The biggest features coming to iOS 13

Apple had its 2019 Worldwide Developer Conference, better known as WWDC recently in San Jose, California. At these yearly conferences Apple announces it’s upcoming products and software. This year they announced their new $6000 Mac Pro with a design that has a striking resemblance to a cheese grater, but what most people are going to be excited for the upcoming iPhone and iPad operating system, iOS 13. Here are the biggest changes coming in the update.

Perhaps the most exciting and useful feature to be included in this iOS update is the addition of a system-wide dark mode. Dark mode will work in all Apple-issued apps such as Messages and Photos. There will also be dark mode compatible wallpapers that will turn the background black when the feature is enabled. Non-dark mode wallpapers will also be dimmed to make them easier on your eyes. Third-party app developers will also be able to integrate the feature into their app, so you’ll be able to open an app like Instagram or Twitter in the dark without blinding yourself.

The iPhone will be getting the addition of an extremely useful feature that Android has had for a while now called swipe typing. Rather than typing all the letters out one-by-one to create words, you swipe from one letter to the other and release the screen when the word is finished. This can be faster than regular typing once master, which is quick and easy to do, and makes it easier to use your phone one hand. It automatically handles things like typos and apostrophes.

iOS 13 will allow for a pretty big performance boost. Many may find that their iPhone seems slower than they remember and this update may fix that. Tests conducted on iPhone X and iPhone Xs show that with iOS 13 apps launch up to two times faster and will be smaller in download size. Face ID will also unlock up to 30% faster, which some may find as a relief as some people have issues with the feature being slow.

Those who take lots of photos will be happy to hear that the Photos app will be getting an update. The photos tab in the Photos app will be reorganised to now show your best moments from each day, month and year. The photo editing system is also laid out better and quite similar to Instagram’s. The addition of powerful video editing will enable you to edit videos just like photos by adding filters, cropping, rotating and auto enhancing. The final photo feature is an upgrade to Portrait Lighting. You can change the intensity of all effects including the new effect, monochrome.

According to Apple the new map “reveals more about the world around you,” and it does. The new map will have more details for roads, beaches, parks, buildings and more. Maps will also be getting a street view feature that will allow you to explore streets in 360 degrees. This feature is similar to Google Maps Street View feature, but meant to be smoother and seamless.

Siri will be getting a new and more realistic voice. By using neural text-to-speech technology Siri will sound more human and less robotic. Siri will also be able to work better with apps by using the built-in Shortcuts app. AirPod owners can have Siri read out your incoming messages so you don’t need to pull out your phone to read them, and you will be given the option to immediately reply with your voice.

Three new Animoji characters are coming to iOS 13. You will be able to send personal messages to your friends and family with new Octopus, Cow and Mouse Animoji. Furthermore, Memoji is getting a lot of new customization options. With iOS 13 you will be make your Memoji more like you with more hairstyles, headware, makeup, piercings, and of course, AirPods. A brand new Memoji feature is also coming called Memoji Stickers. This is a feature that all devices from the iPhone 6S to iPhone Xs will be getting as it doesn’t require the TrueDepth camera to function. You can send preset images/stickers or your Memoji or any Animoji in Messages, Mail and more.

Messages will be getting minor yet useful additions. A new feature will allow you to create an iMessage profile. Your iMessage profile will include a Memoji profile picture and your full name so when you contact people who don’t have you in their contacts they will know who you are, as long as they too have an iPhone or iPad.

iOS 13 is going to be packed with over 60 new features, some obviously more exciting than others. Dark Mode is definitely going to be used by many considering how many people use the feature considering it already exists in apps like YouTube and Twitter. With the convenience of swiping up the Control Center and pressing the Dark Mode button to enable it many people will enjoy it, and judging by those who have tried the beta already the feature is seamless.

Image: Apple