iOS 15, the newest version of Apple’s operating system for iPhone users, has been unveiled in public. According to the business, iOS 15 was created with four primary goals in mind. Craig Federighi, a vice president at Apple, delivered the update. Here is what’s new.
FaceTime updates:
FaceTime has a few new capabilities in iOS 15 that will help it compete with other services like Zoom.
- supporting spatial audio
- the video grid view
- for videos, portrait mode
- Links to FaceTime
- Join FaceTime calls on Android and Windows from the web.
- Use SharePlay to share media during FaceTime, including music, screen sharing, and other things.
Using an API that is open to developers, SharePlay may interact with other apps and streaming services. Apple already collaborates with several platforms, including NBA, Twitch, TikTok, Hulu, and HBO Max.
Messages
Apple has also unveiled new Messages features, including as new methods for quickly accessing messages you receive from others. In the News app and the Photos app, Shared Stacks will transfer material from Messages.
iOS 15 Overview
The most recent version of Apple’s iOS operating system, iOS 15, was unveiled in June 2021 and had its public debut on September 20, 2021. Redesigned FaceTime calling capabilities, tools to cut down on distractions, a new notification experience, improved privacy features, and comprehensive redesigns for Safari, Weather, and Maps, among other things, are all included in iOS 15.
In iOS 15, notifications have undergone a revamp that includes contact photographs for people and bigger app icons. A notification summary groups alert together for distribution at the right time and organize them according to importance to lessen distraction.
A new feature called Focus lets users limit alerts and applications based on what they want to concentrate on at any given time. A user’s status in Messages will be visible to other users while their Focus is preventing incoming alerts. Using on-device intelligence, iOS will recommend a Focus for certain situations, such as work hours or calming down for bed, but users may also design a personalized Focus. When a Focus is established on one Apple device, all other Apple devices are immediately affected.
Safari now has an entirely new look. With controls that are now easier to access with one hand, a webpage’s content is given greater attention. Users can simply slide between tabs thanks to the new, slim tab bar that hovers at the bottom of the screen. Users may keep tabs and quickly access them across devices and at any time by using tab groups. Additionally, there are web extensions for the first time and a customizable start page.
The Maps app now provides a new 3D representation of cities with greatly improved features that displays buildings, crosswalks for pedestrians, bike lanes, and more. With upgraded Transit features like pinned favorite lines, reminders to depart, and augmented reality walking directions, there is a new city driving experience.
FaceTime conversations now feature voice isolation and spatial audio, which makes it appear as though the person is speaking to you from where they are on the screen. FaceTime features a new grid layout to view multiple faces simultaneously and also supports Portrait mode. During a FaceTime session, users may exchange media in sync using the new SharePlay function.
In addition, users may create shared links to planned FaceTime calls, which can be accessed on Windows and Android phones as well.
With iOS 15, the Weather app features more graphical weather data displays, full-screen maps, and dynamic layouts that adapt to the weather. Completely redesigned animated backdrops now represent the sun’s position and the current precipitation more precisely, and there are alerts to show when it starts to rain or snow and when it ends.
In iOS 15, the Wallet app gains support for new key types like those for residences, businesses, and lodging facilities. Customers will be able to upload a driver’s license or state ID to the Wallet app starting in 2022 in eligible U.S. states.
A significant upgrade to Memories is available in the Photos app, which now has a new look and dynamic interface.
Live Text is a new function that lets users search for, highlight, and copy the text in photos using on-device intelligence. Now, Spotlight offers location, person, scene, object, and text search capabilities for images. Additionally, Spotlight provides deeper results for actors, musicians, TV programs, and movies as well as web image searches. When the location has been shared using Find My, recent discussions, shared photographs, and enhanced results for contacts are displayed.
In addition, iOS 15 adds additional privacy protections including Mail Privacy Protection, which prevents senders from knowing when an email has been viewed and recognizing the IP address of the receiver, and an App Privacy Report view, which displays how frequently apps are used.
Other apps have received dozens of updates, including user-created tags, mentions, and an Activity view in the Notes app, Trends, Walking Steadiness, and a new sharing tab in the Health app, a system-wide Shared with You feature for highlighting content that has been shared in Messages conversations, and a new For All of You row in the TV app to suggest entertainment for the entire family.
Released on September 20, 2021, iOS 15 can operate on any device that can run iOS 14 and is compatible with the iPhone 6s and beyond.