One thing that makes iPhone and iPad special is the Messages app. Aside from the "blue chat bubbles" that are all the rage with the kids, you can trigger fun effects on iMessages you send.

That includes effects for iPhones or iPad that make text bubbles slam, loud, gentle, or invisible or turn the whole screen into balloons, confetti, lasers, fireworks, or shooting stars.

Here's how to spruce up your iMessage on the best iPhones and best iPads, including the iPhone 13 Pro.

How do I add bubble effects to my iMessages?

1. Enter the message you want to send.
2. Long press on the Send button (looks like an upward pointing arrow).

3. Select the Bubble tab at the top if it's not already selected.
4. Tap on the effect you want to apply: Slam, Loud, Gentle, or Invisible Ink.
5. Tap the Send button to the right of your chosen effect (it looks like an upward pointing arrow).

How do I cancel a bubble effect in Messages?

If you change your mind about sending a bubble effect, tap the Cancel button at the bottom of the effects list (it looks like an X).

What do bubble effects do in Messages?

• Slam: Stamps the bubble down and makes the entire screen ripple.
• Loud: Sends a giant bubble that shakes before settling down into place.
• Gentle: Sends a tiny bubble that meekly slips into place.
• Invisible ink: Covers the bubble in animated noise and blur until you swipe it out of the way.

How do I add screen effects to my iMessages?

You can also send a screen effect from the Messages app or the new interactive notifications, even from the lock screen!

1. Enter the message you want to send.
2. Long press on the Send button (looks like an upward pointing arrow).
3. Select the Screen tab at the top if it's not already selected.

4. Swipe from right to left to switch between the effects you want to apply: balloons, confetti, lasers, fireworks, or shooting stars.
5. Tap the Send button to the right of your message (it looks like an upward pointing arrow).

How do I cancel a screen effect in Messages?

If you change your mind about sending a screen effect, tap the Cancel button at the bottom below your message (it looks like an X).

How to replay bubble and screen effects in iMessage

You can replay the bubble and screen effects you receive in an iMessage. Just follow these simple steps.

1. Open Messages.
2. Open the conversation where you want to view the effects.
3. Find a message with an effect attached and press the Replay button to view the effect again.

How to use Message effects with Reduce Motion turned on

If you have the Reduce Motion setting turned on to reduce things like the icon parallax effect, you can still have Message effects play automatically by flipping a switch in the Accessibility settings.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Accessibility.

3. Tap Motion.
4. Tap the switch next to Auto-Play Message Effects to the green 'on' position to allow Message effects to be played even when Reduce Motion is turned on.

What do screen effects do in Messages?

Here are all of the current screen effects and what they do.

• Echo: Have your text duplicate and flood your recipient's screen.
• Spotlight: Put a literal spotlight on your incoming iMessage.
• Balloons: Sends multi-color balloons expanding and flying up from the bottom right of the screen.
• Confetti: Drops multi-color confetti from the top of the screen.
• Love: A giant heart will appear to expand and pop from your latest iMessage.
• Lasers: Fills the screen with "unce, unce, unce" lasers and sound.
• Fireworks: Sets off multi-color fireworks from the center of the screen.
• Shooting stars: Launches a "the more you know" starburst shooting from the left of the screen, exploding as it reaches the right.

Add some uniqueness to your messages

Whether it's with balloons or lasers, fireworks or shooting stars, there are many different ways you can highlight your text messages and make them unique. Start using them today.

Updated July 2022: Updated for iOS 15 and the iOS 16 beta.

If you like sending emoji in your texts and iMessages, Apple makes doing that incredibly easy. Between Tapbacks for reacting directly to a message and using machine learning to know which emoji to recommend, Apple understands that these little pictograms are some of the best iPhone communication tools.

If you're looking to spice up your messages to your friends and family, you can litter them with emoji all you want! Here's how you do it!

How do you get emoji recommendations in Messages?

Apple's predictive QuickType keyboard can suggest emoji and, you know, regular words. The predictive keyboard has to be turned on in Settings and can't be hidden, so check out our QuickType keyboard guide first if you need helping getting it set up.

1. Start typing in the Messages text field.
2. Tap any emoji predictions that show up in the prediction bar. If multiple predictions show up, tap the one you prefer.
3. Tap the Send button. (Looks like an upward arrow.)

Emoji predictions will show up whenever you type something with a corresponding emoji. For example, "I'm happy" will predict "(smiley face)." Likewise, "My car" will suggest the "(car)" emoji.

Pro-tip: If you don't want the emoji to take the place of the word but rather appear beside it, put a space between the word before you tap your desired emoji.

How do you replace words with emoji in Messages?

This "emojification" process works similarly to emoji recommendations and will work in both iMessages and standard SMS texts.

1. Type an iMessage in the text field.
2. Tap the Emoji button on the keyboard.
3. Tap on a word that's highlighted orange to replace it with its corresponding emoji.

4. Keep tapping words highlighted until you've "emojified" everything you want.
5. Tap the Send button (Looks like an upward arrow).

With emojification, you can convert as many — or as few — words to emoji as you like.

How do you react with a Tapback in an iMessage?

Emoji aren't just for replying; they're also for reacting. Apple calls them Tapbacks. They're similar to Slack or Facebook emoji reactions and drop right onto any iMessage bubble sent your way.

1. Touch and hold (long press) or double-tap on an iMessage sent your way.
2. Tap the Tapback you want to send: Heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, Haha, !!, or ?.

There's no need to hit send; the Tapback reaction goes immediately.

What do the different Tapback reactions mean?

Theoretically, these Tapback reactions can mean whatever you want them to. However, context is king, and a thumbs up Tapback to your Mom might mean something different than one to your best friend. Here's a basic guide to all the Tapback reactions available and what they could mean.

• Heart: Like, love, or fave
• Thumbs up: Happy, approve, or agree
• Thumbs down: Sad, disapprove or disagree
• Haha: Laugh, either happily or sarcastically.
• !!: Exclaim emphatically.
• ?: Question.

How do you change the Tapback reaction on an iMessage?

If you reply with the wrong Tapback or later decide you want a different Tapback, you can easily make the change.

