Yesterday, Apple officially announced the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the company’s pair of flagships that will be running iOS 10 out of the box.
But with so many eligible devices out there in the wild ready for iOS 10 in their own right, Apple is readying the public release of their latest mobile operating system next week. The company seeded the iOS 10 Golden Master (GM) to developers yesterday, and now it is following suit to public beta testers as well. If you’ve been part of the public beta testing phase, you can now install the final release of iOS 10 as an over-the-air (OTA) update.
For anyone that’s simply waiting for the public launch, that will arrive on Tuesday, September 13.
What’s New in iOS 10
Here’s a rundown of the new features Apple officially announced at WWDC:
Redesigned Lock Screen and Control Center
The redesigned Lock Screen features rich notifications, which will allow for more information to be presented to the user, while also giving them more abilities to interact with that content. Specifically, 3D Touch will work to show email content, reply to messages, and even let users clear all notifications.
Control Center has also been improved, adding a dedicated panel for music that shows full album artwork, plus playback controls. Users can simply swipe to the right to access the camera as well from the lock screen, while swiping to the left will bring up widgets.
Siri
Siri has been improved in a big way as well, getting much smarter and gaining access to third-party applications with a brand new SDK for developers. Using Siri, users can now send messages through third-party messaging apps, like WeChat, summon an Uber, send money to friends, start/end a VoIP call, and more.
QuickType Keyboard
The QuickType Keyboard is the stock board for iOS users, and it has seen a laundry list of improvements and tweaks in iOS 10. That includes Siri integration, which will provide relevant information depending on the conversation you are having, including offering up the ability to provide a location, and more. The QuickType keyboard is also gaining bilingual support, which will show suggestions from multiple languages at once.
Photos
The new Photos app has seen a big upgrade, getting smarter with better recognition for not only faces, but also places, scenes, and objects. The new Photos app for iOS 10 will also link images based on location, or people in the pictures based on a date, plus much more. The new app will also create movies, threading video and still images together, along with background music and typography, to create quick video shorts showcasing an event or experience.
Apple Maps
The stock Maps app is getting better with a dynamic view, which will zoom in when you’re nearing turns and zoom out when you’re on a long straightaway. There’s an easier user interface as well, and an ability to search along a route, see updated traffic in real-time, and get alternate routes when a path is slow or blocked. Apple Maps is also getting Extensions for third-party apps, which will let users set up dinner dates, book a hotel or car, and much more.
Apple Music
Apple Music also saw an improvement, with an easier method of multitasking while browsing and listening to content, a major refresh to the user interface, and integrated song lyrics for those who want to know exactly what’s being said in a song.
Apple News
Apple News now offers subscriptions for content, and there are push notifications for breaking stories. The user interface has been updated as well, and News will recommend sources based on your reading habits.
Home
The new Home app will bring together all of your HomeKit-enabled smart home accessories, from the garage door, the front door, thermostats, lights, and more, and simply make it easier to control all of them. With “Scenes,” users will be able to tell Siri good morning to have their blinds open and lights turn on, or choose good night to get the opposite effect.
Phone
The Phone app is also updated within iOS 10, featuring integration with third-party VoIP apps, voicemail transcription, and more.
iMessage
One of the biggest new additions for iOS 10 is a plethora of changes and updates to iMessage, making it a much more worthwhile experience with bigger emoji, the ability to swap out words for their emoji counterparts, and even full-screen animations that brighten up a conversation. There’s an Invisible Ink feature that lets users swipe their finger over a picture or words that have been hazed out, letting the content be an actual secret. There are animations for pictures and text that can be smaller or bigger, the ability to reply in a handwritten message, Digital Touch for drawing on images, stickers, animated stickers, and much more.
You can download and install the iOS 10 GM from right here. If you’ve already installed iOS 10 beta on your iOS device, then you will be able to install OTA update via the Settings app Settings > General > Software Update). If you need help in installing iOS 10 GM on your device then check our step-by-step guide.
Check out our iOS 10 coverage below:
- Top 44 iOS 10 Features for iPhone
- Top 10 iOS 10 Features for iPad
- Top 25 Hidden iOS 10 Features
- iOS 10 Hand-on: What’s New in Messages
- iOS 10 Hands-on: What’s New in Home Screen and Notification Center
- iOS 10 Hands-on: What’s New In The Lock Screen
- iOS 10 Hands-on: What’s New in the Redesigned Control Center
- iOS 10 Hands-on: All The New Ways To 3D Touch
- iOS 10 Hands-on: What’s New in Photos
- iOS 10: How Siri Integration With Apps Will Work
Let us know how it goes in the comments below.
