As previously announced by Apple, the company is going to release a new software update for iPhone every summer and summer 2019 is not an exception with the news for the launch of the iOS 13 software. Apple took the chance to announce at WWDC 2019 that iOS 13 will be released soon. Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, described the software update and iOS 13 as the “next big release for iOS” and he guaranteed the update will come with a number of improvements to Apple’s mobile operating system, including a dark mode.
Here is a brief view of some of the most major changes you can expect from the new iOS 13.
Dark mode
The highlight of the new features guaranteed for iOS 13, and probably the most significant visual change made to iOS since iOS7, is the true, system-wide dark mode. The mode is completely black. In addition, all of Apple’s first-party applications are supported, event notifications and the dock. Third-party apps are expected to support the new dark colours look too, so you can now enjoy all your favourite applications with a fresh new dark background.
Find My
Find My is the new app by iPhone that merges the old Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps into one. This pretty much means that all of the tracking tools by Apple will be now gathered in one single place for more comfort. You can use the same convenient interface to find your loved ones and missing devices too. In addition, the new interface enables you to find devices that are offline, unlike the old feature. This is enabled by sending a secure Bluetooth beacon to other Apple devices, then relaying it back to Apple and to you.
Swiping keyboard
The new “Quick Path” is the update of the default keyboard by Apple, which will now have a new swiping function reminiscent of SwiftKey, Swype, Gboard, and others available. Overall, it is not a new feature to the world of mobile operating systems, but it is a new feature for Apple.
Reminders
The Reminders app will also get a major revamp and a whole new look. The skeuomorphic-like look is now gone. The new additions to the app include Today, Scheduled, Flagged, and All filtering functions and the new AI smarts system integrated into the app. This pretty much means that when you type, Reminders app will auto-suggest when you would like to be reminded. The other new feature to the app is that you can now tag your contacts and you will be reminded when you open up their message thread.
Apple Maps
The Apple Maps app also gets a revamp, a major one as it will rebuild from scratch. The new-look will be more 3D-like and the maps get more detailed that pretty much means the service will now be comparable to Google Street View. As announced by Apple, they used thousands of LIDAR-equipped cars so they are able to gather the data needed for the new look and variety of detailed map data. For the launch, the maps will be available for a selection of locations only, but it should roll out globally next year.
Privacy
The new iOS 13 is placing a bigger focus on privacy. The updated software now allows you to choose to give your location data to an app “just once” unlike before and there is the launch of the new “Sign in with Apple” function that will help you log into apps and services. You will also be able to log into Face ID and create a new account for a service without revealing any personal information anymore. This pretty much means that you will now be able to create email addresses for apps that forward to your real email. It is expected that the apps, services, and sites with your login details will not have too much of your personal information anymore and your personal email will not be spammed with offers and advertisements.
Messages
The new additions to the Messages function is that they will not get profile pictures and display names, so now you can easily share your photo and name with other users. In addition, instead of a real profile picture, you will now be able to use your Memoji instead. Apple is also now adding more options for personalizing your Memoji and you will now be able to use your Memoji as stickers too. The stickers will be available for apps like Mail and even for some third-party apps.
Photos
The new iOS 13 is coming with a revamped photo and video interface that enables you to easily edit brilliance, highlights, shadows, contrast, saturation, white balance, sharpness, definition, vignette, and noise reduction. Videos are now getting this tools too, which is the first time tools are available for videos and not just pictures. Videos will now also be rotated on your device directly. The Photos app will get a new interface. The new addition to the function is also the machine learning to remove duplicates and clutter.
Cycle tracking
Available and convenient for all female users of iPhone and Apple Watch, you can now benefit from the ability to track menstrual cycles. The function is completely free and super easy and simple to use and you can get Fertile Window predictions too. All the newly added functions will be available in the Health App of iOS 13.
Additional improvements
Many of Apple’s apps also get an update and revamp in iOS 13. For instance, Apple Mail will get the ability for desktop formatting, Safari is getting pre-website preferences, Notes gets a new gallery view. Face ID will now unlock 30% quicker and apps will launch twice as fast in the new iOS 13. These are just a few of the improvements announced by Apple, but more are expected too.
When to expect the launch of iOS 13?
As announced by Apple, the iOS 13 developer preview is already available to all users of iPhone 6S and above. The public beta program is expected to be launched in June 2019, while the official release is not expected until the autumn of 2019, which is when Apple will also announce the new generation of iPhone models.