1. Touch and hold (long press) or double-tap on an iMessage with the Tapback you want to change.
2. Tap the Tapback you want to change to Heart, thumbs up, thumbs down, Haha, !!, or ?.

The new Tapback will take the place of the old one.

How do you delete a Tapback reaction on an iMessage?

You can also remove it if you accidentally send a Tapback or have reconsidered sending one.

1. Tap a Tapback that you wish to remove.
2. Tap the Tapback you want to remove (i.e., if you want to remove Heart, tap Heart.)

The Tapback will disappear for you and the recipient.

Emote away

Using emoji has never been easier, and Tapbacks somehow made things even more straightforward. Use them on your best iPhone, all you want. Here's to having vibrant and fun conversations in just a few taps.

Updated May 2022: Updated for the latest version of iOS 15.

Formerly known as iBooks, the Apple Books app is the all-in-one book store and reading application for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You can use it to read ebooks and listen to audiobooks, but before you can do that, you need to know how to find and download books in Apple Books.

We'll show you how to do exactly that below and explain everything from page-swiping behaviors, highlighting, and searching within books to navigating the Book Store to find your next favorite title. Read on for all the details.

How to download a book from the Apple Book Store

As we explore the features of the Apple Books app, let's start on page 1: Finding something to read.

The Book Store has been reorganized into sections, including For You (recommendations based on previous purchases), New & Trending, Top Charts, Book Store staff recommendations, genres, etc.

1. Tap the Books app.
2. Tap the Book Store tab to browse the virtual shelves.
3. Tap the Browse Sections button to get a list of sections in the Book Store.

4. Tap a section to browse.
5. Tap a book to download.
6. Tap Get (if the book is free) or Buy if the book has a cost. If you'd like to download a sample chapter from the book, tap Sample. You can see more information about the book by scrolling up within the book's card.

7. Authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or your Apple ID password and the book will begin to download.
8. Tap Read to read the book.

How to search for a book in Apple Books

If you know the name of the book you're interested in (or its author), you can search for it and get results for books and audiobooks both in the Book Store and in your library.

1. Tap the Search tab.
2. Enter the search text.
3. Tap Search or a suggestion in the list of matching results.

4. Tap a book to begin the steps to download the book.

How to read a book in Apple Books

Now that you've got a book, it's time to read.

You can access any book on your device by tapping the Library tab. You can also use the Reading Now tab to continue with the book you're currently reading, resume other books you've recently been reading, and recommendations for books based on what you've bought before.

1. Tap a book to open it.
2. Tap the right margin or swipe from right to left to go to the next page.
3. Tap the left margin or swipe from left to right to go to the previous page.

You can change this margin-tapping behavior in the Settings app. When you're done reading, tap the back button in the upper left-hand corner to return to your library. Your place in the book will be saved automatically—no bookmark required.

How to quickly scan through a book in Apple Books

You can flip through the virtual pages in your book with one finger. Try that with a regular book.

1. If the controls do not appear at the bottom of the page of the book you are reading, tap on a blank part of the page.
2. Tap the menu icon at the bottom right of the screen.
3. Tap and hold the Contents bar.
4. Drag left or right to move through the book's pages.

How to use the Want to Read Collection in Apple Books

Think of Want to Read as a wish list containing books that you're curious about or that other people may have recommended to you.

Books that you've downloaded but haven't finished are automatically added to the Want to Read list. In addition, you can add other books to this collection. Here's how to do it when browsing the Book Store.

1. Tap the Book Store tab.
2. Tap a book you're interested in.
3. Tap Want to Read.

The book will be added to your Want to Read collection.

How to set a bookmark in Apple Books

Not too many people can finish a book in one sitting, and that's why bookmarks were invented. You can set a bookmark—as many of them as you want, actually—quickly and easily in Books.

1. If the controls do not appear at the bottom of the page of the book you are reading, tap on a blank part of the page.
2. Tap the Menu icon at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
3. Tap the Bookmark icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

The bookmark icon will turn red and get added to a list of bookmarks for that book. To remove the bookmark, tap it again.

How to see a list of bookmarks in Apple Books

1. If the controls do not appear at the bottom of the page of the book you are reading, tap on a blank part of the page.
2. Tap the menu icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
3. Tap the Bookmarks & Highlights tab.

To go to a particular bookmark, tap it. Swipe left to remove a bookmark from the list, then tap Delete. 

How to see a table of contents in Apple Books

Most books have a table of contents. If your book does, you can use it to jump to a particular chapter without scrolling through the entire book.

1. If the controls do not appear at the bottom of the page of the book you are reading, tap on a blank part of the page.
2. Tap the menu icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
3. Tap the Contents bar.

Tap the table of contents entry to go to that page.

How to highlight text in a book in Apple Books

You can use the tip of your finger as a virtual highlighter—in different colors!—to mark significant passages in a book.

1. Open a book.
2. Touch and hold at the starting point of the text you want to highlight, then drag to the end of the text.
3. Tap Highlight.

How to change the color of a highlight in Apple Books

Tapping highlighted text reveals a menu of options to work with that highlight.

1. Tap the Highlighted text that you want to edit.
2. Tap the word Highlight.
3. Tap the colored circles to display a palette of colors.
4. Tap a color. The underlined A button will remove the color highlight and underline the text instead.

How to remove a highlight in Apple Books

1. Tap the Highlighted text that you want to delete.
2. Tap the Remove option.

How to add a note to a highlight in Apple Books

Once you have highlighted the text, you can also add a note to it.

1. Tap the highlighted text that you want to add a note to.
2. Tap the Add Note option.
3. Enter your text and tap Done

You'll now notice a little color-matching square beside your highlighted text. You can tap this to read or edit the note at any time.

How to review notes in a book in Apple Books

The list button at the top of the page in your book provides convenient access to all the notes in your book.

1. If the controls do not appear at the bottom of the page of the book you are reading, tap on a blank part of the page.
2. Tap the menu icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
3. Tap the Bookmarks & Highlights tab. Your notes will appear under the Highlights option.

To go to a particular note, tap it. 

How to remove notes from a book in Apple Books

1. In the book, tap the highlight for the note you want to delete.
2. Tap the Remove option.
3. Tap Delete when prompted to remove the note and its highlight.

