Apple has officially presented iOS 15. The new iPhone update takes better care of your privacy, opens the attack on video calling services like Zoom and adds new features for AirPods. Here’s everything you need to know about iOS 15 in one article.
iOS 15 Officially Revealed: Here’s What You Need to Know
Apple unveils iOS 15 at the WWDC 2021 keynote. This annual developer fair takes place completely digitally for the second year in a row. iOS 15 is in every way the logical sequel to iOS 14, the big update of 2020. These are the new features.
1. FaceTime learns from Zoom and comes to Android
The success of video calling services such as Google Meet and Zoom has not gone unnoticed by Apple. The company is therefore fully committed to FaceTime. A great addition is Spatial Audio. This function ensures that the sound comes from a certain direction during a call.
Also, the new version of FaceTime uses artificial intelligence to filter out background noise. You can also turn on a grid view from now on. That’s great, because it allows you to see all the other people in your video call in one window.
FaceTime is getting another new feature in iOS 15: SharePlay. Thanks to this feature, you can share all kinds of media with your friends through the video calling app. Think of music, movies and sharing your screen.
Furthermore, FaceTime also works on Android from iOS 15. People with an Android phone can accept invitations from their iPhone friends and dial in. FaceTime will soon also work via the browser of a computer.
2. Messages
The Messages app has also been overhauled. The app will be smarter from iOS 15 and can recognize photos, for example. If a friend sends you a photo via Messages, it will automatically be placed in the Photos app.
3. Notifications get smarter
The rumors already predicted it: iOS 15 improves the Notifications. From now on, your iPhone will bundle notifications that have the same meaning, such as incoming emails and the news you are interested in. The “summaries” don’t merge messages from friends, so you don’t miss any potentially important information.
4. Focus
The iPhone has had a Do Not Disturb mode for years, but from iOS 15 it will be expanded considerably. You can create special user profiles for when you are working or just want to relax.
If you turn on ‘work mode’, your notifications from entertainment apps (such as Netflix) will be muted. Are you free? Then you will receive these notifications.
5. Read photos
iOS 15 makes iPhone camera smarter. For example, you can read text with your phone’s lens. You can also directly copy or translate this text. Furthermore, the Camera app now recognizes objects and animals.
For example, you can immediately look up what kind of dog you encounter, simply by pointing your iPhone camera at the furry friend. The Camera app obviously works together with Siri for this.
6. Wallet app will replace your (US) driver’s license
You may already be using the Wallet app on your iPhone for Apple Pay, but if it’s up to Apple, you’ll soon be using the app for your driver’s license as well.
At least, if you are allowed on the road in America. From this fall, you can use the Wallet app to scan your US driver’s license. You can also place (American) identity documents in the Wallet app from then on.
7. Weather app tells how good the sky is
We also saw this addition coming: iOS 15 improves the Weather app. From now on you can, for example, check the air quality in cities via that app. This data is supplied by a company specialized in this.
Furthermore, from iOS 15 you can, for example, view the temperature on full screen and the expected precipitation per (sub) area.
8. Improvements for AirPods
Do you use AirPods? Then we have good news for you, because iOS 15 is going to make your ears better. For example, the AirPods get a special audio mode for people with (mild) hearing problems. This feature reduces background noise and emphasizes what the other person is saying to you.
And have you lost the AirPods? From iOS 15, you can better locate the Apple earbuds via the Find My app of the iPhone. Spatial Audio is also coming to the Apple TV.
9. Apple is committed to privacy
Apple is fully committed to privacy with iOS 15. For example, the default Mail app on your iPhone hides your IP address, which you can think of as the address of your Internet connection.
Also pixels, which marketers use to keep an eye on you, are blocked by default when you use Safari.
You can also request ‘privacy reports’ via a special new function. In the settings menu of your iPhone you can find out how closely apps and websites deal with your privacy.
10. New iCloud Subscription
Do you currently have an iCloud subscription? Then we have good news for you. Apple will soon give the cloud storage service a new name. For example, iCloud Plus gives you more privacy options. For example, internet traffic is redirected so that even Apple does not know what kind of websites you visit.
11. Healthy with your iPhone
iOS 15 also refreshes the Health app on your iPhone. For example, the app will now let you know how your health is doing. Have you been moving more than usual lately? Then you will receive a notification. Even when you have been less active, the Health app tries to motivate you again.
You can also share this data with family. This is useful for carers, for example. In this way they can (for example) receive a notification if the heart rate of their mother, sister, or partner falls below a certain level. For this, the wearer must, for example, wear an Apple Watch.
12. Smart home
Homes are getting smarter and the popularity of smart homes has not gone unnoticed by Apple. At the same time as iOS 15, the company is introducing several functions that should make life easier in and around the house.
For example, you can use your iPhone to open the door. Of course you must have a supported lock for this. Furthermore, the Home app comes to the Apple Watch with a standalone app. For example, you can see who is at your door from your wrist, and chat with them via your smart doorbell.
Also new: Siri is coming to smart home products from other manufacturers. This decision is not very strange, because major competitor Google Assistant has been doing this for much longer. Thanks to this broader support, you will soon be able to use Siri on a speaker that is not from Apple itself.
13. Extensions for Safari
Do you use Safari? As of iOS 15, you can use extensions in the iPhone version of Safari. In this way you can, for example, add a grammar checker or password manager and operate it easily from the browser. The Mac version of Safari has been able to handle extensions for some time.
When can I download iOS 15?
Although iOS 15 has been unveiled, we will have to wait a while for the final release of the update. This always appears in the fall, at the same time as the latest iPhones. The iPhone 13, which will be announced in the fall, will also run on iOS 15 by default.
In the meantime, however, several betas are coming out. These test versions are initially only available to developers, but are then also released for regular users. As soon as we know more about the first iOS 15 beta, you’ll read it on iPhoned.
WWDC 2021 on iPhoned
WWDC 2021 is over and on iPhoned have you been able to follow all the announcements? Below we list the revelations from Apple. Or check out the WWDC 2021 round-up if you’d rather read a summary.
- Official: Apple Unveils iPadOS 15 With Better Widgets and More
- Overview: These iPhones and iPads are getting iOS 15 and iPadOS 15
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