How to Install iOS 15, and All the New iPhone Features

You’ll nonetheless have the option to entry all of your apps by way of the App Library, or you possibly can flip the “Focus” off at any second. Uniquely, your mates and household can see for those who’re in a Focus if you do not need to be disturbed by way of the Messages app, however a Status API will permit any messaging app to implement this performance.  

Live Text, Photo Memories, and Better Safari

One of the coolest options in iOS 15 is Live Text, and it is tied to upgrades in Apple’s laptop imaginative and prescient know-how. Point your digicam app at something with textual content, and you may see a textual content icon on the backside proper. That’ll allow you to spotlight the textual content so you possibly can simply copy and paste it to one other app. This works for photos with textual content in your Photos library too—simply faucet the identical textual content icon on the backside proper. If there is a telephone quantity in the picture or an deal with, Live Text will flip it right into a hyperlink so you possibly can faucet it. Phone numbers seamlessly launch in the telephone dialer and the deal with opens in Maps.

Perhaps somewhat stranger is an integration between Apple Music and the Photos app. When you open the Photos app and go to the For You tab, you may be greeted with a brand new model of Memories—this function routinely generates a mini-movie of particular journeys or occasions and routinely chooses a related track from Apple Music (however solely when you’ve got a subscription to the music service). You can customise the film as you view it by altering up the tempo, switching songs, altering filters, or swapping photos. It’s not far off from a Google Photos function launched in 2018, however Apple provides you far better management with music integration right here.    

Safari is now simpler to use with one hand. The URL bar is now located on the backside, and it hides away once you scroll to maximize your display screen’s actual property. You’ll discover Safari appears much more related to the interface on macOS or your iPad on the new tab web page—there’s your favourite web sites, studying checklist, and content material shared with you.  You can swipe by tabs simply and group them collectively. And lastly, for the first time, Safari extensions are coming to iOS. These can be found by the App Store, although do not anticipate each single extension you employ on a pc to be current simply but.

SharePlay

With SharePlay in iOS 15.1, you may have the option to share films, music, Fitness+ exercise, and your display screen with anybody you are FaceTiming with. Want to hear to a brand new album along with your buddy in sync at the identical time? You can herald tunes from Apple Music. Maybe you need to watch a film along with your long-distance associate whereas video chatting? Easy. You can AirPlay the film to your TV at the identical time to watch it on the massive display screen. 

Apple says another developer with a content material streaming app shall be in a position to add assist, although companies like Disney+, HBOMax, ESPN+, and TikTook are already on board. The implementation provides a number of management to the developer. For instance, if each video name customers try to stream a film on Disney+, Disney may permit the different person to join a free trial, permit one free film to stream by way of SharePlay a month to anybody, or block entry fully if neither social gathering has an account. It’s the developer’s selection.

Improved Maps

Speaking of journey, the improved model of Apple Maps the firm launched final 12 months is now rolling out to 4 new nations: Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Australia. Apple’s map knowledge is getting much more detailed in iOS 15. You’ll discover extra street-level particulars in business districts, elevation info in cities, in addition to customized designs for landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge. When driving, Maps will now present freeway interchanges in 3D so you may have a greater concept of precisely which lane you want to be on. These options are coming to CarPlay later in 2021, too. 

If you trip public transit, Maps will inform you when to get off, and if you do not know which approach to head as soon as off the bus or outdoors the subway station, simply level your telephone at the buildings in entrance of you to have Apple’s augmented actuality level the approach. It’s related to AR Live View in Google Maps.

Shared With You

Select gadgets your mates share in Messages now sit in a brand new “Shared With You” section in certain apps. For example, if someone shares several photos of a trip you were a part of, these images will reside in the new Shared With You section in the Photos app. If you are sent a news article, you can find it in a Shared With You section in Apple News. The idea is to give you another opportunity to see what your friends and family members sent, in case you didn’t have time to look at it earlier. New Shared With You sections are available in Apple Photos, News, Podcasts, Safari, TV, and Music.

