Alternatives to the Best New IOS 12 Features You Can Use Right Now
Apple unveiled some exciting new features in its WWDC 2018 keynote earlier this month. With iOS 12 (which you can test right now ), users will be able to teach Siri, prevent sites from tracking them, and limit the time they spend in apps. The worst part? These new features will not officially appear until autumn.
However, a few fun apps and workarounds can replicate some of the most exciting features in iOS 12 right now. Here’s how to get started:
Control your screen time
What many of us knew a long time ago, is finally clear to Apple: smartphones are too addictive . iOS 12 will include app usage metrics and Do Not Disturb updates so you don’t spend too much time on certain apps.
If you can’t wait for Apple’s safe updates, you should try apps like Headspace and Moment , which encourage you to use your phone less. The eponymous In Moment can track the time you spend on social media apps and let you restrict yourself if you find it difficult to escape. Fun apps like Forest or Hold can also help you break your smartphone addiction by turning the whole (painful) process into a fun little game.
Video chat with multiple people
The new FaceTime now allows you to create groups, so you and up to 31 friends can video chat with each other at the same time on your phone. Many other apps offer a similar group chat feature: take Skype, for example, which we said earlier was the best video chat app you can get .
Some of the services you may already be using also allow you to jump into group chats and add fun visuals, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat . Others, like HouseParty , are specifically designed for group video calls or, in the case of the Airtime app, for a giant group viewing session of the same video. You may not be able to chat with a group of 32 people at the same time, but let’s be honest: who is talking to so many friends at the same time (at the same time, at least)?
Silent notification delivery
The iOS 12 lock screen now allows you to change your app’s notification settings the moment it sends an alert to your device. But you can already tell app notifications to “deliver invisibly” right now – just not on the lock screen. Open the Settings app and go to the Notifications section and then select the app. From here, you can uncheck Sounds, Show on Lock Screen, and Show as Banners to achieve the same silence as if you hit the Deliver Quietly button in iOS 12. And that almost goes without saying, just just check the “Allow notifications” button to simulate the iOS 12 lock screen “Turn off” button for notifications.
Don’t let websites track you
The newest version of Safari for iOS (and Mac) may prevent Like buttons and other social media code from tracking your online movements. iOS 12 and Mac OS Mojave are only coming in the fall, but if you need anti-tracking features now, consider using extensions like Ghostery or a browser like DuckDuckGo to keep your privacy as much as possible. AdBlock Plus is also a great option for blocking annoying website tracking, just like a number of other extensions we covered earlier . Even popular browsers like Firefox have some degree of anti-tracking protection built in, but you are free to add as many other extensions as you see fit.
Automate the best parts of your daily routine
Siri shortcuts are arguably the coolest iOS feature that lets you use specific phrases to trigger entire workflows. For example, when you give Siri a phrase of your choice, your phone can perform various tasks in any order. In Apple’s WWDC demo, the company showed how a custom request can get Siri to text your roommate, set up a smart thermostat, launch your favorite podcast, and open Maps to show you the way home.
If you can’t wait until fall to use this feature, services like IFTTT make it pretty easy to bind actions to different triggers. IOS apps like Launch Center Pro and Workflow also let you assign triggers to multiple tasks with the click of a button. In fact, Apple acquired Workflow back in 2017, which is an unexpected surprise, so this is definitely the first app you’ll want to check out if you want Siri Shortcuts today – or at least the closest automation you can get before. the feature appears in iOS 12.