How to find text in a book in Apple Books

One of the biggest benefits of an electronic version of a book is searching for text and finding it almost instantly. Here's how to do it.

1. If the controls do not appear at the bottom of the page of the book you are reading, tap on a blank part of the page.
2. Tap the menu icon at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
3. Tap the Search Book bar.
4. Enter the search text and each instance of your text in the book will show up. You'll also see options to search Wikipedia and the web.

You can tap any result to go to that part of the book and use the links at the bottom of the list to search the web or Wikipedia. And if you put a page number in the search field, you can tap the page number in the search results to go to that page.

Turn your Apple device into an e-reader

As you can see, the Apple Books app has some reasonably advanced functionality tucked away in various menus in iOS 16. So whether you've already picked up the best iPad for reading or want to make the most of every spare minute to read a bit more of the latest page-turner on your phone, the Apple Books app is a great choice.

No matter which iPhone you have, whether it has 64GB of storage or even 1TB, getting an error message saying that you are out of storage space, or getting dangerously low, just sucks. Without that storage space, it's hard to enjoy your phone. And unfortunately, your iPhone only has so much space on it because, unlike many Android devices, you can't expand that storage space with a micro-USB card.

While Apple has iCloud, it only gives you 5GB for free, so you need to reconsider which iCloud storage plan you should get if you haven't already done so. But if you don't want to move everything over to iCloud, don't worry; you have some other options that can free up storage space on your device in a streamlined manner. Although, you can use one of the best flash drives for backing up your iPhone, you may still simply want to free up room.

Regardless of the device that you're using, whether that's the iPhone SE or the iPhone 13 Pro, here is how to free up storage space on your best iPhone.

How to enable offload unused apps on your iPhone and iPad

If you haven't used an app in a long time, it's just sitting on your Home screen, taking up space. You can delete apps individually at any time; however, iOS gives you the option of removing all the apps you haven't touched recently. This will free up storage space on your iPhone if you aren't particularly good at organizing your apps.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap iPhone Storage.
4. Tap Enable beside Offload Unused Apps.

This will delete apps that you haven't used in quite some time — however, it will keep all your documents and data to avoid losing anything too important. In addition, the app icon will remain on your iPhone, so you can quickly reinstall it by tapping it when you want to use it again.

How to disable offload unused apps on your iPhone and iPad

While the aforementioned enabling of offloading unused apps is supposed to help you clear out the clutter of apps you haven't used in a long time, sometimes that can prove problematic. What happens if an offloaded app is no longer available on the App Store, for example, and you can't redownload it? If you decide to disable this setting, it's easy to do.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap App Store
3. Tap the Offload Unused Apps On/Off switch. When the switch goes gray, that means it's off.

How to review large attachments on iPhone and iPad

When you send and receive images, animated GIFs, or other media through messages, those create attachments that can take up a lot of storage space. So iOS gives you the option to review them all in one convenient place so you can free up storage space on your iPhone.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap iPhone Storage.

4. Tap Messages. You may need to scroll down the page to see it.
5. Tap Review Large Attachments

From here, you'll be able to see every attachment you have in your messages and will be able to delete them. Unfortunately, there is no quick way to delete all of them, so you'll have to do it one by one.

Any questions about how to free up storage space on iPhone?

When it comes to freeing up storage space on your iPhone, it can be done in a few taps in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Now, go out there and reclaim that iPhone storage space that you so rightfully deserve!

Updated March 2022: These are still the best ways to free up some storage space on your iPhone and iPad with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Learning how to find and remove 'Other' files from iPhone and iPad can also help.

Having children in the age of technology presents parents with many challenges. One of the largest is making sure your loved ones are safe and healthy by limiting their time staring at a screen. It's also essential to monitor and restrict what they are doing during that time. With Screen Time, you can check your family's device usage.

There are two ways you can set up Screen Time controls for your child: through Family Sharing and directly on a device.

How to set up Screen Time for your child through Family Sharing

With Family Sharing, you create an Apple ID for your kids. In doing so, all family members can share their Apple purchases such as apps, music, and books. In addition, with Family Sharing, you can set Screen time rules for each family member to be confident that everyone has settings that fit their needs and lifestyle.

To add a child account to family sharing, check out our How to create and add a child to Family Sharing article.

After you've added your child's account to Family Sharing on one of the best iPhones or best iPads, you can control their Screen Time settings by doing the following.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on your Apple ID.
3. Choose Family Sharing.
4. Select Screen Time.
5. Follow the instructions to create your child's Apple ID.

How to set up Screen Time for your child directly on a device

Though Family Sharing is a great tool, it isn't for everyone. If you'd prefer not to give your child an Apple ID just yet and would instead like to set up Screen Time directly on your child's device, you can do that as well. Here's how.

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap Screen Time. You'll see a list of insights that Screen Time provides.
3. Select Continue.

4. Tap This is My Child's iPhone/iPad to set up Screen Time on this device for a child. You can then set a Downtime (i.e., a chunk of time — say, nighttime — when you don't want them using their device).
5. Choose Start.
6. Select a start time.
7. Tap Start again. Do the same for the End time.
8. Choose Set Downtime to save your settings.

9. Set your child's App Limits (the amount of time per day that you want your kiddo to spend on certain categories of apps). For instance, if you only want them to spend 30 minutes per day playing games, then tap Games to select that category. Then scroll down to the bottom to where it says Time Amount, enter 30 minutes, then tap Set App Limit. You can set limits on as many individual app categories as you like or set an umbrella time for all apps.

10. Tap Continue after reviewing Content & Privacy controls.
11. Create a four-digit Parent Passcode using the numerical keyboard. Your child's device will require this passcode to allow for more time or to change any Screen Time settings.
12. Re-enter the passcode.

That's it! The Screen Time settings on your child's device are now in place. If you ever want to make any changes, you'll need to launch Screen Time using the first two steps in the tutorial above and then enter your Parent Passcode.

How to set communication limits for your child

Screen Time on the iPhone 14 and other mobile devices include the ability to create communication limits. These limits, which you can set for yourself and your children, apply to Phone, FaceTime, Messages, and iCloud contacts.

1. Launch the Settings app on your mobile device.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Under Family, tap your child's name.

