Turn on Do Not Disturb" when you're at
a cinema, or remind you to call your grandmother on her birthday.
You can
create your own shortcuts with Shortcuts app - a shortcut for "surf
time", for instance, might get the weather and an ETA to the beach, set up
a reminder to put on sunscreen and so on.
Voice memos
This too has
been redesigned to be easier to use. And it's also coming to iPad!
iBooks
iBooks gets
a new design, and a new name: Apple Books.
There's a
new feature called Reading Now, which lets you pick up where you left off. And
a new store that Apple says is easier for browsing.
CarPlay
Now supports
third-party navigation apps. Quite a big deal!
Do Not Disturb
There's a
wide range of new features in iOS 12 designed to limit distractions, focus on
the things that are important to you, and generally improve the balance between
your iOS devices and the rest of your life.
There's a
new feature called Do Not Disturb During Bedtime. With this activated, you
won't see all notifications during the preset Bedtime hours, even if you can
turn on your device's screen. In the morning you can tap when you want to see
them.
Notifications
Notifications
will allow more control over how many you receive: Apple refers to this as
'instant tuning' from the lock screen. Press into a notification and you'll be
able to decide whether to turn off notifications from that source entirely, or
simply tune the circumstances under which it notifies you.
Siri will
also suggest turning off notifications you're no longer using, and we now (as
long requested!) get grouped notifications. They will be grouped by app, by
topic, by thread. You can tap into a grouped notification, look at the group in
more detail, and then 'triage' the whole group with a single swipe.
Usage monitoring, limits and
allowances
iOS 12
provides screentime reports: a weekly activity summary that tells you how much
you used your iPhone or iPad during day and night, and how much time in each
app. It also tells you which apps send the most notifications. All this
information could be handy in letting you decide how to adjust your usage.
If you want to
get more prescriptive, it's possible to set app limits. You'll get a
"helpful" (probably deeply annoying, albeit useful) notification
saying time is almost up, and then a lockout screen after that. (Although it
will be possible to negotiate an extension!).
Messages
The biggest
changes to Messages revolve around Animoji. There are four new Animoji: a
ghost, a koala, a tiger and a T-Rex. And for all the Animoji, you'll now be
able to stick your tongue out and have the animation reflect that (iOS 11
couldn't recognise tongues).
There are
also some new fun camera effects in Messages - as before you can take a photo
from within the app but now you can add your Memoji, stickers etc. Here's how
to use camera filters in Messages.
FaceTime
One main
change here, but it's a biggie: group FaceTime, with up to 32 participants.
The
interface is weird and is going to take some getting used to, but it's quite
clever too: it automatically resizes to make a participant's box larger when
they're speaking.
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