iOS 12 GM coming later today, here are the release notes [Update: It’s out]

Guilherme Rambo | Sep 12 2018 - 11:10 am PT

UPDATE: iOS 12 GM is now available for developers and public beta testers.

Apple is holding their special event at the Steve Jobs Theater today. Besides announcing a new Apple Watch and new iPhones, beta testers of iOS 12 are going to be getting the golden master build later today. This build is probably the final build of iOS 12 that’s going to ship to customers probably right before the new iPhones start shipping, unless there’s some serious issue with it.

Full release notes for the iOS 12 golden master:

iOS 12 brings performance improvements and exciting new features to iPhone and iPad. Photos introduces new features to help you rediscover and share the photos in your library, Memoji—a new, more customizable Animoji—make Messages more expressive and fun, Screen Time helps you and your family understand and make the most of the time spent on devices, Siri Shortcuts deliver a faster way to get things done with the ability for any app to work with Siri, augmented reality becomes even more engaging with the ability for developers to create shared AR experiences, and new privacy features help protect you from being tracked on the web. This update introduces new features and improvements to:

Performance

iOS has been enhanced for a faster and more responsive experience across the system

All supported devices see improved performance, going back to iPhone 5s and iPad Air

Camera launches up to 70 percent faster, the keyboard appears up to 50 percent faster and typing is more responsive*

Apps launch up to twice as fast when your device is under heavy workload*

Photos

New For You tab helps you discover great photos in your library with Featured Photos, Effect Suggestions, and more

Sharing Suggestions proactively recommend sharing photos taken at events with the people who are in them

Search enhancements make it easier to find your photos with intelligent suggestions and multiple keyword support

Search for photos based on the place, business name, or event where you were when you took them

Improved camera import with faster performance and a new large preview mode

RAW support for editing images

Camera

Portrait mode improvements preserve fine detail between subject and background when using Stage Light and Stage Light Mono effects

QR codes are highlighted in the camera frame, making them easier to scan

Messages

Memoji, a new, more customizable Animoji, make Messages more expressive with personalized characters that are diverse and fun

Animoji now also include T. rex, ghost, koala, and tiger

Make Memoji and Animoji wink and stick out their tongue

New camera effects bring Animoji, filters, text effects, iMessage sticker packs, and shapes to the photos and videos you capture in Messages

Animoji recordings can now capture up to 30 seconds

Screen Time

Screen Time provides detailed information and tools to help you and your family find the right balance of time spent with apps and websites

See the time spent in apps, usage across categories of apps, how many notifications are received, and how often devices are picked up

App limits help you set the amount of time you or your child can spend in apps and on websites

Screen Time for kids lets parents manage how their child uses iPhone and iPad right from their own iOS devices

Do Not Disturb

Turn off Do Not Disturb after a set time, location or calendar event

Do Not Disturb during Bedtime hides all notifications from your lock screen while you sleep

Notifications

Notifications from the same app are automatically grouped together to help you manage your notifications

Instant Tuning gives you control over your notification settings right from the lock screen

New Deliver Quietly option silently sends notifications directly to Notification Center without interrupting you

Siri

Siri Shortcuts deliver a faster way to get things done with the ability for any app to work with Siri

Add shortcuts using the “Add to Siri” button in supported apps, or in Settings > Siri and Search

Siri suggests shortcuts on the Lock screen and in Search

Get motorsports results, schedules, stats and standings for Formula 1, Nascar, Indy 500 and MotoGP

Search for photos by time, location, people, topic or recent trips to find relevant photos and Memories in Photos

Translate phrases in more languages, with support for over 40 language pairs

Check facts about celebrities, such as when they were born, and ask questions about food, including calories and nutrient content

Turn flashlight on or off

More natural and expressive voice now available in Irish English, South African English, Danish, Norwegian, Cantonese and Mandarin (Taiwan)

Augmented Reality

Shared experiences in ARKit 2 let developers create innovative AR apps you can experience together with friends

Persistence enables developers to save and reload experiences right from where you left off