4. Select Communication Limits.
5. Tap During Allowed Screen TIme
6. Enter your Screen Time password, if applicable.

7. On the next screen, you can decide Allowed Communication is Contacts Only, Contacts & Groups, or Everyone.
8. Tap the Back button at the top left.
9. Select During Downtime to limit who your child can communicate with during downtime or after app limits have expired.
10. On the next screen, you can decide Allowed Communication is Specific Contacts or Contacts & Groups.

11. Tap the Back button at the top left.
12. From the Communications Limits screen, tap the Manage (Your Child's Name) Contacts toggle if you'd like to manage their iCloud contacts remotely.
13. Toggle Allow Contact Editing if you'd like to turn contact editing on/off for your child.

Protect and monitor

Screen Time takes the guesswork out of monitoring what's going on with your kid's Apple devices. In today's world, it's more important than ever to supervise what kids are consuming and how much time they are spending on screens. Start using Screen Time today for more peace of mind. 

Updated December 2022: Includes latest information according to the latest versions of Apple OS.

Like clockwork, each new year brings new versions of iOS and iPadOS. If you've owned Apple devices for a few years, you probably already know how to update your iPhone and iPad, though those newer to the platform might not have gotten the hang of it just yet.

Whether you're just looking to find out what's new in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, or you want to know more about how to backup your device, update it, and troubleshoot any installation problems, we're here to help.

What's new in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15

iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 have been out in the world for a little while and have seen a few updates since their initial releases back in the fall of 2021, too. Tentpole new features include SharePlay, Focus modes and notification improvements, Safari updates, Live Text, and more.

Check out our iOS 15 review and iPadOS 15 rview for an in-depth look at Apple's latest mobile OS releases. Interested in what's coming next? Our iOS 15 beta coverage is also worth peeping at.

Which iPhones and iPads are compatible with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15?

As technology improves, older devices have a difficult time keeping up with major software changes. That's why Apple puts a limit on how old your device can be and still be compatible with new operating systems each year. That being said, if you are wondering which iPhone models run iOS 15 or if your iPad will work with iPadOS 15, you may be pleasantly surprised.

If your device is running iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 now, then it will be compatible with version 15 so you can continue with preparing your devices and proceeding with the update as outlined below.

How to back up your iPhone or iPad

Your iPhone or iPad store all your photos, messages, health data, documents, accessory setups, settings, and more. In other words, your memories and your preferences.

Your data is important, even precious, and should be treated as such. Before you download any software, you should always back up your iPhone or iPad.

How to download and install iOS 15

Ready to take the plunge and update your device? Here's everything you need to know about downloading and installing iOS updates on your iPhone or iPad.

How to update from an iOS beta to the official release

If you've decided that it's time to get off the beta train and move back to the stable public releases, then we've put together a guide to updating from the iOS 15 or iPadOS 15 beta to the official release that will show you how. You can re-enroll your device onto the beta program at any point if there's something new you need (or just want) to test out.

Get up to date

If your Apple device supports the latest software version, there's usually very little reason to avoid updating iOS or iPadOS if you want the best iPhone or iPad experience. Though not all features will be available to all devices, particularly older models, you'll still benefit from most of them as well as the newer security fixes at the very least.

Updated February 2022: Updated for iOS 15 public release and iOS 15.4 beta release.

If you're running a developer or public beta of iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, you should've automatically been updated to the public release. If your iPhone or iPad is still set to continue updating beta versions, but you want to stick with the official version, you can remove your beta profile and go back to being a normal Joe.

Before you start

I've mentioned this a lot, but can't stress it enough: Back up your iPhone before doing anything. A few extra minutes to secure your important data is worth the wait; you will regret losing your data if something goes wrong and you don't have a backup.

• How to back up your iPhone or iPad

How to update to official iOS or iPadOS release over the beta directly on your iPhone or iPad

If you're ready to update iOS on your iPhone or iPad, you don't even have to connect to a computer.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad
2. Tap General
3. Tap Profiles.

4. Tap iOS Beta Software Profile.
5. Tap Remove Profile.
6. Enter your passcode if prompted and tap Delete once more.

7. Shut off your iPhone or iPad by holding down the On/Off button and using the Slide to power off slider.
8. Restart your iPhone or iPad by holding down the On/Off button until you see the Apple logo.

Once you've removed the beta profile from your device, you can safely follow the update process as you normally would for an over-the-air-update.

How to update to the official iOS or iPadOS release over the beta using your Mac

If you feel more comfortable reverting to the public launch of iOS or iPadOS on your iPhone or iPad by using Finder on your Mac, it is a little more complex, but still does the trick. Please note that if you're following these instructions on maOS Mojave or older, or on a PC, you will use Recovery mode via iTunes instead of Finder.

1. Plug your USB to Lightning cable into your computer.
2. Plug your USB to Lightning cable into your iPhone.
3. On an iPhone 8 or newer, press and release the Volume Up button and then the Volume Down button. Then, press and hold the Side button until you see the recovery mode screen. If you have an iPhone older than the iPhone 8, follow these intstructions to enter Recovery mode. Once in Recovery mode, a Finder window for your device will pop up on your Mac automatically.
4. Click Update when the option presents itself.
5. Click Update.

6. Click Next.
7. Click Agree.

Your iPhone or iPad will then download the public version of iOS or iPadOS.

Note: Make sure you select Update and not Restore. Updating will preserve your settings, apps, and data. Restoring will wipe your device (but you have a backup, anyway, right?).

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about downloading the public release of iOS from a beta version? Drop them in the comments and we'll answer them for you. If you're thinking of getting a new iPhone to compliment your new software, we've got some advice on the best iPhone for you.

Updated Sept. 2021: Updated for the official release of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.

What you need to know

• Apple has released iOS 12.5.4 to a number of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models.
• The update addresses some security issues that may have been actively exploited.

If you have an older iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you may want to install the new iOS 12.5.4 software update.

iOS 12.5.4, which has been added to the Apple Security Updates page, is available for the following iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models:

• iPhone 5s
• iPhone 6
• iPhone 6 Plus
• iPad Air
• iPad mini 2
• iPad mini 3
• iPod touch (6th generation)

Apple says that the update was released in order to address a few security issues that may have been exploited in the wild. One particular update address a memory corruption issue that could cause arbitrary code execution.

