Improved performance, new features, the move from iPhone to iOS 12 brings a hell of a lot of new features.
Presented last June at WWDC, iOS 12 was officially deployed a few days ago for the general public. Compatible from the iPhone 5S, the new version of Apple’s mobile OS would significantly improve the performance of the devices on which it is installed. Apple also claims that iOS 12 would allow applications to launch up to 40% faster. In addition to better performance, iOS introduces many new features for users.
Screen time
To give users more control over the time they spend on their devices, iOS 12 introduces the Screen Time module. This new tool allows you to monitor the time spent on the iPhone, but also to configure a time slot during which certain applications are unavailable. A usage report is automatically generated by iOS and lets you know the time spent with the screen activated, and on the different categories of applications.
Screen Time lets you know the number of times you activate the screen of your device, or the number of daily notifications sent to you.
Measures
With the deployment of iOS 12, Apple unveils ARkit 2, a new development platform entirely dedicated to augmented reality and which brings new perspectives. To illustrate this, the Cupertino company is launching the Measurements application which, by relying on the recognition of 3D objects, is able to approximately measure the objects around you.
Find a surface and draw the outlines by adding a starting point and an ending point to see its dimension superimposed on the screen, practical for sending a photo of a piece of furniture with all its measurements.
Shortcuts
Another great novelty of iOS 12, shortcuts. Present natively in the form of Siri shortcuts, they allow you to quickly perform complex actions using a simple request to the voice assistant. Some shortcuts are automatically suggested by iOS 12 based on your habits and the apps you use.
Third-party apps can take advantage of this as well, and in some cases allow you to add shortcuts in Siri to perform a specific task.
Finally, to go further with the shortcuts, it is possible to download the dedicated Shortcuts application which offers the possibility of creating your own personalized shortcuts from scratch.
Dictaphone
The iOS dictaphone gets a makeover. Taking advantage of a new interface, the application is now available on iPad and Mac. Starting a recording is easier and all recorded memos can now be edited from the application.
An editor has been integrated to allow you to quickly shorten a recording. The Dictaphone syncs your voice memos to iCloud so you can find them on all your devices.
In addition, you have to go to the iOS Settings, then to the dedicated Voice Recorder menu to configure the application preferences (retention period of voice memos, audio quality, etc.).
Notifications
The notification management system is evolving. When you get a notification on your device’s lock screen, iOS 12 lets you instantly change the setting. Once silent mode is in place, notifications no longer appear on the screen, but appear directly in the notification center.
The latter is responsible for organizing all the notifications received differently. They are now grouped by theme and can be deleted more quickly.
Messages
On iPhone X and above, the Messages application reveals new Animoji (T-Rex, ghost, koala and tiger) and allows you to create Memoji, a new type of customizable Animoji adapted to your mood.
The camera now allows you to apply filters and add text or stickers.
The sharing of photos has been revised. Accessible from keyboard applications, it now offers photo suggestions to share based on the person you’re chatting with.
Finally, the security codes received by SMS to validate a connection or an online payment are now automatically saved and displayed in the automatic keyboard filling suggestion module.
Drums
After the Battery Gate affair, Apple introduced new tools to manage the autonomy of the iPhone. In iOS 12, you can get detailed information about the device’s battery, including viewing a detailed graph of the last 24 hours or the last 7 days of the battery charge-discharge level.
The battery management module makes it easy to find out the distribution of energy consumption by application.
FaceID
The FaceID unlocking system, available on iPhone X and higher, now offers to set two faces. If it fails to unlock the device screen, you can now simply swipe up to start a new attempt.
Camera
iOS 12 takes the iPhone’s camera to the next level. Portrait mode has been improved with the creation of a mask that automatically detects people to separate them from the scene. Apple has also unveiled a portrait segmentation API to allow third-party developers to take advantage of it.
Pictures
The Photos app layers Google Photo by integrating a For You tab, grouping automatically generated memory albums and videos, as well as smart sharing suggestions with people in the photos.
The memory videos generated by the application are fully customizable and can easily be shared with loved ones.
Image search has been improved and now allows you to find photos by typing the name of a place or event. For more precise search results, iOS allows you to launch a search by combining several keywords.
Security
New developments have been made with regard to security. Among them, the possibility of forcing the user to unlock the iPhone in order to connect USB accessories to it when the latter has been locked for more than an hour.
As for the password manager, it can now go through all your passwords to suggest more secure ones and also supports third-party password managers.
Facetime
While you’re waiting for group calls to arrive in FaceTime, you can now start a video call directly from a conversation in the Messages app. FaceTime also benefits from the arrival of Animoji and the possibility of applying filters, text effects or stickers to liven up your conversations.
