reviewing iOS 13
Apple released the ios 13 beta to paid developers back in the beginning of June. I’ve been running it on my daily device ever since and have some thoughts to share. Overall, this is by far one of the most stable betas Apple has ever released. The amount of bugs is so minimal that they’re hard to notice. I’ve said it over the past two months: this is one of the iPhone’s biggest upgrades ever and I would not go back. In fact, I would give up a jailbreak for this one. let’s run through my favorite features:
dark mode - dark mode is by far the most requested feature that we’ve been begging apple for, for well over a decade and now we finally have it and yes, it is worth the extremely long wait. Dark mode looks amazing — and honestly way better than I had expected. Along with dark mode comes an optional schedule. Mine is set up to switch between light and dark modes at sunrise and sunset. It works every time without failure. However, if you feel the need to switch it on your own, you can using the control center, and then the device will continue the schedule at its next occurrence. All I am waiting for is Apple to allow third party apps to be controlled by dark mode. Currently dark mode only works with APple’s stock apps, but I’d love to see it expand to others. Also along with dark mode comes light and dark mode wallpapers. each of those wallpapers has light and dark mode versions that adjust dependent upon which mode you are in.
volume indicator - the intrusive volume indicator that covers up the entire middle of your display when adjusting volume is no longer. Apple modernized and pushed it aside to the left corner. Looks incredible and it’s wildly fun to adjust the volume just to see it.
swipe keyboard - another feature we’ve spent years begging for. Although we’re still stuck with Apple’s ugly keyboard, we are now able to swipe to type. When Apple first released iOS 13, I was getting inaccurate results so often that I was considering switching back to SwiftKey’s third party keyboard. It seems, however, that Apple improved it with each beta update. Now I’m finding that I no longer need to swipe on top of each letter to get accurate results. The software is able to analyze and guess what you are intending to type by just swiping near each letter. For example, I can swipe “frurbl” and the software is able to analyze the surrounding letters and context and provide me with a guess of what it thinks I typed, which is the word “friendly”.
imessage profiles - now we can edit our name and photo on our friends’ devices. because it is an iMessage feature, it only works with those who use iPhone. i absolutely love this and think it’s a brilliant idea. I would love for apple to expand the profile moreso. perhaps by adding a status line that automatically updates dependent upon what you’re doing within Apple apps (Music, books, tv, podcasts, news, etc), and tapping on the name of the content will direct you to the content itself where you can watch/listen/read it for yourself.
- watching [apple tv show].
- listening to [apple music song] by [artist].
- reading [apple book title] by [author].
- listening to [apple podcasts title] by [podcast name].
- reading [apple news article] by [publisher].Reminders app - an app we’ve been begging APple to update finally got its refresh. the app looks clean, it’s fun to use, and it’s colorful, even in dark mode. I like that you’re able to create icons for lists now. Really, I can’t say much more than that.
maps - with this huge update comes look around, which is already superior to google street view. I’ve compared it to replacing a ‘97 pick up with a ‘19 tesla. It’s that much of a difference. You’re questioning me right now because you’re thinking google maps is wonderful and there’s nothing wrong with it. oftentimes when someone is given trash, they don’t know it’s trash until they’ve seen how much better it could be. that’s what this is. Google maps is slow and sluggish. When moving around within it, It has the feeling that you’re being dragged to the next stop, whereas Apple Maps has a smooth ride. Also the improvements to maps. favorite locations and Lists are now much more prominent, which is great. The entire app is more fun to use now.
find my - friends, phone, tag. All of the find my apps have been replaced with one: find my. The app comes with several improvements from cleanliness to usability. Coming soon is a tag section, which will allow you to track anything by placing a tag on any object, much like the tile device. Either the tag or tracking service will be provided by apple at no cost.
photos - the redesigned app makes looking back on photos a much more enjoyable experience and almost lifelike in a way. I’ve found the categories and search capabilities to be more accurate.
speed - Apple apps open instantaneously, and it seems like third party apps are too.
Carplay - the redesign looks great. the new homescreen displays your map, music, and relevant information. The relevant information varies depending on the current date, time, location, etc. Sometimes it may be a calendar event or recommended location, perhaps a reminder to call somebody.
you can sign up for apple’s developer program and download iOS 13 right now at developer.apple.com. Otherwise, APple will release the upgrade to everyone next month.