iOS 13 New Features
1. Sign in With Apple
Most third-party apps now have the option to sign in with Google, Facebook or Twitter so that users can easily use a new service without making a separate account. Apple has decided to add to this with a “Sign In with Apple” option. According to Apple, while Facebook and Google track the user’s data once they’ve signed in, when a user signs in with their Apple account, their information is safe and encrypted.
Users will also have the option to hide their Email Address from third parties in which Apple will make a temporary bridge email address which will auto-forward all the emails to the user’s primary email address without revealing it. In fact, to encourage this privacy, Apple has asked all the developers to include Sign in with Apple button on top of Sign in with Google and Sign in With Facebook options.
2. Dark Mode
Dark Mode is the hot, new feature for the iOS but also the smartphone industry in general. While Android has had it for years, the only way iPhone users could previously get it was to jailbreak their devices. Well, not anymore. iOS 13 comes with a system-wide built-in dark mode which looks beautiful.
Dark Mode on iOS 13 can be triggered manually or scheduled. It also comes with a host of wallpapers which change their theme according to light or dark mode. There is also a new toggle in the Control Centre to turn it on and off, which is helpful for accessing it quickly. Not only does Dark Mode look better on the AMOLED displays of the iPhone X, XS, and XS Max, it also improves the battery life.
3. Photos
The Photos app was due for an upgrade and with iOS 13, Apple has totally revamped it. The main Photos tab now has an all-new interface which filters through the clutter like screenshots, photos of receipts etc to put forward memories that really matter. There is also an option to categorize your photos by day, month or year. Of course, if you don’t need any filters and prefer to see all your images together like iOS 12, they have retained that UI too.
To make the experience more lively, live photos and videos will now automatically start playing on mute. It will automatically decide which photos look better and enlarge them. There’s also categorizations based on the location, festival, and even concert performers. They’ve also gone the extra mile and based on the music you hear, added short 1.5 second clips to the background of automatically generated slideshows.
4. Video Editor
In addition to this, Apple has also included a more functional photo and video editor in iOS 13. Now, users can tap each edit they made to see how that particular adjustment affects the photo. The intensity of filters can also be modified numerically, something that wasn’t possible before. In addition to all this, there is also a more capable video editor than iOS 12. Previously, all you could do on the Photos Video Editor was crop the video. Now there are options to adjust the exposure, contrast, brightness and more.
5. New Volume Interface
For quite some time now, Apple has had this really antique looking volume changing HUD which is a large, translucent square box right in the middle of the display. This is really obtrusive and irritating to users when gaming or watching videos. Apple has fixed this now with a better, more modern looking UI which is highly functional, minimal and non-obtrusive.
6. Files
The Files app is also down for a huge functionality upgrade in iOS 13. Now, there is a separate Download folder which can be used to store any file downloaded over the internet using Safari. In addition to this, there is also an option to create a local file structure in the sandbox, for better file management.
Files also bring support for USB OTG, which Apple has been lacking for years now. In addition, users in work environments can now also connect to SMB servers. Files also include the option to create and extract ZIP files this time around.
7. Books
Milestones on the Apple Watch has been insanely popular with fitness freaks who love setting goals and competing among themselves. With iOS 13, Apple hopes to bring along the same competitiveness to people who love reading by introducing Milestones. Users can now set goals and milestones, create streaks and even win awards. Milestones in Books supports both traditional reading books and audiobooks.
8. Apple Maps
While Apple Maps hasn’t been very popular, thanks to Google Maps, Apple has been working hard to improve it. Apple Maps now included Look-Around view, which is Apple’s version of street-view in a nutshell. There’s also Collections, which lets users access the list of best restaurants, cafes, museums etc. around them.
In addition, users can now share ETAs, look at live transit updates and even get recommendations for when to leave to make it to certain events like flights or a movie.
9. Memoji and Animoji
Memojis are tiny characters, similar to Animojis, which you can create and customize to looks like you and your friends. Every contact can be assigned a memoji. In iOS 13, there are more options than ever to add details into every aspect of the look of a memoji be it glasses, headgear, teeth, makeup to even piercings. In addition, these Memojis can also be used as stickers in iMessage.
