Apple officially held the WWDC 2018 and with it there was definitely an announcement of a new iOS version, precisely iOS 12. In terms of appearance this version is still the same as before, but a number of new features it brings are quite interesting to highlight.
Here are some of the latest features of iOS 12 along with a brief explanation.
More responsive performance
Compared to iOS 11, iOS 12 is believed to be far more responsive, even for devices that are already quite old though. For your information, iOS 12 compatibility is exactly the same as iOS 11, which means devices as old as the iPhone 5S can still receive updates when they are released in September or October.
In testing using the iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 12, Apple said that the Camera application can be opened 70% faster, the keyboard appears 50% faster, and typing is also claimed to be more responsive. Apple did not forget to add that overall loading applications on iOS 12 can be up to two times faster.
SHEETS 2
Continuing the ARKit 1.5 footprint released with iOS 11.3, ARKit 2 continues to enhance the augmented reality experience that iOS 12 users can enjoy. Most importantly, AR content on iOS 12 can be enjoyed in multiplayer, more or less like what ARCore 1.2 presents on Android .
Then no less unique is the new AR special file format called usdz, a collaboration between Apple and Pixar. Thanks to usdz, AR content can basically be accessed directly from various applications such as Safari, Messages, Mail and News.
Still about AR, iOS 12 also presents a new default application called Measure, which functions to measure the dimensions of various real objects around the user. Before this there were actually several similar applications on the App Store from third-party developers, but at least for simple measurements we can rely on this default application.
Messages dan FaceTime
Updates to these two applications are actually more funny than functional. Specifically on the iPhone X, there are a number of new Animoji characters, along with the option to create their own characters that Apple calls the term Memoji. Furthermore, Animoji can now also mimic the movements of the user who sticks out his tongue.
What might be more important is FaceTime, because on iOS 12, the FaceTime alias group video call feature is finally present. As many as 32 people can simultaneously join one FaceTime Group conversation, and of course this feature is integrated with group conversations on iMessage.
Photos
The Photos application on iOS 12 brings a new tab labeled "For You" which combines Memories with iCloud Shared Albums. The search feature is also claimed to be smarter in Photos for iOS 12, and no less interesting is the sharing suggestion feature, which is very useful for exchanging collections of photos taken during activities with friends or family.
Grouped notifications
After all this time, Apple finally fixes one of iOS's weaknesses compared to Android, which is related to notifications. On iOS 12, notifications will now be grouped by application and topic, so users will no longer be greeted by rows of notifications that seem to have no end below.
Also very useful is the ease with which to manage how notifications from each application will be displayed, whether it is felt unnecessary and preferably turned off completely, or displayed in the Notification Center without interrupting user activity.
Do Not Disturb dan Screen Time
Regarding this interruption apparently got a big portion on iOS 12. Simply put, Apple wants consumers to not exceed the normal limits of using gadgets, and this they try to realize through perfecting the Do Not Disturb feature and a new feature called Screen Time on iOS 12.
Do Not Disturb now has a mode specifically for hours of sleep, where notifications that come in during that time will be completely hidden, and will only be displayed in the morning. The hope is that users who wake up in the middle of the night then reflexively check the clock on their cellphone and then continue opening Instagram after seeing the number of notifications coming in, but can go back to sleep again.
Screen Time on the other hand will give an idea related to the use of the device in the hands of each user; how many times do we open the cellphone every hour, and so on. From there we can choose to limit ourselves, such as limiting the use of the Instagram application to only one hour in one day.
The impression is like regulating the use of gadgets by children, but in reality some of us do need limitations like this if you want to stay focused and productive. Of course the features presented by Screen Time can also be applied as parental control features to children.
Siri Shortcuts
Siri also gets an interesting update on iOS 12, where it can communicate with all third-party applications, provided the developer has provided support. So with one voice command phrase from the user, Siri can instruct the application to do something on demand.
We can make this phrase ourselves, and the instructions are not limited to just one. Everything can be arranged via a new default application called Shortcuts, which utilizes a drag-and-drop interface to make it easier for us to concoct a kind of serial instructions for Siri and various applications.
Application design improvements and improvements to CarPlay
iOS 12 brings a new look to News along with iBooks, which apparently has been renamed Apple Books. The Voice Memos application has also improved its appearance, and for the first time, it is available for iPad users. Likewise for the Stocks application that is now present on the iPad.
For CarPlay, Apple seems to listen to many complaints from users. During this time, the car dashboard can only display navigation from Apple Maps if using CarPlay. Who also wants to use Apple Maps that are so inferior to Google Maps or Waze? Fortunately, CarPlay on iOS 12 finally supports third-party navigation applications.
