Apple unveiled its next-generation mobile OS, iOS 10 at WWDC 2016 and describes it as the "biggest iOS release ever." Here are some of the best new features that will make their way to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch in the fall.
Apple just held its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC 2016) and gave the world its first look at watchOS 3, tvOS, macOS Sierra and iOS 10.
While there are tons of new features in each OS, Apple spent most of the event showing off iOS 10, highlighting its strong commitment and focus on enhancing the user experience and of course adding new and welcomed features.
"iOS 10 is our biggest release ever, with delightful new ways to express yourself in Messages, a native app for Home automation, and beautifully redesigned apps for Music, Maps, and News that are more intuitive and more powerful, making everything you love about your iPhone and iPad even better," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "iOS 10 adds Siri intelligence into QuickType and Photos, automates your home with the new Home app and opens up Siri, Maps, Phone and Messages to developers — while increasing security and privacy with powerful technologies like Differential Privacy."
Let's take a look at some of the best and exciting new features in iOS 10 that are sure to please any iOS fan.
Lock Screen Enhancements - When iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users began to receive their smartphones, one of the biggest complaints was actually how fast Touch ID worked on the handsets. Prior to the release of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in 2015, users were able to press the Home button and view notifications on the lock screen, or just glance at the date and time, without actually unlocking the device. The updated Touch ID module in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus are so fast at deciphering your fingerprint, it's virtually impossible to check notifications, date, and time from the lock screen pressing the Home button, because it unlocks the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus so fast.
Apple addressed this issue in iOS 10 with "Raise to wake." Simply pick up your iPhone to wake it up and view notifications without ever touching the power or Home button. The accelerometer and gyroscope in the devices work similarly to the way the Apple Watch has a wrist detection setting that wakes the smartwatch when its detects a user's wrist has been raised. Users will still be able to access the camera quickly from the lock screen by using a new right to left swipe.
Widgets - Apple has added widgets to the far left screen in iOS 10, which is also still used for Spotlight and Siri. Widgets are now more feature rich, can be created using 3D Touch (iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users), and have an updated design that looks more elegant than iOS 9's current way of handling widgets in the Notification Center.
Messages - Apple says that Messages is the most frequently used iOS app and the company wanted to give it a major update and it didn't hold back on delivering. The new Messages app in iOS 10 has been designed to be much more expressive and features powerful animations, including fireworks, balloons and confetti to make a simple "congratulations" text feel and look more impressive. Invisible ink allows users to send a message or image that only reveals itself when the person on the other end swipes over it.
Another new feature in Messages, is handwritten notes, which as its name implies allows you to write a message in your handwriting and make the message more personal. The update also focuses on the popularity of emojis, by highlighting words in the text field iOS 10 recognizes and allowing emoji fans to replace text with emoji. Apple has also brought the App Store to Messages, which allows developers to create new features, add-ons and more that can be used in Messages.
Siri - Apple has opened up Siri to developers in iOS 10, which now lets the personal assistant interact with more than just Apple's stock apps or select partners. Siri Intelligence adds new QuickType features, like contextual predictions and predictive typing based on information like location, contacts and calendar availability.
Music App - Apple completely redesigned iOS 10's Music application to make it much more intuitive and less cluttered, while also adding features like song lyrics while listening to a song and all-new design for Apple Music.
These are only a few of the best new features in iOS 10 Apple showed off at WWDC 2016. For a complete list, check out Apple's iOS 10 preview page and if you're interested in beta testing iOS 10, head over to beta.apple.com to signup and you'll be notified when it's available to download in July.
What's your favorite new iOS 10 feature? Let us and our readers know in the comments below.
