Apple iOS 10 - My favourite new features
Hello my imaginary friends and thanks for stopping by.This post is all about the new Apple iOS 10 - more specifically the things I am loving about the update since installing it. I'm sure there are 100s of features I haven't even figured out yet, but the ones I have, I am loving.
1. Lock screen
The new lock screen is great. Swipe left and you get a list of your widgets. Swipe right and your camera opens. I prefer this to the previous iOS version where there was a little camera on the bottom right hand side. It always felt a little tricky and almost clumsy way of accessing your camera. More often than not, I'd miss the photo op by the time the app opened.
The widgets have a refreshed graphical interface as well as being more useful. I like the quick access and that if I haven't touched the ID sensor, it won't open up the app for more information. My favourite widget would have to be the up next and location one. The up next shows you what is coming up on your calendar and the location tags where your vehicle is and tells you the next location you need to be at.
I have never needed the stock app - I can now delete it. I tend to use the default mail app but if you don't- delete it! Find friends... well maybe I'd use this if I had any! :/
Can I get a hell yeah! As part of its pro-active suggestions, 10 attempts to identify subscription emails, and will present you with a banner that you can tap to automatically unsubscribe from that list if you'd rather not be on it any longer.
5. Rise to wake.
The moment I pick up my phone, it turns on. Small feature but cool non-the-less. Sometimes I'm just looking at the time or to check a notification (And, yes, I do have an Apple Watch but sometimes I forget :)) and so instead of clicking a button to turn the screen on - I just pick it up.
6. Lyrics
Good to no longer have to use 3rd party apps for my lyrics. I was singing "starbucks lover" for way too long.
Some new things you can ask her are:
7.1 Siri, find my car.
7.2 Siri, I want to take a selfie.
7.3 Siri, remember this.
Siri can now remind you of "this", where "this" is almost anything you're looking at when you invoke Siri. It can include email or text messages, web pages, even podcasts you want to listen to. Just say: "Remind me of this" and Siri will add it to Reminders with a link back to not only the app, but the specific content.
7.4 Siri, show me photos of Eddy from Karaoke in San Francisco last fall.
7.5 Siri, are we there yet? OR Siri, ETA?
Not only can Siri take you where you need to go, it can tell you how long it will take you to get there.
7.6 Hey, Siri, call mom on speaker!
This will automatically start the call using the speaker without you having to select it.
Siri suggestions: Rather than manually typing out your correction, you can tap on your spoken phrase in the Siri interface and Siri will automatically provide several alternative guesses as to what it thought you said.
AND Siri can now access and use some third-party apps in its voice-recognition. The personal assistant can book an Uber, send a message on WhatsApp or Facebook or transfer money through apps like Square Cash
8. Change the intensity of your flashlight
Can I get another hell yeah! There are all kinds of scenarios where the iPhone flashlight comes in helpful but you don’t necessarily want the same beam brightness for all of them. In iOS 10, if you pull up the Control Center and then hard-press the flashlight icon, you’ll see an intensity menu where you can choose low, medium or high. Unfortunately, for phones without 3D Touch, the option isn’t available anywhere else, so you need an iPhone that supports the tech.
New to the Clock app in iOS 10 is a Bedtime feature that’s designed to help you get into bed and out of bed at the same times each day. You’ll be asked what time you want to wake up and on which days, and how many hours of sleep you’d like. Your iPhone then buzzes you when it’s time to think about getting your head on the pillow, and will encourage you to keep your sleeping patterns as regular as possible.
10. Clear out songs you never listen to
Head to Settings, then Music, and you’ll come across a new Optimize Storage heading. If you have iCloud Music Library enabled, turn this toggle switch to the on position, and iOS 10 then takes it upon itself to delete the local copies of tracks you haven’t listened to in a while if you’re low on space.
11. Run smarter searches in photos
Try queries such as “sunset” or “landmark” or “beach” to put the new Photos feature to the test. What’s more, the app is now also now clever enough to make smart highlight reels of your pictures and videos based around particular times and dates.
With the introduction of iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, Apple is also ushering in a new feature called universal clipboard, which works exactly how it sounds. You can copy something on your Mac and paste it on your iPhone, or vice versa, as long as you’re signed into the same Apple ID on all the devices involved. It works pretty much invisibly, and there’s no extra menu option. Just use the copy and paste functions as you normally would.
Once you’ve set off, you’ll notice the updated iOS 10 mapping tool also gives you live traffic information en route during your journey. You can zoom in and out and pan ahead to check for queues, and if you tap the route summary panel at the bottom of the screen, you can search for and add nearby food stops or gas stations along the way. Once you’ve made your chosen detour, Apple Maps will then return you to your original journey.
