12 Most Important New Features Coming to iOS 12 This Month

On September 17, iOS 12 finally became available for the masses. Apple initially introduced the newest version of its iOS operating system on June 4 at the keynote event of the Worldwide Developers Conference and since then a lot has changed.

However, not much has changed aesthetically in iOS 12. The focus is on polish and user experience. iOS 12 is also full of useful new features and the ability to run new apps like Shortcuts which wasn't possible previously.

In addition to those benefits, iOS 12 is a fantastic upgrade to iOS 11 because it brings back all of the great features you were used to, however now the operating system is able to run much more efficiently and should increase the battery life of your iPhone or iPad.

Apple has tirelessly reworked and rebuilt iOS for enhance performance even on older devices. In iOS 12 users will notice much smoother animations, apps load faster, and so much more. Even iPhone 5s owners will see substantial performance gains when using their device running iOS 12. But that's not all! Continue reading to learn about the biggest changes in iOS 12!

12 New Shortcuts App

In 2017, Apple purchased the popular Workflow app. The app has been polished and integrated deeply into Siri. Using the new app, you can create multi-step actions that can be triggered by Siri. If you’ve ever used the popular service IFTTT, it’s like that but all centered around Siri. For example, you could create a shortcut to do something like turn on your AC at home using the Nest app, text your significant other that you're on the way with Messages and open up the Maps app with directions home all with a single "I'm going home" Siri command.

11 Useful Siri Suggestions

In iOS 12, Siri is getting better at proactively suggesting actions you frequently perform in iOS. Siri will suggest things like calling back someone after a missed call, opening directions in Maps when it’s time to go home from work and messaging someone you frequently talk to at a certain time. Siri will also suggest opening apps like Starbucks you generally open every morning at a certain time. What will make the suggestions feature even more useful is it will also suggest the multi-step Shortcuts you frequently use.

10 Do Not Disturb Improvements

Do Not Disturb in iOS 12 is enhanced in several ways. My personal favorite is the new Bedtime mode that hides all of your incoming notifications at nighttime, so all you see is the time and date. The idea is to allow you to glance at your phone at night without being distracted by notifications. There are also a few new Do Not Disturb options like turning on Do Not Disturb for one hour, until tomorrow morning or until you leave a set location.

9 Stacked Notifications

For many people, the notifications overhaul will be their favorite new feature. In iOS 12, notifications will finally be grouped together. This change makes a world of difference, but Apple didn’t stop there. You will also be able to manage notifications straight from the lock screen rather than being forced to dig through the Settings menu.

8 Screen Time

Curbing the use of iOS devices and encouraging a healthier balance of screen-on time is an important focus in iOS 12. Apple has introduced an appropriately named new feature to help. It’s called Screen Time. Screen Time details how much time you’re spending on your device and breaks things down by individual apps and categories. It also shows you how many times you check your iPhone every day and lets you see which apps are sending you the most notifications.

To help curb your use, Screen Time gives you some new management options. Downtime lets you schedule time when only certain notifications and calls will come through. App Limits lets you create limits for certain apps and will remind you when you’ve been using a certain app too long. These features will also be useful to parents in managing their children’s devices.

7 Animoji and Memoji

iPhones with a TrueDepth camera system will get some new Animoji features in iOS 12. Adding new Animoji to the roster is becoming pretty common with major iOS releases, and this time around Apple is adding a ghost, koala, tiger and Tyrannosaurus rex.

But perhaps most importantly Animoji will now be able to detect when you’re sticking your tongue out. Animoji recordings will also last up to 30 seconds, up from 10 seconds in iOS 11.

Apple has also added a new customizable feature called Memoji. With Memoji, you can make a personalized Animoji in the Messages app that looks just like you. Memoji includes a large set of customization options like skin color, hair color, hair style, eye color, eyebrows, nose, features like freckles and facial hair, accessories and headwear.

6 ARKit 2

ARKit 2.0 brings improvements that include better face tracking, more realistic rendering, 3D object detection, persistent experiences and shared experiences. In layman terms, the AR experience in iOS 12 will be much better. Perhaps most exciting is what Apple called shared experiences which will allow you to play augmented reality games and use augmented reality apps alongside your friends for a true multiplayer augmented reality experience.

5 Measure

iOS 12 will include a new Apple-designed augmented reality app called Measure. This is Apple’s first app built using ARKit 2. As I’m sure you guessed, Measure lets you measure lines and object dimensions with just a few taps in augmented reality.

4 Messages

The Messages app will get a new Effects camera that lets you add fun effects when you add a photo to a message. Tapping on the star left of the camera takes you to a selection of filters, shapes, text and text effects, stickers (which can be downloaded from the iMessage App Store) and drawing tools that can be added on top of photos before you send them.

3 Photos

The biggest update to Photos in iOS 12 is a brand new tab called For You. The For You tab combines Memories and iCloud Shared Albums. It will also help you share your photos with friends, family and on social media. Sharing suggestions show up right at the top of the For You section. But Apple is taking sharing a step further. When you receive shared photos, you will also be prompted to send back any photos you have that are from the same event, time or location.

2 Carplay

CarPlay in iOS 12 will finally support third-party navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze for the first time! This is great news for users who prefer to use something other than Apple Maps for navigation.

1 Apple Music

Apple Music will get a revamped artists page in iOS 12 with larger portraits and the ability to play an artist's music using a shuffle button directly on the artist’s page. You can also search for songs using lyrics.

These are the best iOS 12 features that have been announced. But stayed tuned to iDrop News for more coverage of iOS 12 and all the announcements from Apple’s September event.