You can read all of the details about the security content of iOS 12.5.4 below:

Security

• Available for: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPod touch (6th generation)
• Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted certificate may lead to arbitrary code execution
• Description: A memory corruption issue in the ASN.1 decoder was addressed by removing the vulnerable code.
• CVE-2021-30737: xerub

WebKit

• Available for: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPod touch (6th generation)
• Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
• Description: A memory corruption issue was addressed with improved state management.
• CVE-2021-30761: an anonymous researcher

WebKit

• Available for: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, and iPod touch (6th generation)
• Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
• Description: A use after free issue was addressed with improved memory management.
• CVE-2021-30762: an anonymous researcher

Users with the above devices can download the iOS 12.5.4 update now.

Most of us here at iMore are what you would call an "early adopter." That means we love all the shiny new hardware and software that comes out every year and don't want to wait around to get our hands on it. And for some of us, even if this wasn't our job, we still would want to get our hands on beta operating systems from Apple as soon as they come out. Because who likes to wait?

For a few years now, Apple has split up its beta operating systems into Developer Beta and Public Beta. The Developer Beta requires a developer account, of course, but the latter can be obtained by anyone who signs up for it over at beta.apple.com.

Right now, you can get iOS 14, iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, tvOS 14, and macOS Big Sur as both developer and public betas. If you're wondering whether or not you should sign up, we have some words of advice for you to consider.

Should you sign up for the Apple Software Beta Program?

Apple's public betas give non-developers a chance to try out all of the cool new features in upcoming versions of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS without having to shell out $99 a year for a developer account.

But again, these are betas, and that means they're unfinished and not the final product, especially in the beginning. You're going to encounter random springboard reboots, slow processing, and plenty more instances of things just not working as they should be.

Let's go over a few things that you should have before considering installing a beta OS.

The first thing that you need to consider, and possibly the most crucial, is: do you have a spare or older device laying around that isn't something you depend on each and every single day? This device should be something that won't terribly impact your daily life just in case it breaks and you lose everything.

If you don't have such a device, then do not install the beta. If something happens during the install or if it just breaks and you can't recover it, then that's it. But if you have an older iPhone or iPad, perhaps even an iPod touch, a second Mac, or a Mac that has enough space for a partition, then you're in much better shape to deal with beta software.

Of course, we may be over-exaggerating just a bit, as none of us have actually lost our iPhones because some beta OS utterly wrecked it (or made it blow up), even with the super early betas. But we'd rather be safe than sorry.

When Apple introduces brand new features on stage, they always look amazing and you'll end up thinking, "how did I go about life before this?" But look, you managed to come this far with the old software, so chances are you'll be able to live for just a few more months without the shiny new stuff that Apple showed on stage. Fall 2020 is just around the corner.

Plus, not all features shown may be fully ready in the betas, because you know, betas. It's just the nature of the beast. Even if you've been waiting forever for a specific feature (hello, Home screen widgets), you may not be able to fully enjoy it until the final release in the fall. And even with new APIs and stuff that developers are able to work with, they can't actually submit updates for those until it's closer to the final version release date.

With iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and even tvOS, there are a lot of new features that make each OS more complex as time goes on. Bugs will inevitably happen, but it'll be impossible to be made aware of every single one of them if no one reports it.

This is why Apple even offers a public beta to begin with, as well as a developer beta. They depend on user feedback to continue to improve and shape each operating system so that they can be ready for prime time in the fall. After all, we don't want to still see the same bugs and glitches once the final version is out, right?

Apple provides a Feedback Assistant app for each beta OS, so you can give them valuable feedback and bug reports as you come across them. But if you just want to show off Dark Mode to your friends and mess around with new customizable Memoji instead of providing reports for device-crashing bugs, then the public beta may not be a good fit for you.

• How to send feedback to Apple about iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS betas
• How to send feedback to Apple about macOS betas

If you do not have a non-crucial device to use solely for beta testing, then you probably shouldn't install the betas. We don't recommend putting them on your daily drivers either, because bugs do happen, and they can sometimes even cause your morning alarm to not go off, resulting in being late to work or some other important meeting. No one wants to get yelled at by their boss, right?

But if you have a spare iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, Mac (or have enough hard drive space for a partition), or Apple TV laying around somewhere in the house, then, by all means, beta away! The new features are cool and fun to play around with, and if you catch an annoying bug, make sure to file it with Apple! After all, it's quite satisfying to see a pesky glitch you've experienced get fixed in the final release and knowing that you helped save millions from potential headache as well.

If you do install the betas, keep in mind that they are betas, and not everything will work the way you want them to, especially with third-party apps (so don't complain to developers when their apps don't yet work properly on a beta OS).

How to sign up for the Apple Public Beta Program

1. Visit beta.apple.com.
2. Click Sign Up.
3. Sign in with the Apple ID that you want to use for the Public Beta Program.
4. Read and agree to the software agreement.

Now that you're signed up for the public beta, you can get your public beta downloads directly over at beta.apple.com.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the public beta, let us know in the comments.

Updated August 2020: All public betas are now available.

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas. While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

Apple has made some excellent improvements to password and account management in iOS and iPadOS, including the ability to access stored accounts and passwords when you're logging in on the web and in apps. In apps and on websites that use username and password fields, your iPhone 14 Pro or iPad will display a key icon above the keyboard. Tapping on the key will give you access to your stored accounts and passwords, letting you log in to your account with a few quick taps. If you're looking for your accounts and passwords — either to edit them or add to them — here's where you find them!

How to find your accounts and passwords on iPhone or iPad

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Passwords.
3. Authenticate as needed with Face ID or Touch ID.

4. Tap the search field to search for an entry if you need to.
5. Tap the entry you're looking for.

6. Tap on a username/email address or password if you want to copy one of them.
7. Tap Copy to copy the username/email address or password.

When you've gained access to your accounts and passwords, you'll see a searchable list of entries. Tapping an entry will bring up a Username, a Password, and the Website that corresponds with your account. You can tap and hold on both the Username and Password entry to copy their contents.

