Apple previews iOS 12


At its annual developer conference Monday Apple rolled out the first look at iOS 12. iOS 12 promises to streamline iOS devices and adds in some new features. Apple said iOS 12 will work on iPhones from the iPhone 5s forward which goes back 5 years when released. iOS 12 promises significant speed enhancements with opening apps and frequently used functions. Opening apps can be up to twice as fast. Opening the camera can be up to 70-percent faster and Apple promises the keyboard should open up to 50-percent faster. I’m particularly interested in anything that gets me taking photos faster to catch quick moments with my family.

Apple is finally bringing group calling to FaceTime. Now multiple people can join or be added to a group call. Group FaceTime will be supported on iOS and macOS devices and audio using the Apple Watch. This should be a nice addition.

Photos will get some needed updates for enhancing and helping to catalog events. Also, sharing photos with friends/family at an event will be easier to expand your Memories.

A while back Apple bought the popular app Workflow, which is a macro actions utility for iOS. It looks like Siri Shortcut is the fruit of that acquisition. Siri Shortcuts will allow you to use a single voice command to trigger multiple configured actions. Siri Shortcuts will also be available to developers, so we can expect to do some nifty actions using various apps and connected devices.

Apple also rolled our ARKit 2, which should enable developers to do some interesting things. The ability to interact/collaborate with other devices looks promising even if just on games.

Animojis made a slash with the iPhone X and iOS 12 adds new animals and also lets you design your own animated avatar or Memoji.

iOS 12 is expected to be available for free later this fall.