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Here’s everything you should know about Apple’s iOS 13

Apple’s latest mobile operating system will be coming to an iDevice near you this fall

ios 13 at wwdc 2019
Image: Apple

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Apple’s WWDC 2019 is in full swing, and during the keynote on Monday all things Apple software-related were discussed.

The next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 13 was unveiled. I should say, both mobile operating systems, as the iPad is now getting its own fork of iOS, iPadOS. Features like LTE app download updates are coming with the new version, as well as a refresh to Apple Maps with a Google-like Street View.

Check out what you need to know about iOS 13 below.

Apple’s iOS 13 will be darker than dark

One of the most asked about features of any modern operating system is coming to iOS 13 this fall – System-wide dark mode. Now you’ll no longer burn your retina display (or your retinas) when you look at your notifications in the middle of the night. It can be set to go on with the sunset, or at any time of your choosing.

All Apple apps will support the new mode once iOS 13 lands in the fall, and third-party developers will get API access to add it to their apps as well. While the jury is still out on whether or not it’s actually beneficial, choices are great and let’s be honest – the gray iOS UI is kinda dated now.

apple ios 13 dark mode screenshots

Image: Apple

Find My iPhone and Find My Friends are now combined

The ‘Find my iPhone’ and ‘Find my Friends’ apps are now combined in the new Find My app, which also lets you track your devices with a Tile-like Bluetooth tracker.

A new Sign in with Apple feature

sign in with Apple button

Image: 9to5Mac

A new Sign in with Apple feature works like the “Sign in with Facebook” or “Sign in with Google” third-party tools we’re used to, with one huge difference.

Apple says it’s the first trackerless sign-in system, with a whole host of anonymizing features. Oh, and you can use Touch ID or Face ID as two-factor authentication to keep your accounts safe

iPad gets its own OS

apple ipad ipados during wwdc 2019

Screenshot: KnowTechie

iOS is no longer iOS on your iPad, it’s now iPadOS. Whether this is just to make things easier for developers I couldn’t say, but Apple probably has some ineffable plan. iPadOS gets some cool new features: Split View can now have two windows from the same app open, the Home screen is redesigned, and a new App Expose feature helps with multitasking.

Some new Markup features let you scribble on everything from documents to webpages, and the Apple Pencil has some huge improvements in latency. iPadOS can also use local storage for files, zip and unzip, has new keyboard shortcuts and a desktop-class browser in the redesigned Safari. Maybe now the iPad Pro line is actually a replacement for your laptop.

I won’t keep you in the dark any longer, so let’s dive into the rest of the improvements to iOS that are coming this fall:

  • The Photos app is getting a huge list of new features, that range from easier editing to AI-curated scrapbooks, to a new Portrait Lighting mode that lets you change how images are lit, after the fact
  • Almost everything you can do to a photo, you can now do to video as well, turning your iPhone into a mobile video editing powerhouse. All of these edits are non-destructive as well, so any filters/adjustments/etc can be undone
  • Everything is optimized. I mean everything, with Apple saying app launch times are 2x as fast, app download sizes are up to 50-percent smaller, Face ID is 30-percent faster, and the time it takes to update apps is also reduced
  • The volume control has been slimlined (finally!)
  • New ways to limit location data sharing are coming, helping to keep your privacy, well, private
  • Reminders got a new UI and some smarts to make it catch up with all the third-party to-do list apps. That includes deep links with Messages so you can set reminders to pop up the next time you message a person
  • Messages gets a new Profile page, all the Memoji you can shake a gif at, and three new Animoji.
  • Siri gets a new, more natural-sounding voice to replace the actually-recorded-from-a-real-person voice she’s always had.
  • Siri Shortcuts will offer suggestions to help you become more productive lazier
  • CarPlay gets a new dashboard, a new Calendar app and Siri support for third-party navigation and audio apps
  • A new Voice Control accessibility option lets you control your iPhone completely with your voice
  • AirPods get some new features: Siri can now read your incoming messages to you in real-time and you can reply with Siri as well. AirPods also get the ability to share audio with a second set of AirPods, for watching videos with a friend
  • Text editing gets a sorely-needed overhaul, with more accurate cursor control and scrolling improvements
  • The Files app finally lets you share folders or access files from external storage devices
  • The Health app gains menstrual tracking and a new hearing health monitoring feature that lets you know if your surroundings are loud enough to cause hearing damage
  • Safari gets Siri Suggestions support, personalizing your start page based on things like iCloud taps, Reading List selections and links sent to you in Messages

The betas for iOS 13 and iPadOS are available now, but you’ll probably want to wait until the official launch this fall to upgrade on your daily devices.

What are you most excited for when Apple pushed out iOS 13? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.

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