How to add accounts and passwords on iPhone or iPad

iOS has a built-in mechanism for adding account and passwords to your iCloud Keychain. When you start to create an account, Safari will suggest a password for you. If you choose to use that password, Safari will also save your account details to iCloud Keychain. You can learn more about using iCloud Keychain by checking out the following post:

How to use iCloud Keychain on iPhone and iPad

If you'd like to manually add accounts and passwords on iOS, here's how!

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Passwords.
3. Authenticate as needed with Face ID or Touch ID.

4. Tap the + button in the top-right corner of the screen.
5. Type in the Website, Username, and Password fields where you'll use these credentials.
6. Tap Done.

How to delete accounts and passwords on iPhone or iPad

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Passwords.
3. Authenticate as needed with Face ID or Touch ID.

4. Tap Edit in the top right corner.
5. Tap to select the credential(s) you want to delete.

6. Tap Delete in the upper-left corner.
7. Tap Delete.

The password will be removed from iCloud Keychain and will no longer be accessible when you access the website associated with it.

Maintain easy access to vital data

If you've been having trouble finding your accounts and passwords on the iPhone or your best iPad, this confusion could definitely cause a lot of headaches. With these simple instructions, you should have no problem from now on. This interface will also inform you if any of your passwords have appeared in a data leak, so it can't hurt to come back and check regularly.

Updated December 2022: This article was updated to reflect the latest version of iOS.

The Parental Controls feature (also known as Restrictions) lets you manage which features, apps, and content your kids can and can't access on your iPhone or iPad. That includes not only blocking apps from accessing your location, contacts, calendars, reminders, photos, Bluetooth sharing, microphone, Twitter and Facebook accounts, and advertising settings, but also preventing your child from accidentally or intentionally changing those privacy settings. Not only can that keep your data safe, but keep your kids safer as well.

• How to stop new apps from having access to data on iPhone and iPad
• How to stop specific apps from having access to data on iPhone and iPad

How to stop new apps from having access to data on iPhone and iPad

Before you start, you'll need to make sure you have set up Screen Time on your device.

1. Launch Settings from the home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.

4. Tap on the type of data you want to restrict. You're options are:
   • Location services
   • Contacts
   • Calendars
   • Reminders
   • Photos
   • Share My Location
   • Bluetooth Sharing
   • Microphone
   • Speech Recognition
   • Media & Apple Music
5. Tap Don't Allow Changes

If you want to be able to have new apps access your data, follow these steps again, but tap on Allow Changes.

How to stop specific apps from having access to data on iPhone and iPad

Before you start, you'll need to make sure you have set up Screen Time on your device.

1. Launch Settings from the home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.

4. Tap on the type of data you want to restrict. You're options are:
   • Location services
   • Contacts
   • Calendars
   • Reminders
   • Photos
   • Share My Location
   • Bluetooth Sharing
   • Microphone
   • Speech Recognition
   • Advertising
   • Media & Apple Music
5. Tap on the app you want to restrict
6. Tap on the type of access you want to give that app.

Questions?

Do you have any other questions about restrictions or privacy settings? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated January 2020: Updated for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.

What you need to know

• Apple released a statement addressing Google's blog about iOS exploits.
• In the message, it reaffirmed customers that it keeps their security as a high priority.
• It also dispelled some false information that came of Google's blog.

Concerns about iOS security have been swirling since Google published a blog that outlined some vulnerabilities it discovered within iOS. Apple fixed these back in February, but that didn't stop the concerns. To reaffirm customers, Apple released a special message outlining exactly what took place with the vulnerabilities while dispelling false information regarding the situation.

In a brief summary of Google's blog, it found malicioius websites were accessing user's phones and stealing privata data like messages, location, photos and more.

Apple's response to it was short but to the point. Its first goal was to curb speculation about how wide this vulnerability really was. In reality, it affected less than a dozen websites.

It then went on to correct some false statements made about the website attacks including how long it lasted.

Apple finished the message with a strong statement on security: "Security is a never-ending journey and our customers can be confident we are working for them." It concluded: "We will never stop our tireless work to keep our users safe."

As is the case with most issues regarding Apple, they tend to be overblown. This was no different. You can read the complete statement on Apple's site.

Google responded to the Apple's message in a statement to CNBC saying it stands by its in-depth research and its end goal was to understand security vulnerabilities.

With neither Apple nor Google backing down, the situation has turned into a he said, she said situation.

Updated 12:16 pm PT: The post was updated to include Google's response to Apple.

Instant Hotspot is part of Continuity, and lets you share the data connection from your iPhone or cellular iPad with your Mac or other devices. It's different from Personal Hotspot, which requires a password and connects like a standard Wi-Fi router, in that it uses your Apple ID for authentication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BT LE) for rapid connection, and Wi-Fi for data transfer. So it's much faster and more convenient, but it's really only meant for your devices.

• Instant Hotspot requirements
• How to enable Instant Hotspot on your iPhone or cellular iPad
• How to use Instant Hotspot to tether your Mac to your iPhone or cellular iPad

Instant Hotspot requirements

Instant Hotspot broadcasts availability using Bluetooth Low Energy, authenticates by Apple ID, and transfers data using Wi-Fi. In order for Instant Hotspot to work, your iPhone(s), iPad(s), and Macs need to be:

• Signed up on a data plan that includes tethering (cellular device only).
• Running iOS 8 or later on the iPhone or iPad, OS X Yosemite or later on the Mac.
• Equipped with Bluetooth LE (2012 Mac or later, iPhone 5 or later, iPad 4 or later, any iPad mini, iPod touch 5)
• Logged into the same Apple ID on all your devices.

How to enable Instant Hotspot on your iPhone or cellular iPad

1. Launch the Settings app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on Personal Hotspot.
3. Tap the Personal Hotspot On/Off switch, you want it to be green.

If you don't see Personal Hotspot in the main Settings menu:

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Cellular.
3. Tap on Personal Hotspot.
4. Tap the Personal Hotspot On/Off switch, you want it to be green.

If you still don't see Personal Hotspot, make sure your data plan supports tethering.

How to use Instant Hotspot to tether your Mac to your iPhone or cellular iPad

1. Click on the Wi-Fi icon in your Mac's menu bar.
2. Click on the Device you want to use as a hotspot.

Note: If your device doesn't meet the requirements, or you want to connect to or with someone else's device, you can still use the regular personal hotspot feature by entering in the password.

