WWDC 2018: Apple announces iOS 12

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software

During today's WWDC 2018 keynote, Apple announced the next generation of its mobile software in iOS 12. Here are the biggest points of news for iOS 12:

PERFORMANCE

• Apple is doubling down on performance with the aim of making devices faster and more devices
• iOS 12 will be available on all the same devices that support iOS 11 - this includes devices that shipped back in 2013.
• Apps launch twice as fast on devices running iOS 12 on even the oldest devices

AUGMENTED REALITY

• A major update in iOS 12 is more AR support. Adobe took the stage to introduced simplified tools that will allow developers to create better AR experiences.
• There's a new file format for AR, called USDZ, created in collaboration with Pixar.
• A new app, Measure, will allow you to take measurements in real-time using an iOS device with AR. A demo was shown measuring a suitcase using just an iPhone X.
• Support for shared experiences is announced - multiple users can see the same AR environment in real-time. This allows developers to create worlds that people can all see simultaneously.
• LEGO took the stage to demo a shared AR LEGO app

PHOTOS

• The Photos app gets new updates and features, starting with search. Search Suggestions will highlight things like key moments, places you've taken photos, business names, and events like concerts and sporting events. You can search for multiple terms, like surfing and vacation, to drill down into your library.
• Effect suggestions give you reccomendations to edits you can make to your photos to make them even better.
• Sharing suggestions will find people in your photos and allow you to share them with the folks who are in them. Shared photos are full resolution.
• When you share, the receiver will also be given a suggestion to share photos from the same event with you.

SIRI

• Siri Shortcuts allows you to pull in specific tasks from your apps. An example given was "I lost my keys" to have Siri activate your Tile hardware.
• You can create your own Siri Shortcuts as well, so you can put together your own shortcut phrases.
• A demo was shown using Siri Shortcuts - the user said "travel plans" and got their hotel reservation with an image, address, and check-in time from Siri
• A "Heading Home" shortcut is able to set the home thermostat, play a podcast, send an ETA to a contact, and turn on a HomeKit fan. Very impressive stuff.

APPS

• The News app gets an updated sidebar to make navigation easier
• The Stocks app gets more granular vision to see stock performance. Apple News stories are now integrated into the Stocks app as well, giving you business news on the stocks that you follow.
• The Stocks app now comes to iPad with iOS 12.
• Voice Memos app also comes to iPad with iOS 12, with iCloud support built-in for syncing across devices.
• iBooks becomes Apple Books with a redesigned app.
• In iOS 12, CarPlay will support third-party navigation apps.

DIGITAL HEALTH

• Do Not Disturb is updated to hide notifications at night, and in the morning hides notifications until you specify that you want to see them.
• Do Not Disturb allows you to choose much more granular timeframes rather than just optimized for overnight.
• Notifications can be turned on or off on a per-app basis right from the lock screen
• Notifications can now be grouped by app, topic, or thread. With a swipe, you can dismiss an entire group of notifications.
• A new feature called Screentime offers reports, giving a weekly summary that shows how you used your iOS device. This shows how much time you spend in each app, how often per hour you pick up your phone, and which apps are sending you the most notifications.
• App Limits allows you to set a limited amount of time that you'd like to use specific apps per day. 
• Kids get activity reports too, and parents get reports on their own devices of their kids usage. Parents can also create downtime periods and app limits. This is setup through the Family Sharing interfaces.

MESSAGES

• Animoji now support tongue detection for sticking tongues out
• New ghost, koala, tiger, and T-Rex Animoji characters
• Apple announces Memoji, allowing you to create your own customized 3D emoji character that looks like you
• Memoji has a slick creator app to design your character
• The Messages camera now includes effects, filters, stickers, and even Animoji and Memoji right in the camera

FACETIME

• Apple announces Group FaceTime, which allows you to chat with up to 32 simultaneous participants
• You can use both audio or video
• FaceTime is integrated into Messages, allowing you to quickly do a Group FaceTime right from a group chat
• A demo is shown, and as people speak, they become bigger on screen, or you can choose who to bring front and center
• The same effects mentioned above in Messages also applies to the FaceTime camera

Improved performance, new AR experiences, digital health, improved Messages, Group FaceTime, and more. That's iOS 12.