iOS 12

189 'iOS 12' stories January 2018 - June 2018

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The Snow Leopard release for iOS

Dubbed the Snow Leopard release, iOS 12 focuses on performance and squashing bugs among other features. The current public version is iOS 12.2

What’s new?

Apple has reportedly shelved may major features that was originally slated for this release, such as a redesigned Home screen for the iPhone X, and major updates to Mail. Instead, the update will feature augmented reality improvements, health features and improved parental controls.

The focus on stability instead of packing tons of new features is mainly due to the bugginess and endless issues Apple has been trying to deal with on its platforms as of late. Despite this, Apple is reportedly still on schedule to unify iOS and macOS apps.

The release is similar to OS X’s Snow Leopard on the Mac, as the main focus of that release was also stability and performance enhancements. To this day, many customers still consider Snow Leopard as Apple’s best operating system for having rock solid performance without much bugs.

iOS 12: How to use Screen Time on iPhone and iPad

Michael Potuck Jun 7 2018 - 2:55 pm PT

Screen Time is Apple’s new software in iOS 12 to help with providing more intentional device use and removing distractions. It will also serve to help parents manage and guide their children’s tech use. Follow along for how Screen Time works…

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iOS 12: How to enable Do Not Disturb at Bedtime

Peter Cao Jun 6 2018 - 5:21 pm PT

One thing I personally struggle with is putting my phone down right before bed. This is mostly due to the constant text conversations I have back and forth with various people.

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iOS 12

iOS 12 tidbits: AirDrop saved passwords, new 3D Touch options, more

Chance Miller Jun 6 2018 - 4:40 pm PT

Smaller, useful enhancements in iOS 12 continue to surface as beta testers spend quality time with the update. While we previously highlighted features such as easier Face ID rescans and Apple Music lyric search, read on for a few additional iOS 12 tidbits…

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iOS 12: How to enable quiet notifications on iPhone and iPad

Michael Potuck Jun 6 2018 - 2:19 pm PT

iOS 12 brings many subtle refinements that may have flown under your radar. One of these new features is the ability to receive notifications quietly. Follow along for how to turn this option on.

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Apple Maps now available to embed into websites with MapKit JS

Benjamin Mayo Jun 6 2018 - 10:34 am PT

The Apple Maps app didn’t get any major changes in iOS 12, but the MapKit team announced at WWDC that they are officially launching MapKit as a web framework for others to use. Google Maps is incredibly popular as an embedded map for other web services, and now Apple is trying to take a slice of that pie. MapKit JS is the same map component that Apple uses in many of its web properties, including Find My iPhone on iCloud.com, and the WWDC 2018 site.

The Apple MapKit JS library is launching in beta this week. It mirrors the MapKit API available to native iOS apps, with Apple Maps iconic cartography and data sources.

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Conan pokes fun at Apple’s Screen Time initiative with ‘iPhone Basic’ video

Ben Lovejoy Jun 6 2018 - 5:12 am PT

Conan O’Brien enjoys poking fun at Apple, and the new iOS 12 features designed to tackle iPhone addiction were his latest target …

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iOS 12 adds new graphs to show you how your battery level changed throughout the day

Benjamin Mayo Jun 6 2018 - 1:58 am PT

iOS 12 doesn’t change the Battery Health screen that was the answer to the performance throttling furore of late 2017, a screen that is still marked as ‘Beta’ even on iOS 12, but it does bring some new detailed charts to the main Battery view. As well as screen on and standby usage, you can now see how quickly the battery level depleted during the day. The charts are interactive so you can drill down further …

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Greg Joswiak & AR head Mike Rockwell join John Gruber to talk iOS 12, iOS apps on macOS, more

Chance Miller Jun 5 2018 - 8:41 pm PT

As has become the norm over recent years, John Gruber was joined by a pair of Apple executives for his live episode of The Talk Show at WWDC. This year, Mike Rockwell, Apple’s head of augmented reality, and marketing executive Greg Joswiak, joined Gruber to talk iOS 12, augmented reality, and much more.

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Hands-on: 100 iOS 12 changes and features [Video]

Jeff Benjamin Jun 5 2018 - 5:00 pm PT

iOS 12 has now been out in the wild for a little over 24 hours, and we’ve been digging through the highly-anticipated beta to find new features. In this hands-on video walkthrough, we showcase 100 new iOS 12 features and changes.
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iOS 12

Why you should probably wait to install iOS 12 and the other betas

Chance Miller Jun 5 2018 - 3:19 pm PT

With WWDC every year comes new beta versions of all of Apple’s operating systems. This year, we got iOS 12, macOS 10.14 Mojave, watchOS 5, and tvOS 12. All are currently available to developers and are meant for testing purposes. After all, they are betas and are buggy.

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iOS 12: How to use the ARKit Measure app on iPhone

Michael Potuck Jun 5 2018 - 2:33 pm PT

Third-party developers offered up new apps to measure real-world spaces and objects with iPhone when iOS 11 and ARKit arrived last year. This year, Apple is bringing that functionality to a first-party app in iOS 12 called Measure. Follow along for a hands-on look at how it works.

