The Best New Features in IOS 12
The latest version of Apple’s operating system for iPhone and iPad, iOS 12 has been released. It introduces dozens of new features and improvements; there is something for everyone.
How to update
This update is fully compatible with the iPhone 5S, which accidentally makes the 5S the iPhone that can run most versions of iOS. Some of the improvements are directly related to hardware that the 5S lacks (like Face ID improvements), but even older iPhones will benefit from the upgrade.
To update, open “Settings” and go to “General” -> “Software Update”. It will check for updates for your device and, after authenticating, start the update process. It will take a little time, but when Apple’s gray progress bar appears on your device, you will be booted into the world of iOS 12.
All new
We won’t go into detail here on every change in iOS 12, but rather focus on a detailed roundup of the best and most notable new additions. Let’s start with two fairly small changes that shouldn’t go unnoticed. First, in our 3D Touch tutorial, we mentioned a “trackpad mode” for the keyboard, where pressing hard on the keyboard would disable keys and allow you to slide your finger across the screen to quickly move the cursor. It is now available to everyone, whether 3D Touch or not, simply by holding down the space bar for a second to switch to “trackpad mode”.
Also, which is no less interesting for me, dictation is now available on third-party keyboards. I love Google’s Gboard , but I hate Google dictation on iOS. Now a small microphone icon is displayed at the bottom no matter what keyboard you are using.
New and updated apps
A number of Apple apps have received significant updates. First, the Stocks app has finally undergone a major overhaul to include Apple News stories so you can select a stock and view related news.
Voice Memos got a new interface, as well as iCloud sync, which is fitting because Voice Memos is now also a top-notch iPad app.
iBooks have undergone changes reminiscent of the App Store remake recently unveiled by Apple. Actually, even the name has been updated: now it’s Apple Books. The user interface has been redesigned and reorganized with a focus on discovery and organization. Reading is optimized differently depending on the device you are using. Audiobooks get a separate section, and a couple of new options in the Settings app let you control what information is synced across your devices.
Likewise, the News app has been updated with improved search and an optimized reading experience on iPad.
A lot of work has been done to improve the augmented reality (AR) experience on iOS, and these improvements are coming to third-party apps very soon. Starting with iOS 12, Apple includes an app called Measure that lets you use your phone’s camera to measure objects. Similar to some existing applications, such as Measure 3D Pro , it does a pretty accurate job of letting you just put points in a room and measure the distance between them. It can also perform 3D measurements, aided by 3D object recognition in ARKit.
The safari is getting a lot of attention. You can now go to settings and select Show Tab Icons to enable tabbed icons. iOS now also offers strong passwords with immediate storage in your keychain when you register new accounts (as well as in other apps). Add to that a new Password Reuse Auditor, which tells you if you’ve used a password on more than one site, and new blocking options, and this is a significant security update for Safari.
Apple Music can now search songs by lyrics. It’s a subtle but pretty cool update. There is also a change in the Radio tab that replaces Recent Radio Stations with Favorite Radio Stations.
The dictionary now includes a thesaurus, as well as a new Hebrew dictionary and bilingual dictionaries for Arabic and Hindi.
If you go to Settings -> Podcasts , you can now customize the forward / back buttons to different levels and customize them individually. Thus, the forward button can move 30 seconds forward and the back button can move back 10 seconds. It is also possible to use the skip buttons on the built-in remote control with the aforementioned controls.
Messages have many improvements. Four new Animoji are a start, but you’ve probably already heard of Memoji (for those with an iPhone X or any other iPhone released after it), Apple’s customizable Animoji that you can make to look like you (or anyone). or). Animoji also has wink and tongue recognition, so you can be expressive and dare I say a little creepy. And now you have 30 seconds to do that when recording Animoji. Messages also have their own additions and improvements. Filters and forms let you customize and animate your video and photo messages, and you can now add text.
You can also use many enhancements to FaceTime messaging, including Animoji (and Memoji), filters, shapes, and text.
The photo boasts a solid set of enhancements. Search has become more powerful, including the ability to search not only by general location on the map, but also by specific buildings. You can even search by location type, say “museums,” to search for all the museums you’ve been to. The Shared Actions and Memories tabs are merged into the For You tab. There’s also a long-awaited update to the import tool for those using DSLR cameras to add photos.