Enhance your Mac with these solutions

Your Mac could be even more useful with one of our favorite accessories.

Apple Magic Keyboard ($89 at Amazon)

Apple's official Bluetooth keyboard is a great basic option that provides a consistently solid typing experience and pairs easily with your Mac or iPad.

Bose Companion 20 ($250 at Amazon)

These beautiful speakers offer a balanced sound in a stylish package. With no knobs on the front, the volume is controlled through a small pod attached to the right speaker, which also holds the ports for your headphones or other audio devices.

Apple Magic Mouse 2 ($67 at Amazon)

Just connect the Magic Mouse 2 to your Mac by a USB-to-Lightning cable once and it'll be paired. This rechargeable mouse has a multitouch surface that lets you customize exactly how it works, from what one- and two-finger swipes do to which side works as "left" and "right" click. Available in Silver or Space Gray to match your Mac.

Any Questions?

Let us know in the comment section below.

Updated August 2019: These are still all the same steps for iOS 13 and macOS Catalina.

What you need to know

• Apple said 88% of all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices are using iOS 12.
• That figure goes up to 90% if we only count devices released in the past four years.
• The figures were released on the eve of iOS 13's fall launch.

Apple has released updated figures related to iOS adoption, with Apple's latest release, iOS 12, far and away the most-used version currently available.

According to Apple's figures, as of August 6, 88% of all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch models were updated to iOS 12. Only 7% are still on iOS 11, while the remaining 5% are using an earlier version of iOS.

If we only look at iOS devices released over the past four years, adoption of iOS 12 is even healthier at 90%. Apple calculates its figures by measuring traffic to the App Store.

As 9to5Mac points out, adoption has increased with the release of iOS 12. Around the same time last year, iOS 11 adoption was at 85%.

For the sake of comparison, Apple's iOS adoption is much healthier compared to the latest version of Android. According to Google's data, as of May 7, Android Pie was only on 10.4% of devices. Android Oreo, which was released in 2017, has the largest distribution.

Apple's next major release, iOS 13, is currently in beta and is expected to launch at the end of September. You can read all about what to expect from iOS 13 below.

Everything you need to know about iOS 13

Parental Controls, also known as Restrictions, let you manage which features, apps, and content your kids can and can't access on the iPhone or iPad. That includes the iTunes Store, which sells music, movies, and TV shows, the iBooks Store, which sells ebooks, and the App Store, which sells apps and games.

Note: You will need to have restrictions enabled before setting parental controls for iTunes, iBooks, and the App Store.

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas. While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

• How to restrict access to the iTunes Store on iPhone and iPad
• How to restrict access to the iBooks Store on iPhone and iPad
• How to block the ability to install apps on iPhone and iPad
• How to block the ability to delete apps on iPhone and iPad
• How to block the ability to make in-app purchases on iPhone and iPad
• How to always require a password to make purchases on iPhone and iPad

How to restrict access to the iTunes Store on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter a four-digit passcode and then confirm it if asked.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy. You only have to do this if the switch is gray.
6. Tap Allowed apps.
7. Tap the iTunes Store switch.

How to restrict access to the iBooks Store on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter a four-digit passcode and then confirm it if asked.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy. You only have to do this if the switch is gray.
6. Tap Allowed apps.
7. Tap the Books Store switch.

How to block the ability to install apps on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter a four-digit passcode and then confirm it if asked.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy. You only have to do this if the switch is gray.
6. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.

7. Tap Installing Apps
8. Tap Don't Allow.

How to block the ability to delete apps on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter a four-digit passcode and then confirm it if asked.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy. You only have to do this if the switch is gray.
6. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.

7. Tap Deleting Apps
8. Tap Don't Allow.

How to block the ability to make in-app purchases on iPhone and iPad

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter a four-digit passcode and then confirm it if asked.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy. You only have to do this if the switch is gray.
6. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.

7. Tap In-app Purchases.
8. Tap Don't Allow.

How to always require a password to make purchases on iPhone and iPad

If you want to ensure that a password always needs to be entered when making purchases in the App Store, iTunes Store, or Books Store, you can enable that feature in the settings.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
4. Enter a four-digit passcode and then confirm it if asked.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy. You only have to do this if the switch is gray.
6. Tap iTunes & App Store Purchases.
7. Tap Always Require

Great accessories for your iPhone

Spigen Kuel TS36 ($16 at Amazon)

The Keul's telescopic arm adjusts to where you need it, and the head rotates, so you can view your iPhone in portrait or landscape when you're in your car!

SUPCASE Full-Body Rugged Holster Case (From $20 at Amazon)

This case has super drop protection, a built-in plastic screen protector, port covers, and a belt clip holster. It's constructed from flexible TPU and a hard PC shell.

Spigen Style Ring POP ($14 at Amazon)

This slim ring style offers a more secure grip than the popular PopSocket, and it rotates 360 degrees so it can be used as a kickstand.

Questions?

Do you have any other questions about restrictions? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated July 2019: Updated for iOS 13.

Trying to keep close tabs on the features, apps, and content your kiddos can access? Use this nifty guide to control the content your children can see, so you can keep your kids' apps under wraps. 

Parental Controls, also known as Restrictions, let you manage which features, apps, and content your kids can and can't access on the best iPhone or best iPad. It also lets you set Screen Time limits for specific apps that you'd rather your kids not spend all day on. If you want to disable specific apps altogether, here's how!

How to set Restrictions on iPhone and iPad in iOS

Restrictions are located under Screen Time in your Settings. Here's how to get there.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.
2. Tap Screen Time.
3. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.

5. Tap the switch next to Content & Privacy.
6. Tap Allowed apps.
7. Tap the switch(es) next to the app or apps you'd like to disable.

These apps will no longer appear on your Home screen. To re-enable them, you'll just have to follow the above steps and turn the switches back on. This is a quick and easy way to control the content your kids can access on their Apple devices. Looking to upgrade your child's iPhone or iPad? Check out the best iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPad deals! 

iOS 12.4 is on its way with new features that require third-party developer input. As such, the company is releasing developer betas so that software engineers can get a head start on making great software for you.

What's new in iOS 12.4?

