Apple users have a reason to be excited: iOS 12 is now available for iPhones and iPads. As usual, the new iOS comes with plenty of exciting new additions. Today we will discuss about some of the best features that came with iOS 12.
Improvements
Several apps were updated for iOS 12. If we take a look at the iBooks app we can see that it received an entire makeover, and even its name was changed. You can now find the app under the name Apple Books. The application received a new design which should make it easier for you to keep things organized.
Voice Memos was also redesigned, and it received a new modern design that makes it easier to capture your recordings. It is also possible to sync your recordings with iCloud. Voice Memos is now available on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
There are also a couple of AR additions that users will definitely enjoy. Apple brought a new app named Measure that allows you to measure objects using your camera. You just have to drop points and then the phone will measure the distance between them. The app manages to offer accurate results. 3D measurements are also possible thanks to 3D object recognition in ARKit.
The Dictionary received some changes as well. There are bilingual dictionaries for Arabic and Hindi, and a new Hebrew dictionary. A thesaurus is included as well.
Apple Music now allows you to search for a song using its lyrics. This small update is quite convenient and it will definitely come in handy. In addition to that, the Radio tab replaced “Recent Stations” with “Featured Radio Stations”.
The Messages app also received numerous improvements. For example, those who can use Animoji will be glad to hear that there are four new Animoji. Additionally, it is possible to customize an Animoji in order to make it look you. Animoji also as tongue and wink detection, which is something that was not possible before the iOS 12 updates. Finally, users have 30 seconds to record and Animoji. Photo and video messages can now be customized thanks to the Filters and Shapes feature, and you can add text as well.
The Photos app got some updates as well. The search function was improved and you can search by specific buildings. For example, if you type “restaurants”, you’ll receive all the pictures taken in a restaurant.
New additions
This iOS update brings interesting changes. For example, dictation can be used from 3rd party keyboards as well. Previously the microphone icon appeared at the bottom of the regular keyboard, but it appears that now it will be possible to use it for any kind of keyboard.
Additionally, iOS 12 brings trackpad mode for the keyboard. This means that if you hard press the keyboard, the keys blank out and you will be allowed to move the cursor faster by swiping around. This feature is available for all iPhones, and you just have to hold the Spacebar down for a moment.
Updating
This update is available for all iPhones, down to iPhones 5S. While older iPhones won’t be able to use certain features, such as the Face ID ones, the rest of the improvements are available for everyone. We should also add that at the moment iPhone 5S is the iPhone that has been able to get most iOS updates.
In order to get the update you need to head to Settings and go to General. Tap Software Update and your phone should check whether there are new updates available. You can start the update process right away.
Henry Lares is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including Tech Crunch and the Huffington Post. In regards to academics, Henry earned an engineering degree from Apex Technical School. Henry has a passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.