Here are the best features from Apple's latest iOS 15
On the surface, iOS 15 might not look all that different from iOS 14, but the new update offers a slew of useful features that will make you want to use your iPhone more (or less, for that matter). The company recently concluded its WWDC event wherein, the brand announced the latest iteration of its mobile operating system that's scheduled to hit iPhones globally this fall. I managed to get my hands on the developer preview for iOS 15 and having used it for a bit, here's what I make of it.
Now, first and foremost, you should know that Apple announced a bunch of upgrades for its native apps running on iOS 15. You can now add a custom audio mix in the Photos app to relive your favourite moments with a splash of music from - you guessed it - your favourite artist. The company has also revamped the weather app to offer more dynamic backdrops that change as per the conditions. And, if you have always abided by Safari on iOS, then you're in for a treat as the company has overhauled the app's UI, making the browser more one-hand friendly. Safari also supports browser extensions and tab groups now, so, if you're like me and have a bunch of articles open online, you can now simply add them to, say, a reading tab group which should help you declutter your active tabs on the browser. All great stuff, really.
That said, in my short stint with the new update, I found some features that look especially interesting. These include the all-new Focus mode, the modernised Notifications Centre, FaceTime (which has witnessed some big upgrades too) and Live Text, which makes documenting and articulating text that much easier. Let's take a closer look at these features.
I could be preaching to a choir here but I spend an awful amount of time on Instagram and Twitter. Of course, I try to restrict myself during work hours but I still refresh my social media feeds more times than I'd care to admit. Well, if you find yourself in a similar pickle then fret not, as iOS 15 brings with it a brand-new feature dubbed Focus. As its moniker suggests, the utility will help you prioritise your work and can be accessed from the control centre, or from within the settings menu. Now, before you get your pitchforks out, let me set the record straight - Apple isn't the first to the scene with a ‘Focus mode' and we've already seen similar initiatives from Google as well as OnePlus.
Of course, merely muting notifications sent via apps might not cut it for some users. To that note, Apple's Focus mode lets you choose the home screen pages that are visible when you're working too. So, you could create a custom home page with all your work-related applications and use the Focus mode to display just that when you're earning your daily bread. In the same vein, you can create and use different Focus modes for other activities like fitness, entertainment etc. Now, do note that, unlike OnePlus' Zen Mode, you can easily bypass Apple's Focus mode by opening restricted apps directly from the app drawer. So, even with the feature in place, you will need to ‘will yourself' to not cheat the system.
Up next is Live Text, which allows users to extract the text from any photo and copy it to another app. Of course, Google beat Apple to the punch here too and you can achieve similar results via Google Lens. That said, Apple claims that all the computation pertaining to Live Text happens "on-device", which will surely keep the user's privacy concerns at bay. So, how does the feature work? Well, you can simply point your phone's camera to any image with text on it. The viewfinder will automatically bracket the text in the photo and give you an option to copy it seamlessly. As an example, in the image attached below, you can see that the viewfinder instantly picks up on the write-up for this article.
FaceTime has arguably seen the most improvements of any app in iOS 15. Not only does the latest iteration of the app lets users neatly collate the attendees in a grid view, but the company is also allowing Android and Windows users a peek inside its walled garden by letting them join FaceTime calls too. Now, don't get your hopes too high - FaceTime is still exclusive to iOS, but iPhone users can now generate a link for the FaceTime call which can be accessed by Windows and Android users through a web browser. I did put the company's claims to test but unfortunately, I couldn't quite get the feature to work. While I could generate a shareable link, my friends couldn't join the call.
All things considered, iOS 15 brings a lot of quality of life changes that will be greatly appreciated by iPhone users. The public beta is expected to roll out in the month of July, with the stable release scheduled for the fall. Stay tuned to our blog for more news and information on everything Apple, and let us know your favourite feature from the iOS 15 developer build in the comments below.