Object detection and image tracking gives developers new tools to recognize real world objects and track images while they move through space

AR Quick Look extends AR throughout iOS, letting you view AR objects with built-in apps like News, Safari, and Files and share them with friends with iMessage and Mail

Measure

New augmented reality app to measure objects and spaces

Draw lines across surfaces or in free space to measure, and tap on a line’s label to see more information

Automatically measure rectangular objects

Capture, share and markup screenshots of your measurements

Privacy and Security

Enhanced Intelligent Tracking Prevention in Safari prevents embedded content and social media buttons from tracking cross-site browsing without your permission

Suppresses ad retargeting by reducing advertisers’ ability to identify iOS devices uniquely

Strong and unique passwords are suggested automatically when creating an account or changing a password in most apps and in Safari

Reused passwords are flagged in Settings > Passwords & Accounts

Security code AutoFill presents one-time security codes sent over SMS as suggestions in the QuickType bar

Sharing passwords with contacts is easier than ever using AirDrop from Passwords & Accounts in Settings

Siri supports quickly navigating to a password on an authenticated device

Apple Books

All-new design that makes discovering and enjoying books and audiobooks easy and fun

Reading Now makes it simple to get back to the book you’re currently reading or find great recommendations for what to read next

Add books to the new Want to Read collection to keep track of what you’d like to read next

The Book Store makes it easy to find your next favorite read with new and popular selections from our Apple Books editors and recommendations chosen just for you

The new Audiobooks store helps you find immersive stories and informative nonfiction books narrated by your favorite authors, actors, and celebrities

Apple Music

Search now supports lyrics so you can use a few of the words to find a song

Artist pages have an easier to browse design with a personalized station of any artist’s music

The new Friends Mix is a playlist of songs you’ll love from everything your friends are listening to

New charts to show you the daily top 100 songs in countries around the world

Apple News

Apple News is redesigned to make it easier to discover new channels and topics

The new sidebar on iPad and Channels tab on iPhone make it easy to jump straight to your favorite publications and discover new ones

Stocks

All-new design lets you easily view stock quotes, interactive charts, and top news on iPhone and iPad

Top Stories section includes articles selected by Apple News editors to highlight the latest news driving the market

Read Apple News stories right in the app, formatted to look great on iPhone and iPad

Watchlist includes color-coded sparklines that let you see daily performance at a glance

See an interactive chart for every ticker symbol, plus key details including after-hours price, trading volume, and more

Voice Memos

All-new design with improved ease of use

iCloud keeps your recordings and edits in sync across all of your devices

Available on iPad with support for both portrait and landscape orientation

TV

Get notified when movies and TV shows are available to watch in Up Next

Share your favorite movies, TV shows, and sporting events with universal links

Apple Podcasts

Now supports chapters for shows that include them

Skip 30 seconds or to the next chapter with forward and back buttons in your car or on your headphones

Easily manage new episode notifications from the Listen Now screen

Accessibility

Live Listen now works with AirPods to help you hear more clearly

RTT phone calling now works with AT&T

Speak Selection now supports using the Siri voice to speak text that you have selected

Other features and improvements

Camera effects in FaceTime transform your look in real-time
CarPlay adds support for third-party navigation apps
On supported campuses, use contactless student ID cards in Wallet to access buildings and pay with Apple Pay
Website icons can appear in tabs on iPad by enabling them in Settings > Safari
Weather includes air quality index in supported regions
Quickly swipe up from the bottom of the screen to go home on iPad
Swipe down from the top right to access Control Center on iPad
Mark Up includes a palette of additional colors and options to change line width and opacity for each tool
Battery usage chart in Settings now shows your usage for the last 24 hours or 10 days, and you can tap a bar to see app use for that period of time
On devices without 3D Touch, touch and hold the keyboard Space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad
Maps adds support for indoor maps for airports and malls with indoor positioning in China
New definition dictionary in Hebrew, and bilingual dictionaries in Arabic and English, and Hindi and English
New English thesaurus
Automatic software updates allow iOS updates to be installed automatically overnight