#iOS - Page 2

With iOS 18, your iPhone will still show the time even with a dead battery. This is all thanks to an improvement made to the existing Power Reserve mode, which has been responsible for allowing Find My tracking and NFC unlocking on iPhones.

Apple has finally introduced call recording functionality for iPhones with iOS 18. The feature will use AI for call recording and transcription.

According to a recent report by Mark Gurman, Apple is likely to introduce a new Passwords App in the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. Apple already offers a Password feature, but it's hidden deep inside the Settings app. Like the existing Password feature, the new standalone Passwords app will be powered by Apple's iCloud Keychain service. The Passwords app is expected to make a debut on June 10, Day one of WWDC 2024 where Apple will unveil its software updates to iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

According to Mark Gurman's latest newsletter, the on-device AI features may be restricted to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, plus the upcoming iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models. This is likely because the A17 Pro chipset has made a huge jump in terms of capabilities and performance. The A17 Pro chipset boasts 8GB integrated RAM, significantly faster CPU and GPU cores, and a new 16-core Neural Engine that can perform up to 35 trillion operations per second. With this exclusivity, Apple might also want users to upgrade to the latest "Pro" models.

According to Mark Gurman's latest report, the upcoming iOS 18 and macOS 15 will arrive with an array of new AI features like auto-generated emojis, replies suggestions in emails and messages, and more. The tech giant will integrate a set of AI tools into core apps like Safari, Notes, and Photos. The less computing-intensive AI features will be entirely processed on the device, and the more demanding ones will be pushed to the cloud.

According to a report by AppleInsider, the upcoming iOS 18 will bring a "Smart Song Transition" feature that allows a user to adjust the crossfade duration and pick between one and twelve seconds. It might dynamically apply the Crossfade effect to the track a user is playing. Also, iOS 18 might also bring a new Spatial Gaming mode and other audio improvements. Apple is also reportedly exploring a new feature called "Passthrough" for ‌Apple Music‌ and QuickTime Player.

According to Mark Gurman, the upcoming iOS 18 will focus on "proactive intelligence" and aim to improve Siri's voice capabilities, giving it a more conversational feel. The AI features include the auto-summarization feature for notifications, providing quick synopses of news articles, transcribing voice memos, and improving calendar suggestions. Despite some AI enhancements, Apple's proprietary chatbot will still be missing. To cater to consumer demands, Apple is reportedly teaming up with OpenAI to integrate the startup’s technology into iOS 18.

Apple started rolling out the iOS 17.5 update on May 13, 2024. Now, there are some reports from iOS users claiming their iPhone is bringing back old deleted photos out of nowhere after updating to iOS 17.5. In some cases, the photos which were deleted some years ago have started resurfacing in the user's photo libraries. This could be due to an indexing bug or a syncing issue between Apple devices and iCloud Photos.

Apple previewed some exciting accessibility features arriving later this year with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and visionOS 2. Some of the major iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 accessibility features include Eye Tracking, Music Haptics, Vocal Shortcuts, Vehicle Motion cues, and CarPlay improvements. Eye tracking will allow iPhone and iPad users to navigate their devices with just their eyes and will work across iOS and iPadOS apps.

Apple has released the new iOS 17.5 update to iPhones, bringing significant enhancements to iPhone tracking and security. The updates comes with Cross-Platform Tracking Detection, a new "Repair State" mode inside the Find My app, Pride wallpapers, a new word game inside News+ app, and Podcast widgets.

According to a recent report by Mark Gurman, the upcoming iOS 18 might overhaul some of the most popular Apple's built-in apps, including Mail, Notes, Photos, and Fitness. Besides, Apple Maps, Notes, and Calculator apps are also expected to receive some great updates. The overall OS is likely to get an overhaul with a series of design tweaks that will make the app designs more “modular” and “easier to update and customize”.

According to a recent report by Mark Gurman, Apple is developing its own large language model (LLM) to bring AI features to iPhones. This means Apple's AI features will run on-device and not cloud services like the existing AI services. The on-device models offer faster responses than sending requests through a cloud service. That said, on-device models are also less capable when it comes to complex tasks.

