Apple has just made iOS 10 official at its WWDC event in San Francisco, and ten major updates in the iOS 10 were showed off. So iOS users, these are the things to expect when you upgrade to the new iOS:
- Siri has been opened up to developers and will be integrated into apps like Whatsapp, WeChat, Uber, Skype and so on. This means that you’ll soon be able to issue commands such as “Send a WeChat to Nancy saying I’ll be five minutes late.”
- A new ‘Raise to Wake’ feature that uses your iPhone’s sensors to bring up your lockscreen without you needing to press any buttons. This feature will wake the phone’s lock screen when it’s lifted to give you an overview of notifications and updates.
- Users can now use 3D Touch to interact with notifications on the lockscreens such as bringing up detail on vehicle arrival for Uber notifications or sending quick replies in Messages. 3D Touch can also be used to quickly clear all of your notifications.
- Also, a major update has been added to the Photos app and that is the new face recognition, object and scene recognition, almost the same thing Google has been doing with Google Photos. This categorises your images based on machine learning so you can search your images more effectively. Another update in the Photos app is a ‘memories’ feed that groups together relevant images and videos and provides content such as photos, people and maps. The Memories feed will also provide related Memories based on the people present and locations.
- Apple Music’s app has also been redesigned. The tabs at the bottom appear unchanged: Library, For You, Browse, Radio, Search. Lyrics are also being added in the new version of Music and that is found in the Now Playing screen.
- The Maps app has been re-designed with a new design language. Navigation has been improved so you can now pan and zoom further ahead to get a gauge on upcoming traffic. In a recurring theme, Maps has been opened up to developers to integrate their apps with. You’ll be able to book a restaurant table using OpenTable, then, with a new feature under ‘Directions’ book an Uber to then get you to the restaurant. All of this is done without ever leaving the Maps app.
- In iOS 10, the Phone app will have voicemail transcriptions so that you can see what messages have been received without having to listen to them. Additionally, the app can now detect when an unknown caller is potentially phone spam and will label those calls as such.
- Just like Siri, Messages are being opened up to developers with iMessage apps. The updated Message app will allow things like videos to play right in line inside the message. Emoji have been made three times bigger and, Apple is going to highlight “emojifiable” words, which you’ll be able to just tap and automatically turn into emoji. So you can type a word, like ‘Graduation’ and get the relevant emoji appear. Emoji replacement will show you words you can replace with an emoji, even if you’ve already typed out messages by highlighting the words that are replaceable. Just like Google’s Allo, iOS 10 will allow you to say things using larger or smaller type.
- The main addition to the News app is the ability to subscribe to content within the app. Breaking news can also be provided through notifications straight to your lockscreen.
- Apple is releasing a Home app for managing your HomeKit compatible devices. All of your accessories will be available in one place. 3D Touch can be used in the app to bring up actions such as light dimming. Scenes can be created that automate certain processes, such as a Good Night scene that locks your door and turns off your light. Siri automation is also included, so you can issue commands such as “Good Morning Siri” to activate your Morning scene. Home will also integrate into your lockscreen, so if your HomeKit compatible doorbell rings, you can get a video feed of your intercom.
In spite of all these, the most requested new addition in iOS 10 – stock apps will be made removable – was not mentioned during the presentation. Previously, the company CEO, Tim Cook suggested that Apple would look to allow users to uninstall its default apps — things like Mail, Calendar, Weather, and Stocks. iOS 10 will be available as a free update this July for only these devices: iPhone 5 and higher, iPod touch 6th gen, iPad mini 2 and higher, and iPad 4th generation and then the iPad Air and iPad Pro models.