At WWDC 2021, Apple announced the next key version of the iOS operating system under serial number 15. The developers redesigned notifications, added several new functions, and, of course, did not forget about user privacy.
Redesign of notifications. Contact photos will be displayed on text messages, alerts themselves have become larger, and they will receive support for new concentration modes, united under the general name Focus. This will allow you to customize the display of notifications depending on priorities (“work,” “personal,” “rest”). The settings will automatically sync across all of the user’s devices.
In addition, it became possible to combine some notifications and receive them as a digest at a certain time of the day (Summary), and a separate Do Not Disturb mode in iMessage with the ability to receive urgent messages.
Photos in iMessage are automatically grouped into collages or stacks and displayed in other places, such as in a photo gallery and memories.
The Shared with You section will appear, where all content received through messages will be collected.
A new feature will appear in the Camera app Live Text to define the text in photos, including screenshots. At the start, seven languages will be supported (and of course, there is no Ukrainian among them). The function, working on neural networks, can also be used to recognize plants and animals. Yes, Apple has made its own Google Lens.
The Spotlight functionality has been expanded to include informative flashcards for celebrities, movies, and more.
You can now add tracks from Apple Music to photos and create Memory Mixes. These memories can be shared with other Apple users. The system will automatically adjust the editing to the mood of the song.
FaceTime will receive a major update, including SharePlay for sharing movies, listening to music, and sharing desktop images.
Popular car brands, including BMW, will support UWB for smartphone unlocking.
It will be possible to add digital copies of documents to Wallet.
Updated Weather app with a full-screen display of rainfall, air quality, and other information.
Maps will have a full-fledged interactive globe (yes, Apple also made its own Google Earth), 3D copies of landmarks and a night mode with moonlight, and the ability to scan the environment with a camera for more accurate geolocation in certain major cities of the world and AR navigation.
Safari will receive a redesign with a more minimalist tab bar look, a grouping of tabs that sync across devices, and support for extensions.
Advanced privacy settings
Intelligent Tracking Prevention in Safari and Mail allows you to hide your IP address; also in the “Mail” will block tracking pixels in letters.
An advanced iCloud + plan for the price of a basic subscription with disposable inboxes and a kind of VPN.
A new section of App Privacy Report in “Settings” – in it, users will be able to see detailed information about what installed third-party applications collect data.
Siri can now execute commands without an Internet connection: open a photo, calendar, turn on airplane mode, set a timer, and other system functions.
A digital inheritance program to inherit your account.
AirPods and Apple Music update
Apple Music has added support for Dolby Atmos (it’s already available in iOS 14).
AirPods Pro will receive a “hearing aid” function that will amplify the interlocutor’s voice.
In “Locator,” it will be possible to search for AirPods – by analogy with the AirTag beacon.
iOS will notify you about forgotten headphones.
Siri will learn to read important notifications into headphones (you can select a list of applications).
Spatial Audio is coming to tvOS, and the headphones will have a home theater effect.
IOS 15 availability
iOS 15 for developers available today, public beta testing starts next month, and the final version will be released in the fall along with the new iPhones. It will work on iPhone 6S and newer. That is, on all devices running iOS 14.
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