Apple’s iOS 10 lands today, and it’s a pretty chunky software overhaul.
The controversial, headphone jack-less iPhone 7 will ship with the update preinstalled, but for owners of the soon-to-be last-gen devices iOS 10 is still a pretty big deal.
Here are the seven things we reckon you’ll want to know about ahead of rollout.
1. iMessage is going all out to ensure that avoiding actual human conversation is more fun than ever
As a society we’re beginning to accept, if not support, the fact that the English language is gradually being substituted for flame icons and smiley faces with hearts for eyes, and iOS 10 just continues the emoji uprising.
In the new iMessage you can write out a full sentence and then tap words to replace them with emojis. There are 72 new emojis arriving and even an emoji predictor that works in much the same way as predictive text.
Emojis are also three times bigger, which is a bit daunting really.
On top of all that, you can now slap stickers on top of message bubbles (see above), send a message in your own hand(or finger)-writing and use third-party apps with messenger.
2. Better notifications
Apple’s new rich notifications make it easier to respond to messages and emails without needing to unlock and open the necessary app. 3D touch allows you to either preview or respond to a message without leaving the home screen.
Useful as that might sound, it also seems to suggest that anyone can respond to your messages without needing to know your passcode. No more leaving your phone lying around on the desk at work. That is, unless you actually trust your colleagues?
Oh and in a very Apple Watch-like move, you only have to lift your phone to wake it up now. Who needs buttons.
3. Apple Music is getting better
Apple Music’s 24-hour radio station and impressively diverse Curator playlists have been lauded since the service first waged its war against Spotify and Tidal, but until now it hasn’t looked that great.
Now iOS10 has totally redesigned the app, claiming to offer a simpler and more intuitive user interface.
You can also view lyrics to songs as you listen to them, just to ensure your credibility remains intact in the company of any lip-readers on the evening commute. It also means you can technically have a karaoke battle anywhere at any time. Let that soak in.
4. News is also better
The Apple News app has been given a revamp, and now splits off stories and publications into distinct categories for better browsing.
5. Photo recognition
The Photos app now has advanced built-in recognition capabilities, meaning it can identify people, places and even non-human things such as footballs and dogs (aka life’s essentials).
Smart grouping means all your snaps can be viewed in their relevant categories, and you can even search for them in-app.
6. Siri evolves
Siri, the iPhone’s personal assistant with an attitude, is becoming a pretty useful digital pal these days. With iOS 10 it has been handed over to developers, which allows almost any app to build Siri into its feature-set.
From now on you’ll be able to lazily ask Siri to write your WhatsApp message or sort you out an Uber.
Providing you’ve learnt not to care about being judged by your fellow man for launching into conversation with a mobile phone screen in public, the possibilities are pretty much endless here.
7. Goodbye pointless pre-loaded apps
As we reported a while ago, Apple is finally letting us ditch some of its first party apps, should we struggle to find a place for them on our cluttered home screens.
If iOS 10 has one crowning glory, it is that we can finally say good riddance to Stocks.
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