iOS12 new features to know
Performance
- iOS12 is faster & more responsive with smoother animations even on the old devices; definitely the new devices seem faster. Lets see how it runs when I install it on my old iPad mini.
- Improvements in swiping to Camera app, app launch & keyboard display. Camera swipe is definitely faster and the screen does not blank for a second or two like before.
Facetime
- iOS12 introduces group FaceTime feature which is not available currently but will be enabled later as per Apple.
- Integration of FaceTime (audio) on Apple Watch and HomePod. There is a separate update for HomePod.
Messages
- New Animoji & personalized Memoji with tongue and wink detection improvements.
- iOS12 with Memoji or personalized emojis take a lot of work to customize and options seemed limited on first glance.
ScreenTime
- New tools to track how much time is spent on apps and websites. I will look if apps in the background are getting tracked or not.
- App limits that sets limits on how much time you or your kids can spend each day on apps and websites. Most helpful to counter that Fortnite addiction. Downtime enabling can block certain apps during bedtime.
Notifications
- Message threads & notification grouping for better organization; notifications can also deliver quietly. Important alerts can be received even during Do Not Disturb.
Siri
- Siri on iOS12 can learn your routines and offer suggested shortcuts along with a new Shortcuts app
- Siri supports translations in more than 50 languages
- Siri can provide food knowledge from USDA database and even help find missing iPhone
- One I am going to enjoy to ask Siri to pull up photos & memories based on people, events, places & keywords.
Photos
- Many improvements here like Places search, event search (as mentioned earlier using Siri as well). Also, improved import from camera on the go.
AR (Augmented Reality)
- iOS12 brings ARKit 2 and enables 3d object recognition.
- Persistent AR experience that can be created at a location and viewed by someone else at same place.
- New Measure app uses AR to measure objects using your camera with automatic detection of rectangular objects. This is really cool and fun to play with.
App improvements
- More battery info on IOS12 with graphs to display battery level and activity. Also, a detailed breakdown of apps with their respective battery usage.
- Improvements in Apple books, Stocks, News and finally the much used (by me)Voice memos app.
There are many more improvements not covered by this article. Download iOS12 today and explore for yourself.
— Gary
Gary Saggu has been coding since the 80’s. He has been programming in C, C++,C#, Java, Objective C and Swift for many years. He has an interest in tech startups, blockchain & big-data technologies. He is a certified Yoga instructor & a scuba diver. Visit Gary Saggu’s tech blog here. Check out my new app Yogamap.