With iOS 18, Apple is gearing up to build a capable rival to the OneNote app. The upcoming iOS 18 is expected to bring support for recording audio to the Apple Notes app. Users would be able to record voice memos in the Notes app, which can be then embedded in the notes on purpose. Also, the Notes app may also gain support for displaying mathematical notation in the notes.

According to a code discovered by MacRumors, Apple is gearing up to add Topographic Maps to Apple Maps in iOS 18, macOS 15, and visionOS 2. Topographic Maps include several features that provide more accurate navigation for hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. The upcoming iOS 18 might also bring a Google Maps feature, custom routes to Apple Maps.

Apple's iOS 18 is expected to offer a revamped and more customizable Home Screen experience. The iPhone users would get greater control over the Home Screen arrangement, where they can create gaps between widgets and app icons within the home screen grid. Other iOS 18 features might include a smarter Siri 2.0, RCS messaging support, and hearing mode for AirPod Pro.

Apple acquired a Canadian AI startup DarwinAI earlier this year to build its AI team. DarwinAI specializes in developing smaller and more efficient AI systems. This could be a big step towards integrating on-device AI capabilities in upcoming product lineups. We might get to see new AI features in Siri, Shortcuts, Messages, and more at WWDC 2024.

Apple has outed iOS 17.4 with new emojis, sideloading feature in the EU, improvements to the Stolen Device Protection feature and more. If you're in EU, you can now sideload apps from third-party app stores after installing iOS 17.4. Moreover, iOS 17.4 also brings a couple of bug fixes and security updates.

Apple releases iOS 17.3.1 and iPadOS 17.3.1 updates that fix a bug that could cause text to unexpectedly duplicate or overlap while typing. The update doesn't address any other bugs or bring any new features. To install iOS 17.3.1 on your iPhone, go to Settings -> General -> Software Update -> Download and Install. Apple is working on iOS 17.4 which brings some new additions and is expected to roll out in March.

Apple released the details on the adoption numbers for iOS 17 for the first time. The numbers show that the adoption of iOS 17 is slower than iOS 16. According to Apple, iOS 17 is installed on 76% of iPhones launched in the last four years. This data is measured by devices that transacted on the App Store until February 4, 2024. On the flip side, the pace of iPadOS 17 adoption is faster than iPadOS 16.

Apple's iOS 18 could be the biggest software update in the history of iPhones, as per Mark Gurman. The next-gen iOS 18 is expected to enhance the user experience with its impressive features. Generative AI will be the stepping-stone for iOS 18, enhancing Siri and Messages more smartly. Also, iOS 18 will support RCS to enhance the default communication between iPhone and Android users.

A latest report by the Wall Street Journal says that Apple will charge users to sideload apps from third-party app stores in Europe. It is also believed that the tech titan will put an app reviewing system for the apps sideloaded from external sources. While the amount os unclear as of now, it is expected that Apple will rollout sideloading in iOS 17 with the release of iOS 17.4.

iOS 17.3 introduces advanced security features like Stolen Device Protection, emphasizing biometric authentication for sensitive actions when not in a familiar location to protect you against stolen passcodes. The update also brings collaborative Apple Music Playlists and allows content steaming to TVs in select hotels.

Apple rolled out iOS 17.3 Beta 2 but quickly pulled it due to a reported boot loop issue encountered by users worldwide. It is being reported that the issue is caused by a setting related to the "Back Tap" feature. Apple is investigating the problem, aiming to resolve it before re-releasing a more stable version of the beta.

India's Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In), which comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has highlighted major high-risk security vulnerabilities in Apple products running iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, and even the latest macOS Sonoma 14.2 update. This can allow attackers to access users' sensitive details.

Apple has finally released the iOS 17.2 update for all iPhone users after beta-testing for a while and this includes a number of new features like the Journal app, along with bug fixes.