iOS 15 is now ready to download to your phone, whether you’re getting Apple’s new iPhone 13 or have a 6-year-old iPhone 6S. For months, the new version of iOS was in public testing, undergoing a number of changes before being released. I’ve been trying iOS 15’s new features, and everything from major improvements like FaceTime call web links for Android and Windows pals to minor tweaks like pinning chats to the top of the Messages app has enhanced my iPhone without interrupting my regular routine.
Overall, iOS 15 appears to be a continuation of iOS 14, which in turn appears to be a continuation of iOS 13. These three upgrades are similar to a film trilogy, but unlike The Lord of the Rings, there is no terrifying Eye of Sauron hanging over your every move, only Siri. Following in the footsteps of iOS 13 and 14, iOS 15 allows you to customize your iPhone experience to your liking. For example, with Safari, you may relocate the tab bar to the bottom of the screen to make it simpler to grasp one-handed. If you wish the tab bar to return to its previous location at the top, press the AA button and select Show Top Address Bar.
Apple’s iOS is absolutely unrivaled in terms of device support. If you have an iPhone 6S or the original iPhone SE, iOS 15 is compatible with your device. You might not be able to get all of the new features. When compared to Android phones, this is a significant difference. I can’t think of a Google, Samsung, or Huawei phone from 2015 that will be able to run Android 12.
Let’s get into a couple of my favorite features now that it’s out of the way.
Focus mode in iOS 15 is a game-changer.
Focus mode made the most influence on me out of anything in iOS 15. It’s been described as “Do Not Disturb mode on steroids” by several peers. Focus helps you organize app and widget pages on your iPhone’s home screen to fit your activity and state of mind, as well as filter alerts according to what you’re doing right now.
Your status is immediately shown in Messages for friends to view when Focus mode is activated. It’s similar to Slack’s Away status, except for reminding others not to interrupt you. A Focus status, on the other hand, is system-wide and applies to your iPhone, Mac, and other devices. You have the option of turning off your Focus.
If they choose, third-party app developers can provide Focus status in their messaging applications. As a result, your Focus status may be compatible with WhatsApp, Signal, and other apps in the future. When iOS 15 is launched, Slack will support the Focus status.
In Settings, you can simply set up or change a Focus. I created a few preset Focuses, including ones for work and fitness. For cooking and cycling, I created a few unique Focuses. Please don’t condemn my very boring naming approach for cooking and riding because you may call the Focus anything you like. You may utilize Con to have a Focus start and finish at a specific time or be activated when you arrive at a specific area, or you can plan a Focus to start and end at a specific time.
You may choose who can inform you when you create a Focus. I keep my interaction with my employer and coworkers to a minimum so that I may concentrate on my work. You’ll still get all of your messages and calls, but only those from the contacts you chose will be notified, just as in Do Not Disturb mode. When contacts I didn’t designate try to contact me when I’m using Focus, they’re informed that my notifications are turned off above the text area in Messages. They can choose to “Notify anyhow,” which will notify me.
During a Focus, you may choose which app pages from your home screen are displayed. I created a page dedicated to the applications I use at work. Slack, Filmic Pro, Voice Memos, and a few other apps are included.
When I activate my work focus, the four pages of applications on my home screen are reduced to the one I choose. Because iOS allows you to clone an app many times across several pages on your home screen, you have an almost limitless number of personalization options. I can put Slack on one app page with work applications and another app page with commute apps. It’s also worth noting that Focus does not remove or disable apps that aren’t in use. If I’m at my work Focus and need to access Twitter, I can do so through the App Library, which also gives me access to all of my iPhone’s apps.
It took some time to get Focus set up and tuned to perfection. If you have a Mac running macOS Monterey, you can also use it.
FaceTime calls in portrait mode look fantastic.
Portrait mode is no longer only for photographs. For FaceTime conversations, iOS 15 adds the ability to use Portrait mode, which allows you to create an artsy fuzzy background behind you. You can put a blur over yourself in Zoom, Skype, and other video chat apps, but Apple’s solution looks so much nicer and more natural. Portrait mode replicates the natural out-of-focus falloff you get with a mirrorless camera and fast lens, rather than being a wall of a blur. FaceTime Portrait mode doesn’t have the jagged cutoff or strange halo appearance that Zoom does. When I first tried out the function, one of my friends questioned if I’d received a new phone because the effect was so different.
Video conversations become even more vivid when you combine Portrait mode with FaceTime’s spatial audio capability. The location of the audio source in relation to you is grounded by spatial audio. All of the callers are obviously on your phone, but spatial audio distributes them out so they seem like they’re speaking to you from the left and right as well as the center. It’s a fantastic effect. It seemed to function best when there were four or more persons on the call.
Notification Summary cleans up the clutter on your iPhone.
Notification Summary is similar to having your own personal dossier full of handpicked alerts that aren’t urgent or timely. Notifications from apps may be overwhelming. Managing your alerts has traditionally been an all-or-nothing proposition. However, iOS 15 allows you to collect useful alerts in one location and read them whenever you want.
Notification Summary aggregates alert from applications that I’m interested in but aren’t urgent for me, so I’m not continually stopped or distracted even for a second. Then, when I wish, it sends me that set of notifications.
Notification Summary is useful for managing alerts that you want to view but don’t need to see right away. A notification from a game informing you of an update, or, in my case, a notification from the New York Times Crossword app informing me of a new puzzle (OK, that one could be considered urgent).
My connection with my iPhone has completely transformed thanks to Notification Summary. Because I can now better control notifications from apps I previously turned off, I’ve started accepting them from apps I previously turned off.
Live Text is an excellent way to enter text, numbers, and URLs.
“Oh, it’s Apple’s equivalent of Google Lens,” I thought when Live Text initially came out. Yes, they are on the same wavelength, but they are not the same. Google Lens is a hybrid of Live Text and iOS Spotlight. To recognize text, you may utilize Live Text in real-time with your camera or pictures. It automatically recognizes and contextualizes any text that is present. It works with both printed and handwritten text.
If a phone number appears, you can press it to call it. You can translate a Spanish term into English if it exists. Simply press the Live Text icon on the bottom right to interact with any text in the frame if you have a photo. The user interface is simple and straightforward to use. One of my favorite examples was when Live Text recognized text on a wrinkled T-shirt in a shot I was wearing.
