70 MACWORLD AUGUST 2021
FEATURE i OS 15D
uring its WWDC keynote
presentation in June, Apple
took the wraps off iOS 15.
While new hardware is
always exciting, iOS is maybe Apple’s
most important and impactful product of
all, as it gets installed on over a billion
iPhones around the world. Due to
release this fall with a beta test starting
right away, it’s full of new features and
changes both big and small. These are
the big features that will have the
biggest impact on iPhone users with iOS
15’s release.
FACETIME
FaceTime is getting a big boost in iOS 15.
Spatial audio will separate out voices so
group chats sound more natural. A new
grid view shows everyone the same size
and highlights the person talking. New
microphone modes make it easier for
others to hear you—Isolation Mode
eliminates background sounds to focus on
your voice, while Wide Spectrum is the
opposite, taking in all the sounds around
you. Portrait mode is coming to FaceTime
too, blurring the background automatically.
FaceTime can let you know when you’re
talking while muted, too.
Perhaps the biggest
news is FaceTime Links.
You can generate a link for
a future FaceTime call and
send the link to anyone in
any app, or attach it to a
calendar event. And in a
huge change, users on
Windows or Android can
click on these links and
join your FaceTime call on
the web.SHAREPLAY
Apple is making iOS 15 all
about sharing. The
company has a huge
number of new sharing
features it collects underFaceTime links can be opened in a browser on non-Apple
devices!