Every time Apple releases a new version of iOS, it ends up killing at least a couple of apps and services. Apple keeps a keen eye on the market. What the other players are doing and what’s popular on its own App Store. Some of the new features in the new version of the OS end up being similar to competitor’s offering. Sometimes, Apple just rips off whole independent apps from the App Store.
And once the default functionality is available on the OS itself, there’s little motivation or a majority of the users to look for alternatives. Plus, because Apple designs the feature themselves, the integration ends up being way more reliable (not to mention feature rich).
It’s the same story with iOS 12. Let’s take a look at the apps, services and standalone features that Apple killed with the iOS 12 release.
Read more: iOS 12: All the New and Hidden iOS 12 Features
1. Bitmoji
RIP Bitmoji now that looks nothing like you. Because surprisingly accurate looking Memoji is here. Based on the Animoji feature, you can now create your own custom Animoji. The process of building your Animoji is similar to Bitmoji. You pick attributes like the shape of your face, hairstyle, eyes, nose, lips and so on. Memoji has a wide variety of options and you can even minutely tweak things like the hair color. This means that your Memoji will look at lot closer to your real life face.
Plus, here’s one thing you can’t do with Bitmoji – overlay it on your own face, in the live camera view in both Messages and FaceTime! Yes, you can now take selfies with your Memoji as your face!
Read more: How to Create and Use Memoji on iOS 12
2. Moment
Until now, Moment was the best app for screen time tracking on the iPhone. And even then it wasn’t always reliable. It worked based on a hack. The app would ask you to take period screenshots of the battery usage and from there, it would try to figure out how much time you spent in each app.
But now, there’s a default feature in iOS 12 called Screen Time that gives you access to detailed statistics about your entire iPhone usage. You can see exactly how much time you spent in an app, how many times you picked up your phone and more. Plus, you get access to features like App Limits and Downtime that will help you reduce the time you spend on your iPhone or iPad.
Read more: How to Use Screen Time and App Limits in iOS 12 To Reduce Distractions
3. Workflow
This one is a happy story. Apple acquired Workflow last year and now they’ve basically integrated the entire automation system in iOS, linking it with Siri. Workflow app has become the new Shortcuts app. And all the basic features from Workflow are there. You can stack actions on top of one another to create a workflow. But now it’s a lot better. You can initiate workflows using Siri. Siri will also proactively suggest workflows for you as you keep using your device.
Read more: Siri Shortcuts in iOS 12: Everything You Need to Know
4. Google Photos
One of the things Google Photos did better than the Apple Photos app was sharing and search. iOS 12 improves on both fronts. The new photo sharing features are especially interesting. Photos app will automatically create collections for you to share with your friends based on the right context. You can associate a contact with a corresponding face and the app will remember this.
In a collection, you’ll get an option to share all photos instantly with the multiple people who are in the photos. The photos will be shared using iMessage. And once they accept the invite, they’ll be prompted to add photos back to the collection. The Search section of the app is also much better now. You can search for multiple terms in the same search field now.
Read more: How to Use Smart Photo Sharing in iOS 12
5. Houseparty
Houseparty was the app that started the trend of group video calls with more than a dozen users. The app made it easy for people to drop in and out of a video call. The video calls were arranged like rooms inside of a house (that’s where the app gets its name).
The new FaceTime app basically does the same thing. You can now have a video call in FaceTime with uptown 32 people. But what’s interesting is that you can put up a link to join a FaceTime call in an iMessage group. So anyone can join in and drop out as and when they please. You don’t need to manually add 10 people to a call.
Read more: FaceTime Group Call in iOS 12: Everything You Need to Know
6. AR Measure Apps
iOS 11 gave us ARKit. And with it, AR measurement apps. With iOS 12, Apple is bundling its own AR measurement app called Measure. It’s a very basic app that you can use to measure the distance between two points. The Measure app’s feature set is quite basic right now. So while some basic measurement apps have been taken care of, there’s still room for professional level AR measurement apps on the App Store.
Read more: How to Use The New Measure App in iOS 12
7. Snapchat
First Instagram stole Snapchat’s thunder and now it’s Apple’s turn. In the new iMessage and FaceTime camera view, Apple is bundling some amazing effects. They’re the kind of artists, fun filters that were made famous by apps like Snapchat and Prisma.
8. Password Managers
iOS 12 gives you a lot of reasons to use iCloud Keychain. First of all, there’s tight integration with iCloud Keychain everywhere in the OS. No matter where you are – an app or a website if you’re looking at a login and password field, you’ll have access to iOS 12’s new password manager.
You can quickly paste in login details from any of the saved combinations. Plus, when you’re using an iPhone X, the authentication happens automatically using Face ID. You don’t need to do anything! Similarly, iOS 12 will help you generate strong passwords, will prompt you to save passwords that you’re logging in with and a lot more.
What Did iOS 12 Kill For You?
What are some of the killer new features in iOS 12 that you’re excited about? What is something revolutionary in iOS 12 that has obligated the need for an app or service you used previously? Share with us in the comments below.