Animoji is also improved with better performance and introduction of 3 new characters- octopus, cow, and mouse.
10. Camera
Hate it or love it, iOS has one of the most popular Camera UI in the industry. Now, users will have an option to increase or decrease the intensity of portrait lighting in the Camera app. Bringing the light closer to the subject will smoothen the skin, brighten the eyes and sharpen the features. Conversely, moving the light away from the subject will bring a more real-life look to the captured picture. Read: Best RAW camera apps for iPhone/iPad
In addition to this, there is also a new High-Key Mono effect, which creates a beautiful, classic look with a monochromatic subject on a white background.
11. Siri
Siri has often been called out for lagging behind Google Assistant, but things might change in iOS 13. Its intelligence has now been revamped to include suggestions in Podcasts, Safari, and Maps. In addition, Siri will also be able to detect reminders in messages and other third-party apps.
There’s also SiriKit, which will allow better integration between third-party audio apps like Spotify and voice commands on Siri. For Indian users, there is also a new Indian English voice in that particular accent.
12. Control Centre
On the Control Centre, users now have the option to force-touch on the WiFi or Bluetooth icon to select which network or device they want to connect to. This will save a lot of time when compared to opening the Settings app and going on the separate pages for Bluetooth or Wifi. Unfortunately, Wifi and Bluetooth can still not be turned off completely from the Control Centre on iOS 13.
13. Reminder
The iOS Reminders app is probably the most forgotten and minimum app in past iOS versions. iOS 13 brings a host of new features to Reminders to the point where it just seems like an all-new app built from the grounds up. We have a new quick toolbar to add flags, bullets, and even attachments. Siri has also been enhanced to suggest Reminders based on our usage history.
But the most important update is the new user interface and user experience. There is a whole new way of looking at and creating reminders on iOS 13 including customizable list appearances and smart lists.
14. Keyboard
Apple has finally brought QuickPath to its default keyboard. QuickPath works just like Swype on Android keyboards. There’s also Alternate Word Prediction, which will suggest alternate words that can be used instead of the word that was just typed. In addition, Dictation will now automatically detect what language the user is speaking without having to change it using the Globe Icon, like iOS 12. Also Read: Best iPad Keyboard apps to get extra features
15. Airpods
With iOS 13, 2nd generation AirPods now have the ability to announce all incoming messages when a user’s phone is out of reach. In addition, 2 pairs of Airpods can now be paired to a single iPhone to allow Shared Listening between 2 users. Also Read: How to change your AirPods’ Name on any device
16. Health
The biggest feature coming to Health on iOS 13 is Cycle Tracking, which can be used to track menstrual cycles and even predict the next 3 cycles and a fertile window. There’s also Cycle Summarisation and Visualisation to track past cycles for reference. In addition, Health also comes with a new summarised view that dynamically presents information. There’s also new dynamic charts and graphs to better represent a person’s track record.
Users of smart brushes can rejoice because you can now pair your smart brush to the Health app where it will help track your tooth-brushing time. There’s also noise and audio detection where it will tell whether the noise around you and the volume of your speakers is Ok or Loud.
17. Optimized Battery Charging
Battery health deterioration is a serious concern, especially for people who plan to keep their devices for 2-3 years or even longer. With iOS 13, Optimised Battery Charging will study the charging patterns of that device and user and alter the charging pattern to minimize loss of battery health. Keeping batteries for a long time at maximum charge is detrimental to them and this feature will immensely help people who are used to charging their devices while they sleep.
18. Performance Boost
Apple has been under the heat a lot of times when newer software updates slowed down older iPhones, sometimes even making them unusable. They fixed this in iOS 12 where speed on older devices was a major focus point and with iOS 13, they’ve decided to take it a step further. Apple claims that iOS 13 has reduced App-opening times by 50% and improved the overall smoothness and speed of the UI. On our iPhone XS Max running iOS 13 Beta, there was a noticeable difference. In addition to this, there is also a new file repackaging format for apps which has reduced the app size and app update size by half. In addition to this, users can now download large apps using cellular data.
