iOS 10


iMessage gets a lot of attention that seems aimed at likely the biggest IM users. iMessage will feature new animations, emoji controls, writing, and hidden invisible ink messages. I'm probably not the target demo for a lot of these features, but there's more. iOS 10 opens iMessage up to developers to build even more features. Also, it appears iMessage will be more accessible within iOS notification.

Siri is also opening up to third-party developers. This could be big as developers integrate Siri into their app. For example, having Siri find you an Uber car. Even more possibility may be found with CarPlay while driving.

Maps too get opened up for third-party developers. Developers like OpenTable can allow customers to book a table right from maps. Maps will also assist in finding stops along a route, such as gas stations and restraints. We'll be using that feature quite a bit. Interestingly, Maps will attempt to proactively offer directions based on your calendar and past habits.

Apple retooled Music and the News apps in iOS 10. Both have had a lot of criticism and Apple is taking another swing. The new Music app promises to make navigation and discovery easier. For News, the goal is make it easier to find stories and breaking news.

Photos promises to become more useful by utilizing computer vision. Apple says Photos will pick out people, places, and things in your photos and try to categorize them. Called Memories, the feature will present your photos in a meaningful way. It will be interesting to see how that works.

Home automation keeps creeping forward in iOS 10. The Home app offers to try to pull HomeKit supported connected devices. You can control them individually or in batches.

Other new features is a raise to wake that when picking up your iPhone you can view the lock screen without touching anything. Small touch that I think will be pretty nice. New will be transcribed voicemail, which I think was one of the coolest features of Google Voice. iOS 10 also promises is improved SPAM controls using caller ID. Like with macOS, Apple Pay will be supported on participating websites using Safari. Lastly, Bedtime Alarm aims to help your sleep schedules with reminders.

All this Apple says is accomplished with privacy as a priority, meaning end-to-end encryption is maintained and device data is leveraged rather than transmitting everything to the cloud. Apple, however, is opening the door to leveraging the cloud through what it calls Differential Privacy where it promises to maintain privacy while leveraging the cloud to discover usage patterns across all its customers.