Apple‘s Worldwide Developers Conference is running in California right now, folks, and along with a very expensive new Mac Pro, the company has also unveiled the upcoming iOS 13 update.
[jwplayer ru2QeH6H]
This isn’t everything that was shown, because there was a lot of it, but these are the highlights of what you can expect when iOS 13 drops later this year.
Dark Mode
One of the most anticipated features – and one which was heavily rumoured – is coming with this new update: dark mode.
Like many different apps already offer, dark mode essentially changes the shade of the screen to a darker hue, which makes it easier to view at night time. Apple will offer a system-wide dark mode when iOS 13 rolls out, including notifications and first-party apps.
You can get a very brief taste of how that looks in the clip below.
https://youtu.be/E5Jg4Wm9b7o
Apple Maps
Apple’s navigation app is getting a ground-up rebuild featuring more and better map data. It’ll also have its own version of Google Street View, which lets you explore the streets from a first-person perspective.
The new maps will be available in the US by the end of the year and roll out internationally through 2020.
iMessage Profile Pics/Memoji
Your iMessage is gonna look a lot like any number of Facebook Messenger chats soon, with Apple adding the ability to add profile pictures and display names.
These new pictures can also be your Memoji, which now have a wider range of customisation options. You can see some of these in the clip below.
https://youtu.be/3x7_w9Oz8lQ
Find My… Everything
Apple is combining the Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps into one simply called, Find My. It’ll let you track any Apple device, even if it’s offline, by using a Bluetooth beacon routed through Apple itself, a process the company assures is end-to-end encrypted.
You’ll also be able to track your mates or family in the app if that’s something you like doing.
Better Performance/Privacy
This is more or less a given when any iOS update rolls out, but this one seems to be particularly hefty. Apple has said that FaceID will unlock devices 30 per cent faster and apps will launch twice as quick.
For those carrying older devices, iOS 13 will actually offer enhanced performance rather than slow them down as previous updates tended to do. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how it actually turns out on release, but it sounds good for the meantime.
There’ll also be updated privacy features, like restricting how often apps can access your locational data and a “Sign in with Apple” feature which lets you jump into more things using FaceID.
On top of all that, Apple is adding support for third-party keyboards, updates for the Reminders, Apple Mail, Notes, and Safari apps, more photo and video editing tools, and the ability to pull files from external storage devices to the files app in the phone.
iOS 13 will require an iPhone 6S or newer and be released later this year. If you’re keen for an early taste, a public beta program will launch later this month.