Spotlight

When you use Spotlight, the search bar that pops up when you swipe down on the home screen, you’ll notice a fresh design with more details when you search for contacts, celebrities, and movies. Plus you can search for your photos through it and use it to install new apps. You can now easily access it right from the Lock Screen too, by simply swiping down on the display.

Health App

With Apple’s Health App, you can now share your health data with family members or caregivers. That way, they can easily keep an eye on metrics and receive notifications for any unusual trends over time. There’s also a new Walking Steadiness metric that routinely analyzes your fall risk. 

You can store your Covid-19 test results and vaccination records in the app, too. If the specific medical location or vaccine provider doesn’t support this feature, you can download the record using a QR code or browser and store it in the Health app to access whenever. If you have successfully added your vaccination record, the app can now create a vaccination card in the Wallet app, so you can easily flash it before entering businesses or a restaurant. 

iCloud+

This new service is available to anyone who subscribes to iCloud already with no changes in pricing. It adds the ability for you to generate one-off burner emails when you’re signing up for a service on the web; expands HomeKit Secure Video support; and adds a feature called iCloud Private Relay (currently available in beta with a final version coming later), which encrypts all the internet traffic leaving your device so that no one can view your data, somewhat like a virtual private network.

Other New Features

There are tons of other features in iOS 15. Here are a few more that stand out. 

• ProRes Video: If you have an iPhone 13 Pro or Pro Max, iOS 15.1 added the ability to record ProRes video, which you can turn on by heading to Settings > Camera > Formats > ProRes. Then, in the camera app, you’ll see a ProRes option in the video tab. This format gives you greater control when editing, but the file sizes are much larger. 
• Auto Macro Toggle: In the iPhone 13 Pro models, the camera switches lenses when you get close to a subject to enable macro mode, but sometimes it keeps switching back and forth. To prevent this, iOS 15.1 now lets you toggle this Auto Macro feature off (Settings > Camera > Auto Macro). Now, to enable Macro, you’ll need to manually switch to the ultrawide camera and move close to a subject. 
• iCloud Backup: You can temporarily back up your data to iCloud, even if you don’t have enough storage, to transfer your data to a new iPhone.
• Weather app: Apple bought the popular Dark Sky weather app last year, and it looks like we’re finally seeing the fruits of that acquisition now. The Weather app has a fresh design, with more detailed graphics, a background that more precisely changes to current weather conditions, and access to high-resolution weather maps.
• Messages: Rather than scrolling through one long message of multiple photos, iMessage now neatly organizes numerous images (sent simultaneously) into a stack you can swipe through. To view all of them at once, you can also tap on the collage icon.
• Visual Look Up: Just like Google Lens, you can point the camera at landmarks, plants, pets, or books, and get information about whatever you’re looking at.
• Mail Privacy Protection: This feature prevents senders from seeing if you opened an email, and it hides your IP address and location.
• Siri: Talking to Siri in iOS 15 is more secure than ever because your audio now doesn’t leave your device. You can control a variety of on-device functions without an internet connection, like asking Siri to turn on Dark mode or set an alarm, and it’ll run much faster.
• Find My: You can now find your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max through the Find My app.

Coming Soon

Apple showed off a majority of the new features available in iOS 15 at its Worldwide Developers Conference this past summer, but not all of them are available at launch. Below are a few that have been delayed.

App Privacy Report

Available by heading to Settings > Privacy > Recent App Activity, this feature will show what apps have been accessing your camera, microphone, location, and photos over a seven-day period. It’ll even highlight what third-party domains the app has contacted, so you can truly see where your data is going. Unfortunately, the pleasant interface you see above isn’t available yet. At the moment, after 7 days, you’ll get a downloadable report that you can only open in a text editor on a PC or Mac. 

Digital Wallet

Apple is constant its quest to take over your bodily pockets. Last 12 months it allow you to add car keys, however in iOS 15, you possibly can add further keys. Add a house key for those who use a wise lock, an entry card you might use to enter your workplace, or a resort room key—Apple says Hyatt is rolling out this performance to 1,000 properties worldwide, and sure, it is possible for you to to faucet your Apple Watch to enter your room.