iOS 10: What’s in Store ?

Apple was quite praised for its iOS 9 as it was seen as more of a rewiring that was setting up intelligence and proactivity at the same time respected privacy and security of its users. It seemed like a stepping stone to something much bigger.

Post the official unveiling of the iPhone 7, iOS 10 has been officially launched, which takes all of its predecessor’s attributes forward. The update comes along with a number of various enhancements, from the lock screen to the notification experience and a major update to Siri.
Here’s everything you need to know about iOS 10.

Is Your Device Compatible?

So let’s begin with the basics. Is your device compatible? The OS works with iPhone 5, iPad 3, iPad mini 2 and iPod touch 6 th generation and higher. It will be available on your iPhones, iPads etc. However, iOS 10 update won’t be supported for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. It seems fair
considering how long Apple has supported its older devices.

Raise to Wake

A major change for iPhone and iPad enthusiasts. Apple has redesigned the iPhone and iPad lock screen, which makes it the biggest revision in the last decade. The Slide to unlock option is now replaced with simple instructions that simply say “Press Home to Open”. The additional and
rather nifty feature is the ability to raise your iPhone to wake it, fixing the all-too-common issue of ghost touch that caused disturbance to all the notifications.

Lock Screen Notifications

There is no need to exit the home screen for quick reads and replies anymore. The new notifications now use the 3D touch to show hidden menu actions. For example, just hard press on the calendar invite alert and you’ll be able to accept or decline the notifications. These notifications work even better for iOS 10 messages. The user can now easily respond to messages without having to actually leave the lock screen in the first place. This is of course only relevant to iPhone 6S and 7 users.

Water Detection

Only the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus are water resistant, but this is only to a certain extent. As of iOS beta 2, the software reportedly includes a warning message that reminds the user to unplug the lighting cable at the bottom of a device if the phone detects water. It’s still too early to decide if this feature will be around in the long run but is no doubt, a handy tool because water and a turned-on iPhone don’t tend to mix very well.

De-cluttered Control Centre

The swipe-up-from-the-bottom Control Center overlay menu has a brand new look that helps de-clutter the layout in iOS 10. It’s also something Apple users have been clamoring for a while now. It features four shortcut apps. The control center has gotten one of the more significant of redesigns with the new update. It too sacrifices density for legibility and simplicity. In this case, though, it does take some getting used to. The layout brings with it three cards: one for control, one for music, and one for the Home screen.

Enhancements to Siri

Ever since Siri was first revealed back in 2011, developers and customers have been clamoring for a way to use Apple’s sequential inference-driven virtual assistant to control all the apps whether on iPhone and iPad. With iOS 10, Apple has introduced Siri apps. Though it’s not a fully
open API, at least not yet, it will let six types of apps integrate with Siri in a fully fleshed out way. Booking, messaging, photo and video, payment apps, VoIP calling and workout to begin with. Searching for photos through apps like Shutterfly and Pinterest can be done with your
voice thanks to Siri.

Quick Type Keyboard

Apple’s on-screen Quick Type keyboard can intelligently tell the difference between what you’re saying and what computers usually think you’re saying thanks to more advanced Siri intelligence. Using deep learning kept locally, or what Apple calls “differential privacy,” iOS 10
understands the wider context of what you’re typing, influencing the words in the suggestion bar above the keyboard and can sometimes display an emoji in place of the context.

An Upgrade to Photos

iOS 10 automatically pieces together photo albums for you. Apple plans to take Photos to the next level with Memories, which are supposed to remind you of events in life by clustering together photos into trips, people and topics. It seems to have a nice magazine-style interface. It will also let you assemble your captured photos and videos of a particular memory with a special movie that’s cut automatically. It’s customizable, with a number of mood choices and three length options, just in case you don’t want to fine tune it yourself. But these are truly incremental for those photo enthusiasts.
There’s no denying that iOS 10 will, without a doubt be iterative. Iterations will always be important, and even critical to improving the overall experience and functionality moving forward. By pushing design, architecture, and intelligence forward, Apple is taking an almost decade-old operating system and making it fresh and fun. It just goes to show that a few small changes can make a major difference.