The iOS 15 was presented at WWDC 2021, Apple’s annual event, and brought many new features for the iPhone. FaceTime updates, a new notifications interface, more interactive maps, and the Focus function are some of the items in Apple’s new system. The official release of iOS is scheduled for September or October, after the announcement of the iPhone 13.
iOS 15 will be available for iPhone 6s and later versions, but the user can choose whether to install the update or not on the smartphone. Check out, below, 10 features that debut in the new operating system.
1. New features in FaceTime calls
The tool for video call conversations on the iPhone has received many updates. The “spatial audio” function is designed to make conversations more realistic by making it sound as if the person’s voice is coming from where they are positioned on the screen. Apple has also invested in a grid view that shows everyone on the call at the same time, and portrait mode that blurs the background, just like competitors Google Meet and Zoom.
The microphone now uses machine learning to isolate the user’s voice and lower external noises. Another great new feature is the invitation link option for FaceTime video calls, which can be shared via message, calendar, or email, and accessed through the web browser by Android and other systems users.
2. SharePlay
Along the same lines as TeleParty and Google’s screen presentation, Apple has created SharePlay. The mechanism enables the user to share simultaneous experiences with friends via FaceTime, such as listening to music, watching movies and TV shows, or sharing the smartphone screen to view apps.
The playback controls are shared, so everyone in the session can play, pause, or fast forward the content. SharePlay is available for iPhone, iPad, iMac, and extends to Apple TV. Several programs and apps are integrated with the new function, such as Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount, ESPN +, Hulu, TikTok, and Twitch.
3. New Focus mode
iOS’s new Focus mode is designed to help the user reduce online distractions. The feature filters app notifications based on the user’s context, such as work environment or bedtime. Focus can be suggested by the smartphone with artificial intelligence, or manually customized by the user, who chooses which apps to notify.
With the function, you can create a home screen page with only the apps and widgets allowed by the Focus mode, to check only relevant content at the time, reducing the temptation to check some social network on time during a college class, for example. Focus created on one device automatically applies to other Apple devices.
4. Notifications with a new interface
In the same vein, iOS 15 also brings the “Notification Summary”. The tool is a new way to display the personalized notifications of the devices. The idea is to prioritize the alerts according to the importance of information and frequency of use of the app, showing the most relevant ones at the top.
As another way to reduce user distraction, the new feature collects the not-so-relevant notifications and delivers them at more opportune times, outside business hours, for example. The design has also been changed, and notifications will bring contact photos for people, and app icons for better identification.
5. Live Text
Live Text extracts text from photos and transcribes it into the smartphone’s notepad. The camera app will also be able to quickly recognize and copy the texts or search for what is shown in the image with Visual Look Up technology, such as plant species or animal breeds, just like Google’s Lens app.
The Live Text function will be compatible with Portuguese, allowing simultaneous translation of the texts on the photos. The feature is also available in the photo gallery, allowing you to search for handwritten images or save the phone number of a store.
6. Spotlight photo search
The iOS search tool gains a picture search function. The spotlight will now be integrated with the phone’s photo gallery, allowing the user to search the web using photos saved in the gallery, or the device’s camera to recognize people, movie scenes, objects, or locations. The spotlight will also be linked to Live Text to search for images using the text on them. When searching for contacts via images, recent conversations, shared photos, and locations will be displayed.
7. More interactive maps
Maps have been enhanced to show more significant details of locations in a three-dimensional way, making routes more realistic. The app on the iPhone or CarPlay will bring information such as elevations, bridges, road signs, bike lanes, medians, crosswalks, landmarks, and a night mode with the glow of the moon.
Those who use public transportation will be able to find bus stops more easily, and mark the most important ones in the app. By marking the bus route, Maps will notify the user when it is time to get off, and the route can be followed on the Apple Watch. In iOS 15 the location will be highly accurate, to provide more realistic walking directions.
8. New interface and functions in the weather app
The Weather tool has also gained improvements and a more realistic design. Weather will show graphical functions of weather data, full-screen maps, and dynamic layouts that change to match local weather conditions. Display animations, such as the position of the sun, will be more accurate, and the user will be notified when it starts to rain or snow.
9. New keys in Wallet
Wallet, Apple’s virtual wallet, is integrated with more digital keys. The new feature was announced in iOS 14.5, but it only worked on a specific BMW car model. Now it will also be possible to use your iPhone as a key to homes, offices, buildings, and hotel rooms, expanding the possibilities.
With support for Ultra-Wideband technology, Apple Wallet has made it possible to enter a home, unlock and start a vehicle with just one touch, without having to take the phone out of your pocket. In countries like the United States, Wallet will allow you to save your ID card on your smartphone.
10. Changes to cell phone privacy and security
With each update, Apple enhances the transparency functions of the devices. New in iOS 15 is the Privacy Report, a section that lets you know which programs have been granted access to the location, camera, and microphone, or other areas of the phone, in the last seven days. The security function is very similar to that of Android 12, which also shows which services have accessed the phone’s controls and for how long.
After the controversies surrounding Siri’s storage of voice recordings of users, voice recognition for virtual assistant requests is now done entirely within the iPhone, significantly improving the performance of the function and protecting the user’s information.
Similarly, Apple has also launched Mail Privacy Protection, which prevents the sender from knowing whether the sent email has been opened and hides IP addresses so that the location or any other personal information of the user cannot be known. Apple ID has also gained a new function, and it is now possible to add contacts to help in the account recovery process or select who will be allowed to access account data in the event of death.
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