Digital Health
IOS 12 introduces a new section of tools that Apple calls Digital Health. These include changes to notifications and Do Not Disturb, and Screen Time, which lets you keep track of the time you spend on your iPhone or iPad.
Improvements to Do Not Disturb begin with avoiding lock screen notifications at scheduled times, preventing all of that “hey, your eyes are open, that’s literally all you need to be aware of immediately” when you wake up in the morning. To enable this, go to Settings -> Do Not Disturb and turn on Sleep Time .
In addition to the schedule, you can now quickly turn on Do Not Disturb for one hour, until tonight / tomorrow morning or when I leave this place. The Control Center gives you access to these options, as well as a Schedule button that takes you directly to the Do Not Disturb settings.
Notifications are now grouped to help clear the notification screen. When grouped by app, all unread notifications from the same app are added together, and you can tap the stack to expand it, or clear them all at once by swiping left across the entire group.
The newest part of setting up Digital Health is Screen Time. Opening Settings -> Screen Time shows how much time you spent on your phone and where you spent it. You can see a different breakdown of your screen time for today and the past week.
You can also set app time limits and downtime periods during which only apps you select (and phone calls) are available. You can always remove the restrictions once or for the rest of the day, but it’s a great way to keep in mind the time you devote to apps that can be, well, less than productive. You can even add a widget to see an overview of your screen time in the Today view.
Screen Time brings family sharing together so parents can add restrictions to their kids’ iOS devices.
Safety
As mentioned above in relation to Safari enhancements, iOS 12 is capable of generating strong random passwords on login screens and in apps. When you click the Strong Password button in the password field, it generates a password and adds it to your iOS Keychain. IOS will then automatically fill in your password and you can access the password in the Settings app.
One interesting new feature that I didn’t expect is security code autocomplete. If you receive a two-factor authentication code in a text message, iOS prompts you to automatically fill in the field, saving the trip to Messages and back (or you may need to quickly memorize the six-digit numbers from the notification banner).
You can now also ask Siri for passwords and navigate to your Keychain entry. Don’t worry if she reads your password aloud, you will need to authenticate to see it.
IPhone X users will find several improvements to Face ID, starting with an “alternate look”. If there’s an effect you usually do that resets Face ID, you can create a second look with a hat, beard, glasses, or something else that changes your appearance enough to negate that feature. While Apple doesn’t explicitly say it, you can also use this to add a completely different user to your phone.
If Face ID isn’t working, you can swipe up to re-scan. I admit that my brain always thought this was going to happen, so I did it anyway. Now it really works.
Siri and shortcuts
Siri takes it to the next level with iOS 12. It runs in low power mode, it can control a flashlight, it can play locator sound on multiple iOS devices, and is pretty good at guessing what you want to do next. … The suggestions presented in Spotlight, notifications, and various apps are by far the most insightful. Many of these suggestions include “shortcuts” or methods that allow Siri to trigger actions that typically require a few taps to complete.
Shortcuts are a native app in iOS 12. If you’re a fan of Workflow, you probably know that Apple bought the iOS automation app last year. Labels are one of the results of this acquisition. Any previous workflows you had will be automatically imported into shortcuts. It’s essentially the same app, but you can now add Siri phrases to trigger your own automation.
Without even creating your own automation, you can go to Settings -> Siri & Search and use Add Suggested Shortcut to view ready-made shortcuts that Siri thinks you might find useful.
And more …
Geekbench results showed that hardware performance improved only marginally, but beta users reported noticeable improvements in app launching, battery usage, and app performance. Third-party apps will still need to be updated to take advantage of the various hardware enhancements, but you will see the benefits immediately when you launch Apple apps.
Starting with iOS 12, iOS can finally update automatically. Just go to Settings -> General -> Software Update and enable automatic updates .
For iPhone X users, the welcome UI update brings back “swipe up to force close” apps. When you swipe up from the bottom and open the app switcher, swiping the app up kills it. If you’ve taken as many random screenshots on your iPhone X as I have, you’ll also appreciate that iOS 12 only allows you to take screenshots when the screen is on. Getting up to wake up will still give you a lot of oversights, but I already have about half as many random screenshots in my camera roll.
On the iPad, in addition to optimizing individual apps, there is now a date in the status bar, and the screen recording interface is more humane than the red bar at the top that iOS 11 has added.
The iPad also gets new gestures similar to those found on the iPhone X, such as swipe up and release to open the app switcher, swipe up from the bottom to open the dock, and swipe down to bring up control center.