Apple announces iOS 10 — here are some of the major improvements

This morning, Apple kicked off the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with its usual keynote (this time at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco) to announce its latest and upcoming products, all software-based. In this piece we’re going to focus solely on iOS 10, Apple’s most popular operating system that runs on iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

We were hoping that Apple would name it iOS X but since it has renamed OS X to macOS, keeping the same naming style is more consistent I suppose. iOS 10 will be coming to compatible iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches this autumn, though developers can already get their hands on the beta today. The public beta build drops next month. iOS 10 will be compatible with iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPad Pro 12.9-inch, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad 4th generation, iPad 3rd generation, iPad 2, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2, iPad mini, iPod touch 6th generation, and iPod touch 5th generation.

The new iOS comes with a host of incremental improvements, but despite that, some of the improvements are much-welcomed.

New lock screen, rich notifications, 3D Touch

The lock screen has been revamped to now feature more pronounced notification cards on it. The motion sensors are always-on, so that the display will light up when you pick up the phone. Besides notifications, a swipe to the side will also reveal Widgets, which is already available from the Notification Center pull-down from the lock screen (if enabled), but at least now you can get to your widgets in one less step.

Apps can be updated to now show rich, actionable notifications. For instance, when you receive an iMessage, you can use 3D Touch to expand the message thread, and view the shared photos or videos too, right from the lock screen without having to unlock the device.

The same 3D Touch gestures can also be used on app icons, to view glanceable information like the weather, stock updates, or calendar appointments.

A similar, updated notifications view can been seen under Spotlight Search. Control Center gets an overhaul too, with audio controls only showing up after a swipe to the side, which is a pity because it used to be all available in one view, but Apple chose to increase the size of the Night Shift button, which no one asked for. Also, it doesn’t appear that the toggles and app launchers can’t be modified, so you’ll be stuck with the Airplane Mode toggle and Timer shortcut, which no one uses.

App Store

The App Store has been updated a bit but the biggest news is that certain non-critical stock apps can now be deleted from the phone. That’s right, not just disabling and hiding them, but deleting them straight from storage. Of course, the essential ones like App Store itself, Phone, Messages, Photos, or Safari can’t be removed.

The stock apps that can be removed are: Calculator, Calendar, Compass, Contacts, FaceTime, iTunes Store, Mail, Maps, Music, Notes, Podcasts, Reminders, Stocks, Tips, Videos, Voice Memos, Watch, and Weather.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like you can set default apps for different deep links (default browser, default maps app, et cetera). For instance, if you were to delete the Mail app, clicking on a ‘mailto:email@address.com’ link will still give you a pop-up to reinstall it from the App Store, which is dumb and defeats the purpose of you deleting it in favor of, say, the Microsoft Outlook app. On the plus side, now that the stock apps are on the App Store, perhaps they can be updated independently from the operating system.

There is also the announcement that Apple will introduce a single app advertisement on each top search result, which will be rolling out in the U.S. first. Another change is that for subscriptions in apps, instead of the usual 30% cut, Apple will only take a 15% slice, but only if the user has subscribed for more than a year. Developers will also have the option to raise or reduce subscription fees, which has to be first approved by end users for it to take effect.

Messages

Apple loves its iMessage, so much so it has now dedicated a specific section of the App Store for iMessage apps. Developers can now make apps for iOS 10’s Messages which include stickers and other enhancements. That means Messages, plus Maps and Siri which we’ll be covering next, are now open for developers. They can make mini apps for it, or integrate iMessage into their own apps. This include the aforementioned stickers, or the ability to transfer money the other person you’re chatting with, directly in Messages.

Most of the improvements to Messages are specific to iMessage and not SMS. Even without the third party apps, iMessage has been enhanced with a bunch of features. For starters, it now supports rich links that shows the thumbnail and title of the link that’s being shared.

Emojis are said to be three times larger now, and the QuickType keyboard can now predict emojis; if an emoji is frequently used, it will show up in the prediction boxes. Also, as you type your message, there is a dedicated button that, when tapped, will replace the words with equivalent emojis.

Each message bubble now have “effects” where it can be changed in size, to be smaller or larger, much like Google’s recently-announced Whisper Shout feature in Allo. Each message can be answered with one of six quick responses with a single tap, similar to Facebook Reactions.

Besides stickers and emoji, you can use handwriting as a message, and your friend will see it live as you write it. Also, when it detects words like “happy birthday” or “congratulations”, animations of balloons or confetti will take over the entire screen. Before sending a message or photo on iMessage, you can flag it as hidden, where it’ll only be revealed to the recipient with a swipe gesture. Last but not least, you can also create video effects to be sent on iMessage.

Maps

Just like Messages, Apple Maps also gets a revamp of sorts to now support third-party apps, with the ability to book a restaurant or call a ride, directly in the app. Of course, this feature will soon be available on CarPlay too.

The user interface of the Maps app is said to be much simpler now, with on-map view of petrol stations. If you happen to use Apple Maps frequently, you’ll appreciate its new ability to pan and zoom in navigation view. During navigation, you’ll also have the ability to search for on-route petrol stations and restaurants.