14. Dealing with other app notifications without leaving your current app
If you get an alert while you’re busy in another app, you can drag down on it to open it up in a pop-up window on top of the existing app. Iit works in a similar way to the lock screen function. To get at the inline features from the Notification Center, use the same actions as on the lock screen. A hard-press if you’ve got 3D Touch on your device, a swipe left, and then View if you haven’t.
15. 100 new emojis
This is really cool - but let's be honest, we'll all still be using the poop one most often as it expresses almost all of our emotions
16. Intelligent quicktype
For example, if someone texts you asking where you are, QuickType will suggest to drop a pin of your current location. When someone asks for a friend’s phone number or email, QuickType will surface the correct contact info stored in your Contacts.
And if
someone asks if you’re available at a certain time, QuickType will check
your Calendar and let you know your availability or tap into
“intelligent scheduling” to create a new event based on contextual
information from the entire message thread.
Side note - auto correct is still a ducking joke. But that isn't a iOS problem but more universal across all mobiles.
17. Opening camera doesn't stop the music
Where was this feature a week ago?! It may sound silly, but before iOS 10 it was impossible to take photos during a dance party because launching the Camera would automatically pause whatever audio was playing. So now, the music won’t abruptly stop when you want to take a picture or video. Party selfies and recording lip sync battles has never been this easy.
18. Sending links in Messages
Apple has also visualizes links sent in Messages. When you send a URL, Messages automatically turns it into a visual preview with a headline and image pulled from the website. Similarly, you can send a link to YouTube or Vimeo and have the recipients watch the video in-line.
You can also send tracks from Apple Music that the recipient can play without leaving Messages. There’s even an iMessage app to make it easier to find and share songs from Apple Music (more on iMessage apps later).
19. RAW photos
Third-party apps support shooting and editing in Raw formatFor professional photographers or people who like post-processing their images, this is a big deal. I will do a separate post about this because it's a pretty awesome feature.
20. Control Centre
The Control Centre has been changed again to include two screens. The initial 'swipe up' is pretty similar but is boosted by 3D Touch shortcuts. You can change your flashlight to low, medium or high intensity; touch the timer to start it for a set time instantly and copy numbers from the Calculator. The second page is for music controls, with the ability to change AirPlay for wireless speakers.
21. Doodle on your photos
The Photos app now allows you to make Snapchat-style doodles on any of your photos using Markup. Open an image in the Photos app and tap the edit button, then the "..." menu.
22. Apple Music
If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you’ll be happy to see that the main Music screen gets some minor tweaks that make it easier to find and play music. The connect tab—the one that lead to the generally unused Apple Music social network—is also gone.
Side note - auto correct is still a ducking joke. But that isn't a iOS problem but more universal across all mobiles.
17. Opening camera doesn't stop the music
Where was this feature a week ago?! It may sound silly, but before iOS 10 it was impossible to take photos during a dance party because launching the Camera would automatically pause whatever audio was playing. So now, the music won’t abruptly stop when you want to take a picture or video. Party selfies and recording lip sync battles has never been this easy.
18. Sending links in Messages
Apple has also visualizes links sent in Messages. When you send a URL, Messages automatically turns it into a visual preview with a headline and image pulled from the website. Similarly, you can send a link to YouTube or Vimeo and have the recipients watch the video in-line.
You can also send tracks from Apple Music that the recipient can play without leaving Messages. There’s even an iMessage app to make it easier to find and share songs from Apple Music (more on iMessage apps later).
19. RAW photos
Third-party apps support shooting and editing in Raw formatFor professional photographers or people who like post-processing their images, this is a big deal. I will do a separate post about this because it's a pretty awesome feature.
20. Control Centre
The Control Centre has been changed again to include two screens. The initial 'swipe up' is pretty similar but is boosted by 3D Touch shortcuts. You can change your flashlight to low, medium or high intensity; touch the timer to start it for a set time instantly and copy numbers from the Calculator. The second page is for music controls, with the ability to change AirPlay for wireless speakers.
The Photos app now allows you to make Snapchat-style doodles on any of your photos using Markup. Open an image in the Photos app and tap the edit button, then the "..." menu.
22. Apple Music
If you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you’ll be happy to see that the main Music screen gets some minor tweaks that make it easier to find and play music. The connect tab—the one that lead to the generally unused Apple Music social network—is also gone.
Well that's all for now. Thanks for stopping by and see you soon.
