Apple unveiled iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 at WWDC 2021 last week. The next major release of iOS comes with some major new usability features. The improvements might not seem like a big deal initially, but they do have a major usability impact.
iOS 15 comes with many useful features that will greatly improve the day-to-day experience of using your iPhone. There are notable improvements to FaceTime, SharePlay, Messages app, with some other useful new additions.
Below is a look at some of the new iOS 15 features:
FaceTime
Apple is adding spatial audio support to FaceTime in iOS 15. Meaning, the voices in a FaceTime call will sound as if they are coming from where the person is positioned on the screen. In addition, there is a new voice isolation add-on that uses machine learning to block background voice during FaceTime calls. It all leads to a more natural video/voice calling experience on FaceTime, something that’s a welcome change in the current era.
Apple has added the portrait mode in FaceTime video calls. It’s similar to blur the background in Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and it helps you hide that messy room or background behind you.
Group FaceTime video call has received a makeover with a new grid view. It’s easy to glance at, and you can clearly see who is currently talking with a new animation.
Users can now create FaceTime links and invite their friends and family members to join the conversation. That’s now all. In a rather surprising announcement, Apple now allows Android and Windows users to join the FaceTime party via web browser.
Focus
Apple has integrated a brand new Focus feature that helps users focus and reduce distraction. Focus will filter notifications and apps based on what a user wants to focus on. Users can set their device to help them be in the moment by creating a custom Focus or selecting a suggested Focus, which uses on-device intelligence to suggest which people and apps are allowed to notify them.
For example, you can enable the Sleep focus profile at night, and your iPhone will limit the notifications from only a handful of apps based on your habit and machine learning.
Focus learns from user behavior. It keeps track of your usage pattern and offers custom suggestions designed for you.
Another cool trick is custom home pages and widgets arrangements in the Focus mode. You can specify exactly what to showcase on the iOS home screen when using the Focus mode.
New Notification Experience
One of the best new iOS 15 features is the revamped notification experience. This was long overdue from Apple. For starters, there are now larger icons for notification. It also offers people a preview to see who is messaging you. These are minor changes, though. The one that caught everyone’s attention is the Notification Summary.
Live Text
Live Text uses on-device intelligence to recognize text in a photo and allow users to take action. For example, users can search for and locate the picture of a handwritten family recipe or capture a phone number from a storefront with the option to place a call. You can also visit the website address or email the owner directly from the visiting card image.
Safari Improvements
Last year, Apple offered users to select third-party browser apps as the default browser on the iPhone. This year, the redesigned Safari is a key new iOS 15 feature.
For starters, Safari now carries a new tab bar that is compact and lightweight and floats at the bottom of the screen, so users can easily swipe between tabs. Group tabs also receive a new card-style look.
Extensions support is also coming to Safari with iOS 15 later this year. Hopefully, this will speed up the extension development for Safari compared to other Chromium browsers.
Check out a detailed overview of all the new Safari features in iOS 15 here.
There are plenty of other new features in iOS 15 that I have not mentioned above. Shared With You, new Weather app, improved Notes app, iCloud+, Health data sharing, and more.
What is your favorite iOS 15 feature? The one that you think will have the most impact on your daily use? Take part in our poll, drop a comment, and let us know!