The proactive features of Maps introduced in iOS 9 have been been improved too. It will now look at Calendar to give better results, like the best time to leave or how long it’ll take to reach your destination.

Siri

Besides App Store improvements, perhaps the most interesting iOS 10 improvement can be found on Siri. Just like Messages and Maps, Siri on iOS 10 also supports third-party apps which exponentiate its usability. It can now find files, look up information, and execute commands. Developers can make apps that hook into Siri, Soon (if the developers adopt this), you can use it to directly book an Uber, dictate a Facebook Message, or start an Endomondo workout. The possibilities are endless.

Naturally, the updated Siri with support for third-party services, will also be available on CarPlay soon.

Photos

Photos gets a bunch of improvements too, albeit minor ones. There is now a map view which will display all your geotagged photos. Photos also does some basic facial, object, and scene recognition which it will then sort into groups automatically, making search easier. These photos are then automatically grouped into what Apple calls “Memories” which you can then easily go through them later. The Memories are grouped according to the vacation, location, or even your time with another person.

These Memories will also auto-generate videos out of the photos, just like Google Photos.

QuickType

Besides being better on iMessage, iOS 10’s QuickType keyboard also get a backend overhaul to be better and smarter at predictions in whichever app you’re using. It is said to do contextual text predictions, using contact information, location, and even your schedule. For instance, if you type “here is John’s number”, it’ll look into your Contacts app and offer John’s phone number(s) as the prediction result. Type “I’m available at” and it will see your calendar to predict which time you will be free.

QuickType’s most-welcomed feature is its ability for you to type in two languages at the same time, without needing to switch between keyboards like how it used to be. So far, only popular keyboard apps like SwiftKey and Swype are able to do this; even Google Keyboard for Android or Gboard for iOS can’t do simultaneous languages yet. You still can’t swipe-type on QuickType though.

HomeKit

HomeKit has taken center stage on iOS 10, and you’ll soon find a dedicated app called ‘Home’ on your home screen — yet another stock app you don’t need. However, if you’re into smart appliances, having a dedicated Home icon is great, for it is a centralized app to control IoT devices (internet of things) like lights, shades, thermostats, speakers, and even door locks.

Apple Music

Launched just a year ago, Apple Music has received a redesign. It now opens directly to your library. Your personal playlists, the Connect and Radio tabs, plus the curated music lists are also just a tap away. In other words, no major new features, but everything you need is at different locations now.

Apple News

Apple News also gets the redesign treatment. You can, uh, subscribe to different magazines and see curated stories; basically things you can already do before, but hey, it’s even prettier now.

Voicemail and VoIP improvements

This may not work in Malaysia, but iOS 10 will transcribe your voicemails into text, which is a fantastic feature if it works well. There is also a new caller ID extension for spam alerts.

Apple is also offering API for third-party VoIP apps like WhatsApp; another great addition. In the past, even after the introduction of iOS 7’s background app refresh, a third-party app has to be running in the background — kill the app, and you won’t be able to receive calls. This has resulted in a hack job where you’ll only get a notification toast if someone calls you on Facebook Messenger, which often ended up with you missing the call. With the VoIP API, any VoIP app like WhatsApp can use the Phone app’s UI to alert you of a call. If done right, it can also be more battery efficient.

Apple Pay on the web

Apple Pay still has a limited number of countries supported, but if it’s available in your area, you can now pay transactions on the web via Safari, using the service. This feature is also available on the upcoming macOS Sierra which we’ll be covering in another piece.

Other features

Other stock app updates include Safari split-view for iPad, Notes collaboration, Live Photos editing, and Bedtime Alarm in the Clock app which lets you set a sleep schedule and receive nags when it’s time to to go to bed.

Privacy

It won’t be an Apple keynote without the mention of privacy. Apple promises that privacy and security are both top priorities in its hardware and software development. FaceTime, HomeKit, and iMessage use end-to-end encryption so that it’s readable only by you and not others including Apple. Data from the photo recognition feature in Photos, as well as from QuickType predictions, are stored only on the device, and isn’t shared anywhere. For apps that do connect to the internet, like Maps, News, and Siri, Apple promises to not use the data to build individual user profiles.

However, in order to improve suggestions in QuickType, emoji, Spotlight deep link, as well as Lookup Hints on Notes, Apple uses what it calls ‘Differential Privacy’ on iOS 10 to help study usage patterns of a large user group, without compromising on individual privacy.

Swift Playgrounds

During the keynote, Apple also announced Swift Playgrounds, that specializes in teaching kids how to code, for free. Of course, adults can also benefit from this if they’re new to programming. Coding is done in Apple’s new programming language, Swift. Swift Playgrounds is available only for iPads running iOS 10, and it will arrive this autumn.

The app comes with a built-in coding keyboard, which includes a host of shortcuts to speed up the coding process. Swift Playgrounds also has templates and games to help users get started in programming.

For more information on Swift Playgrounds, visit: http://www.apple.com/swift/playgrounds/. To learn more about iOS 10, visit: http://www.apple.com/ios/ios10-preview/.

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