4 iOS 12 Features That Will Make New and Classic Apps More Helpful Than Ever
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Earlier in July, the third version of the iOS 12 public beta introduced a handful of interesting browsing features that flew under the radar. These smoothed out how iPhone and iPad users scroll and text throughout the day, but the latest update revealed these were only a few of the many hidden gems Apple has cooking for iOS 12.
Indeed, two signature apps have recently been retrofitted with additional capabilities, making good on promises Apple made during WWDC 2018 to update Siri and Stocks, among other things. The company also made two new features more accessible right from the home screen so users don’t have to sift through settings to interact with some of iOS 12’s spotlight features.
1. iOS 12: Siri and Apple Maps Team Up to Help You Ship Packages
Trying to make some side income by selling your ancient collection of Pokemon cards on eBay? Consider Siri your e-commerce advisor.
One redditor noticed that Apple’s virtual assistant can now detect a sale in eBay and recommend the right address to ship it to under the Apple Maps search bar. This way you can just tap over to the navigation app to figure out what method of delivery is best, instead of having to individually map out each address yourself.
Redditor Anish_Genius had Siri show them exactly where they had to ship a package.
Time to turn that cabinet of dusty comic books into some cash.
2. iOS 12: Battery Menu Displays What Apps Drain Your Device in The Background
The newly improved Battery menu gives users an hour-by-hour breakdown of what apps are soaking up the most of their device’s juice throughout the day. This works for both apps you spend most of your day browsing as well as programs quietly eating away at your battery in the background.
The light blue bars showed me that a big chunk of my battery is spent on apps that i'm not even interacting with.
The “Avg. Screen Off” section will tell you how much time certain apps spent running, without you even directly interacting with them. This is common for apps like Music, that keep functioning even when your phone is holstered. But this latest update could help users weed out those sleeper apps to give you more battery life when you really need it.
3. iOS 12: The Stock App Now Makes Sure You’re Well-Read
Apple’s built-in investment tracking app was slated for a complete rework ahead of WWDC 2018 and it has arrived.
Before Stocks was sort of like the Weather app, you simply selected stocks you wanted to track and it populated them into a list. This latest update gives Stocks a whole new look, and also integrates relevant stories from Apple News to give you easier access to analysis and news coverage in real time.
4. iOS 12: Today View Puts Screen Time Front-and-Center
Screen Time was introduced to iOS 12 as a way to curb incessant iPhone use. The new feature tracks what apps you spend most of your day using and gives you the ability to cut yourself off during certain time windows or after a certain period of use. The only issue is that it was buried under the Settings app, but not anymore.
Redditor, brokenglass, pics slots the Screen Time Widget into their Today View to have easy access to their phone usage data.
You can now add Screen Time to your Today View so you can see just how much time you’re staring at your phone right from your home screen. Simply unlock your iPhone, swipe right, scroll all the way down, and tap Edit. You’ll then be able to add the Screen Time Widget so you have access to it with just a simple swipe.
