Apple iOS 12: Release Date and Guide to the Best New iPhone Features
Google Maps in CarPlay, and other standout features.
by James DenninApple announced a number of new features that will be available on iOS 12 at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. At center stage were additions to the ARKit and a number of new tools designed to help users combat the negative effects of smartphone addiction.
“Apple really sort of brutally killed a few third party apps,” said Philip Elmer-DeWItt of Apple 3.0. “There’s a whole family of measurement tools, and Apple just kind of came out and said they’re going to do this on their own with Measure”
Of course, the new tools are only available to members of the Apple Developer Program right now, with the public beta launching around the end of this month, according to the Apple newsroom. By the Fall, the update will then be issued as a free software update to everyone with a iPhone 5s or later.
Apple touted the updates to ARKit at its announcement, but a number of other features and integrations are getting notice.
CarPlay Support For Google Maps and Other Third Parties
One of the most popular features among the early testers in Reddit threads is new support for third party apps in CarPlay. In other words, people who prefer to navigate with an app like Google Maps or Waze instead of Apple Maps will now be able to do so.
Password Manager Integration With Password AutoFill
Another popular feature Apple engineers have been able to pull off allows you to integrate any password managers you use with Password Autofill, which means that you’ll be able to more seamlessly manage a more secure set of password combinations.
Better App Store Guidelines
Apple is trying to bring a greater sense of transparency regarding app updates and the metadata that accompanies apps and software updates in the App Store. In app purchases will have to be more clearly disclosed, with clearer rules about recurring fees and subscriptions. Developers will also have to clearly state and describe the new features they push out in their software updates, possibly putting an end to cutesy update descriptions which were to be fair, getting a little out of hand.
Alternative Appearance and Better Facial Recognition
We knew there would be some improvements to Apple’s facial recognition features: On Tuesday morning the Verge reported about a new Alternative Appearance feature which will allow your phone to recognize two difference faces.
A Single OS Mojave and iOS App Base?
One big question ahead of this year’s WWDC was whether or not this would finally be the year that Apple began integrating its mobile and desktop operating systems. Apple threw some water on the speculation, while still rolling out some tweaks to the Finder app that effectively begin merging the iOS and MacOS app bases, as Venturebeat noted.