19. Game Controller Support
iOS devices usually have industry-leading SOCs with immense processing power and graphic capabilities. This leads to an amazing gaming experience with console-level graphics. To make the experience even more console-like, Apple has decided to introduce support for PS4 Dualshock 4 and Xbox One Controllers. Both these controllers connect via Bluetooth and are an excellent add-on for people who game a lot on their iPhones or iPads.
20. Find My and Offline Devices
From iOS 13 onwards, Find My iPhone and Find My Friends will be combined into the Find My app. This app will show the location of your own devices and that of your friends on the same map. Of course, this is more of a streamlining process than adding functionality.
However, one amazing thing with iOS 13 is the ability to find the location of offline iOS devices. When a device is lost, the thieves are often quick to turn off WiFI and Mobile Data. With iOS 13, as soon as a user puts their device in Lost Mode, it will turn on it’s Bluetooth and look for nearby iOS devices. As soon as it detects one, the nearby device will be used to ping the lost device’s location to the owner. All of this will be end-to-end encrypted and will definitely help more stolen iPhones to be recovered.
21. Long Press
One of the features of iPhone Xs Max which I wanted on iPhone SE was the 3D touch. It is not as snappy as 3D touch but you can now long press to peek and pop just like 3D touch. Weirdly you can do that on iPhone Xs Max as well. Long Press on an app icon to reveal a set of quick actions, long press a link in Safari to load a preview, and more cool things like that. This is one of my favorite features on iOS13. Read: Best iPhone Xs and iPhone Xs Max features you’re not using
22. Smart Screenshots
If you’ve ever used an Android phone, you know the dread of taking a screenshot on those devices. Apple with iOS 13 fixed this problem entirely so even if you accidentally press the volume button while taking a screenshot, it will automatically hide when a screenshot is captured. Android can really learn from them.
23. Smart Share sheet
I can not stress enough how much the Share Sheet has improved on iOS13. For instance, you no longer get Airdrop recipients on the top, instead of that you get an Airdrop icon along with all the other apps. Share Sheet also suggests you downloaded Shortcuts in the Share Sheet depending upon the context. If you try to share an image with faces in it, it can match and show those contacts as options in the Sheet. It’s highly intuitive.
24. Automation
Siri Shortcuts is one of the most underrated features on iOS 13, if you’ve never used one then you should check out this list. iOS 13 brings Automations to the Shortcuts which would let you run scripts made in Shortcuts app automatically. The triggers can be events like Time of Day, Alarm, etc or GPS based locations, or even NFC based triggers. These events will vary depending on your iPhone model which means iPhone SE misses out on triggers like NFC. The cherry on top, these automation scripts are not just limited to your iPhone, you would be able to create scripts that would control your Home appliances that support HomeKit.
25. Save Webpages on Safari
Safari can now let you share entire webpages as PDFs or web archives. Not only that, you can save it to Files, print or edit using the native Markup tools. Tap the share button on a webpage to reveal the options.
26. Full Page Screenshot in Safari
Capturing Screenshots of a webpage has never been easier. You can now take full-page screenshots in the Safari web browser natively. Just capture a screenshot, tap the preview, and select full-page screenshot. Sweet. However, you can’t take full page screenshots on other apps, you’d have to download third-party full page screenshot apps for that.
27. Scroll using the bar
Another cool feature on iOS 13 is fast scrolling on a webpage. You can long-press or 3D touch the scroll bar to scroll the webpage quickly. It works on both the phones similarly and actually comes in handy when you have to quickly navigate to the bottom of the page.
28. Uncompress Zip Files
iOS has had support for Zip files for a while but it has never been easy to extract the contents. iOS 13 makes it super easy to uncompress the Zip within the Files app. Better late than never.
29. Swipe to Undo
I’ve always found iPhone’s shake to undo a little overkill, thankfully, with iOS 13 you don’t have to look like a fool in public spaces. Whenever you wish to undo while typing, simply swipe three fingers to the left and it would automatically erase whatever is in the text box. I agree it is not the best way to do it but it would grow on you and you won’t miss shake to undo ever.
Closing Words
So, this was the list of some of our favorite features of iOS 13 after using it extensively. Using the beta makes us really excited for the final, stable version when every user will get the chance to use it. Did you get a chance to use iOS 13? What features are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments section below
