Apple's (Worldwide Developers Conference) WWDC 2019 edition turned to be a spectacular one for budding developers and patrons aka iDevice owners.
The Cupertino-based company showcased iOS 13 preview version at McEnery Convention Center, San Jose. Prior to the launch, Apple took a dig at Google's Android platform, which though released a couple of months before the iOS 12, was lagging with 10-percent adoption rate, while the former reached 85-percent of all active devices. Now, considering the improvements coming in the iOS 13, it may overtake Pie or Android Q by the end of 2019.
Apple iOS 13: All you need to know
Improvements in Performance: In the keynote presentation, Apple revealed that the new iOS 13 is highly optimised from top to bottom to improve the performance of all eligible iPhones ( 6S and later series). Once upgraded to the iOS 13, iPhones will load apps two times faster, the app downloads will be 50-percent smaller, a 60-percent reduction in update downloads and those with iPhone X and later models, the FaceID will work 30-percent faster.
Dark Mode: the much awaited Dark mode, which was first announced in macOS Mojave in 2018, is finally coming to the iPhones via iOS 13. With this, iPhones will get a new dark colour scheme that works system-wide and across all native apps to deliver a great viewing experience, particularly in low-light environments.
Also, the Dark Mode will be available to third-party app developers for integration into their own apps and can be scheduled to turn on automatically at sunset or at any preset time.
Easier Browsing and Powerful Editing Tools for Photos: With CoreML kit and on-device machine learning, the Photos app will be able to intuitively curate the entire library to highlight the best images, automatically hiding clutter and similar photos to showcase significant events in three options-- past day, month and year.
Apple claims that the photos and videos will be intelligently organised, making it easier to browse, discover and reminiscent the favourite memories, with autoplay videos to bring the library to life.
With iOS 13, Photo editing will get new simpler tools that are easier to apply, adjust and review the images at a glance. With just a swipe, effects can be increased or decreased to create the perfect look, offers device owners more control on how to creatively add value to their images. Also, the photo editing tools for the first time will be available for video editing, making it possible to rotate, crop or apply filters right within the Photos app.
For the iPhone X and later models, the iOS 13 will bring new Portrait Lighting adjustment option in the Camera app to virtually move the light closer to sharpen eyes and brighten and smooth facial features, or push the light farther away to create a subtle, refined look. A new High-Key Mono effect creates a beautiful, monochromatic look for Portrait mode photos.
User-privacy security: With iOS 13, Apple is bringing a new, more private way to quickly sign into apps and websites. Previously, apps used to ask people to sign-in with either Facebook or Google email ID and ask to fill out forms, verifying email addresses or choosing passwords. But now, customers can simply use their Apple ID to authenticate and Apple will protect users' privacy by providing developers with a unique random ID.
Even in cases where developers choose to ask for a name and email address, users have the option to keep their email address private and share a unique random email address instead. The company claims that signing-in on Apple devices will now be easy for users to authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID, which also have two-factor authentication built in for an added layer of security. Apple does not use Sign In with Apple to profile users or their activity in apps, the company added.
Also, now Location Services controls give users more options for how they share location data with apps, including a new one-time location option and more information on when apps are using location in the background.
All-New Maps experience: Apple has reportedly driven 4 million miles covering length and breadth of the US to rebuild the base-map from the ground up, and promises to offer a new Maps experience with broader road coverage, better pedestrian data, more precise addresses, and more detailed landcover. The new map is available now in select cities and states and will roll out across the US by the end of 2019 and to more countries in 2020.
The highlight of the new Maps is the Look Around feature, which makes use of new base-map and high-resolution 3D photography. It is said to offer street-level imagery of a city with smooth and seamless transitions.
The iOS 13 also brings additional new features to the Maps app, including Collections to easily share favourite restaurants, travel destinations or places to shop with friends, and Favourites for navigating to frequent destinations, such as home, work, the gym or school, with a simple tap from the launch screen.
Voice Control: This is one the ultimate feature of iOS 13 and offers accessibility feature no other phone can match. It offers a powerful new experience that enables users to operate their iPhone and iPad ( & also Macs via macOS Catalina) entirely by their voice. Using the latest Siri speech recognition technology, Voice Control gets even more accurate text transcription and editing than before.
Other notable features of the iOS 13:
Health: Apple's native app now offers ways to monitor hearing health and brings new ways to track, visualise and predict a woman’s menstrual cycle.
Reminders: It gets a revamped interface with new simpler options to create and edit reminders, with more ways to organise and keep track of them. The quick toolbar makes it easier to add times, dates, locations and flags, or add attachments. With deeper integration with Messages, it’s easy to tag someone in a reminder so that it surfaces when the user messages with that person.
Messages: Apple has finally added WhatsApp-like features that allow users to share a user’s name and photo, or customised Memoji or Animoji and to easily identify who is in the Messages thread. Memojis are automatically made into sticker packs built into the iOS keyboard, so they can be used in Messages, Mail and other apps. Memoji also features new hairstyles, headwear, makeup, piercings, and accessories.
Siri: Apple's voice-assistant gets improved with more natural human voice and Siri Shortcuts now supports Suggested Automations that provide personalised routines for things like heading to work or going to the gym.
CarPlay: Apple's car interface gets its biggest update ever with a new Dashboard to view music, maps and more in a single view, a new Calendar app and Siri support for third-party navigation and audio apps.
HomePod: Apple's smart speaker can now be customised with different usernames to offer to distinguish voices from anyone in the home to deliver personal requests, including messages, music and more. Live radio gives Siri access to over 100,000 radio stations from iHeartRadio, Radio.com, and TuneIn, and a new sleep timer turns off music after a set amount of time. Handoff® enables users to easily move music, podcasts or a phone call to HomePod when they arrive home.
AirPods: If you have enabled Siri to take calls and messages, it will read incoming messages as soon as they arrive, from Messages or any SiriKit-enabled messaging app. A new audio sharing feature makes it easy to watch a movie or share a song with a friend by simply bringing a second pair close to iPhone or iPad®.
Keyboard improvements: With the latest iOS 13, users will be able to swipe on the keyboards to form words via QuickPath. In terms of text editing, iOS 13 also offers faster text selection, move cursor and more.
Notes: It now gets a new Gallery View, more powerful collaboration with shared folders, new search tools, and checklist options.
Files app: The new iOS 13 introduces the ability to share folders with iCloud Drive and access files from external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives.
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