pple has revealed iOS 13, which means
it’s time to look at all the features and
upgrades coming to our iPhones this
fall. This year’s iOS felt like a mashup
of everything Apple didn’t quite have
ready for iOS 12. While iOS 13 includes
a lot of improvements, it doesn’t have
a cohesive theme. That doesn’t mean
there wasn’t a lot to be excited about.
From privacy and security improve-
ments, to Dark Mode, to the revamped
Maps app with street-level viewing,
here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s new mobile
OS.
Siri
Apple is taking a new approach to Siri, incorporating a deep
learning computer algorithm that will sound much more nat-
ural than what we’re used to. The demo provided at the key-
note was an improvement, although Siri still stumbled when
using uncommon words or phrases. Then again, isn’t that a
very human trait? The end result was eerily realistic and points
in the direction of continued advancements in this area of ma-
chine learning technologies.
Siri is also getting better at automating shortcuts. The Short-
cuts app will include templated options based on your habits
that you’ll be able to customize in the app. Apple promises
this will make Shortcuts easier to use, but we’ll see.
New Siri features are coming to the HomePod and AirPods
too. With multi-user support, Siri on your HomePod will be
able to distinguish between different users and create unique
profi les for each. The new Handoff feature will let you tap
your iPhone on your HomePod to switch your audio source so
that you can keep listening to your music or podcast without
having to pause to fi ddle with your audio settings. You can
also look forward to live radio, which lets you listen to over
100,000 stations from services like iHeartRadio.
Siri will start reading your text messages to you as they
arrive via your AirPods, and you’ll be able to reply quickly
without having to pull out your iPhone. An improvement to
third-party app integration means that in addition to reading
your texts off of iMessage, Siri will be able to read any mes-
sages you receive from third-party apps that are SiriKit en-
abled. You can share your music and podcasts with friends by
putting their AirPods close to your iPhone and iPad, and it’s all
powered by improvements to Siri.
Performance
As always, the new iOS promises signifi cant performance
improvements. We’re looking forward to 30 percent faster
Face ID unlock, app downloads that are 50 percent smaller in
size, software updates that are 60 percent smaller, and apps
that load twice as fast.
“DARK MODE WILL
MAKE NIGHT-TIME
IPHONE AND IPAD USE
MORE COMFORTABLE ON
THE EYES.”
Dark Mode
Ever since Apple
brought Dark Mode
to Macs, users
have been clamor-
ing for it to come to
iOS. Dark Mode will
make night-time
iPhone and iPad
use more comfort-
able on the eyes
and will provide
a sharp, dramatic
look that makes
colors pop. You’ll
be able to put Dark
Mode on a sched-
ule to turn off and
on automatically
at certain times of
the day. From the
demo, Dark Mode
seems well inte-
grated into Apple
apps, and the mode
is available to devel-
opers for third-party
integration.Voice Control
Another big quality-of-life improvement is the new accessi-
bility feature, Voice Control. Voice Control will be available for
iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS, and it will allow users to navigate
the operating system entirely with speech. The demo was
very exciting, and I look forward to testing out this feature
when it becomes available.