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AirPods to add support for ‘Live Listen’ feature with iOS 12

Chance Miller Jun 5 2018 - 2:28 pm PT

According to a new report from TechCrunch, Apple’s AirPods are gaining support for Live Listen as part of iOS 12. This feature was originally introduced in 2014 as a way for hearing aids to tap into the iPhone microphone…

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iOS 12

1Password teases autofill update coming in iOS 12, Siri gaining password features

Michael Potuck Jun 5 2018 - 10:29 am PT

As we noted yesterday, Apple is bringing some sharp improvements to its iOS autofill feature. One that got stage time yesterday was one-time SMS passcodes being available for autofill. Now, we’re learning more details about other improvements to iOS autofill along with an open API to allow third-parties like 1Password to create an even more seamless password management experience and more.

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iOS 12

iOS 12 tidbits: Accidental screenshots on iPhone X, Apple Music lyric search, Face ID rescans, more

Chance Miller Jun 5 2018 - 9:28 am PT

As we continue to dig through the iOS 12 beta, a variety of smaller, yet useful features continue to pop up. Such changes include accidental screenshot prevention on iPhone X, easier Face ID rescanning, new notification settings, and much more.

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iOS 12

iOS 12 speed test: Here’s how fast iOS 12 runs on older devices

Benjamin Mayo Jun 5 2018 - 4:42 am PT

One of the key features for iOS 12 is performance. Apple said it has paid particular attention to its older devices, which is good news as iOS 12 runs on every iPhone and iPad that could run iOS 11. iOS 11 gained a reputation for being buggy and sluggish, and the scuttlebutt over Apple ‘slowing down’ people’s iPhones from #BatteryGate didn’t help that public perception.

Apple is looking to tackle that head on in iOS 12 with performance gains system-wide, with quicker app launches, snappier scrolling and more. We are already seeing iOS speed test videos flood the web, with promising results …

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Poll: What were your favorite iOS 12 announcements?

Ben Lovejoy Jun 5 2018 - 4:30 am PT

As expected, yesterday’s WWDC keynote was all about software. The much-predicted focus on software stability and reliability appeared to be broadly correct – Apple kicking off things by talking about both performance increases, including those on older devices – there were also a number of new features.

Below we’ve summarised the main new iOS 12 features announced, and are asking you to pick your top three …

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iPad
iOS 12

How iOS 12 paves the way for an iPad with Face ID & a notch

Chance Miller Jun 4 2018 - 8:10 pm PT

Apple is expected to introduce a refreshed iPad Pro lineup this year with several notable enhancements, including Face ID and smaller bezels. While that new line isn’t expected until the fall, iOS 12 includes several changes that further hint at the new iPads…

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iOS 12

iOS 12 makes closing applications on the iPhone X much easier

Chance Miller Jun 4 2018 - 7:30 pm PT

For iPhone X users, iOS 12 makes closing applications significantly easier with one minor change. Notably, the iPhone X departed from the classic iPhone app closing process at launch, but now things are back to being consistent…

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iOS 12

iOS 12 beta suggests support for automatic system updates

Chance Miller Jun 4 2018 - 4:59 pm PT

Hidden in the iOS 12 Settings app is an indication that Apple might be planning to support automatic software updates. While the company didn’t address the feature on stage, nor is it mentioned on the iOS 12 preview page on Apple’s website, there’s a new toggle in the Settings app…

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iOS 12: How to create Memoji on iPhone X

Michael Potuck Jun 4 2018 - 4:32 pm PT

One of the new features that’s coming to iPhone X along with iOS 12 is Memoji. A blend of iOS 11’s popular Animoji and Apple’s take on Bitmoji, Memoji allow you to create custom, detailed avatars to have even more fun with the TrueDepth face tracking camera. Follow along for how to create Memoji in iOS 12.

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iOS 12 doubles down on passcode brute forcing, USB Restricted Mode now set to one hour

Peter Cao Jun 4 2018 - 4:01 pm PT

We previously reported that Apple was looking to prevent services such as GrayShift by implementing a USB Restricted Mode that restricts the Lightning port to only charging after 7 days. Now, the company is taking things farther…

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iOS 12

iOS 12 includes a colorful new wallpaper, download it here for iPhone and iPad

Chance Miller Jun 4 2018 - 3:35 pm PT

For many people, one of the top changes in a new version of iOS 12 is a new wallpaper. Each year, Apple adds at least one new wallpaper to its gallery of stock images, and this year is no different…

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iOS 12

Here’s how iOS 12’s new security code auto-fill feature works

Chance Miller Jun 4 2018 - 3:13 pm PT

While Apple outlined many of the top iOS 12 features on stage at WWDC, the update contains a host of smaller enhancements that weren’t given proper stage time. One of those features is security code auto-fill…

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iOS 12 adds multi-user Face ID with support for up to two faces

Peter Cao Jun 4 2018 - 2:59 pm PT

While not officially mentioned anywhere, iOS 12 will now let more than one user register their face on a single iPhone X. Since Face ID was introduced, it has been limited to one person’s face.

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