Apple has just released the seventh beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the sixth beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fifth beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fourth beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the third beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the second beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the first beta version of iOS 12.4 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.4 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the sixth beta version of iOS 12.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fifth beta version of iOS 12.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fourth beta version of iOS 12.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the third beta version of iOS 12.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the second beta version of iOS 12.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the first beta version of iOS 12.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the sixth beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fifth beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fourth beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the third beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the second beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the first beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fourth beta version of iOS 12.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the third beta version of iOS 12.1.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the second beta version of iOS 12.1.3 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1.3 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the first beta version of iOS 12.1.2 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1.2 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the third beta version of iOS 12.1.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the second beta version of iOS 12.1.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the first beta version of iOS 12.1.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fifth beta version of iOS 12.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the fourth beta version of iOS 12.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

October 9, 2018: Apple releases iOS 12.1 beta 3 to developers

Apple has just released the third beta version of iOS 12.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the second beta version of iOS 12.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12.1 to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the first beta version of iOS 12.1 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the Golden Master version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the twelfth beta version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the eleventh beta version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the tenth beta version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the ninth beta version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has just released the eighth beta version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

Apple has pulled the seventh beta of iOS 12 from its developer portal. This comes following reports of buggy performance with the latest beta. The update is also no longer available over-the-air. Developers can still download the sixth beta version of iOS 12.

Apple has just released the seventh beta version of iOS 12 for developers. If you have a previous iOS 12 beta installed, you can head to Settings > General > Software Updates and get started downloading. If you were waiting for iOS 12. to get started with beta testing, go ahead and download the latest version.

You can find out more about all the new features in iOS 12 here.

iOS 12 FAQ: Everything you need to know

• How to make an archived backup of your iPhone or iPad
• How to register your device with the iOS developer beta
• How to install the iOS developer beta
• How to get started with the iOS beta

How to make an archived backup of your iPhone or iPad

Before you begin, make sure you back up your iPhone or iPad. While the beta process is fairly straightforward, any time you make any significant change to your device you risk problems. And with your personal data, it's always — always! — better to be safe than sorry. Even if you back up every night, you'll want to make sure it's absolutely up-to-date.

1. Plug iPhone or iPad into your Mac or Windows PC.
2. Launch iTunes.
3. Click on the iPhone or iPad icon in the menu bar when it appears.
4. Make sure backup is set to This Computer. (And enable Encrypted backup — it's worth it!)
5. Click on Back Up Now. (Click on Encrypt Backup and add a password — you want the security.)
6. Back up Apps, if asked.
   
   
   

7. Press Command, to open Preferences. (Or go to iTunes in the menu bar and click on Preferences.
8. Click on the Devices tab.
9. Control-click on your Backup and choose Archive.
   
   
   

Archiving will prevent your current backup from being overwritten by an iOS 12 backup in the future, should you want to revert for any reason.

How to register your account for the iOS beta

Before you do anything else, make sure you have a developer account with Apple — without a paid account, you won't be able to download any non-Xcode betas.

Thanks to Apple's configuration profile, you can download iOS betas directly on your iPhone or iPad, no Mac required! (You can still install the iOS beta on your iPhone or iPad by connecting your device to iTunes, but you'll need to be running the Xcode beta first. The method listed below is generally a lot faster, with fewer wires.)

1. Go to developer.apple.com on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Click on the "Download New Betas" tab.
3. Log in with your developer account's username and password.
4. Go to the iOS 12 beta section and tap the download. This will start the process of downloading the iOS beta software profile on your iPhone.
5. The Beta software profile will appear on your phone. Tap Install. You may need to enter your Passcode.
6. Agree to the Consent form and press Install once in the upper right corner, and once at the bottom of the screen.
7. Press Restart to apply the changes to your iPhone.

How to install the iOS beta

To install the iOS beta, you'll need to visit Software Update on your iPhone or iPad.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen, tap on General, then tap on Software Update.
2. Once the update appears, tap on Download and Install.
3. Enter your Passcode.

4. Tap Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
5. Tap Agree again to confirm.

Your iPhone or iPad will reboot to install iOS 12. There will be a couple progress bars going across the screen. Sit tight, and let everything finish.

How to get started with iOS beta

Once your iPhone or iPad reboots, it'll be running iOS the latest beta. There's a brief bit of setup you'll need to go through, however, as the system will have changed enough that it'll need your login to complete the update.

1. Tap Continue.
2. Enter your Apple ID password. iCloud settings will update, so give it a minute.
3. Tap Get Started.

Once that's done, you'll be on the Home screen and ready to rock the latest iOS beta.

iOS 12.3 is on its way with features that need to be tested before the software is made available to the general public. As such, Apple is letting interested users check out iOS 12.3 and provide feedback before it goes into wide release.

If you're one of those interested users, however, you will have to go through the public beta download and install process. While it's not complicated, it's a bit of a departure for how you might normally get software onto your iPhone or iPad. So, we're going to walk you through it and give you a place to ask questions if you need extra help.

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas. While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

What's new with the iOS 12.3 public beta?

Apple has released iOS 12.3 public beta 4 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.3 public beta 3 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.3 public beta 2 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.3 public beta 1 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.2 public beta 4 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.2 public beta 3 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.2 public beta 2 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.2 public beta 1 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1.3 public beta 4 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1.2 public beta 1 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1.1 public beta 3 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1.1 public beta 2 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1.1 public beta 1 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1 public beta 5 for members of the Public Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12.1 public beta 11 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12 public beta 10 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12 public beta 9 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12 public beta 8 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12 public beta 7 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

Apple has released iOS 12 public beta 6 for members of the Beta Software Program. If you've prepared your device to receive the public beta over the air, proceed to Settings > General > Software Updates and download away.

• How to make an archived backup of your iPhone or iPad
• How to register your device with the iOS 12.3 public beta
• How to enroll your iPhone or iPad in the iOS 12.3 public beta
• How to install the iOS 12.3 public beta
• How to get started with the iOS 12.3 beta

How to make an archived backup of your iPhone or iPad

Before you begin, make sure you back up your iPhone or iPad. While the beta process is fairly straightforward, any time you make any significant change to your device you risk problems. And with your personal data, it's always — always! — better to be safe than sorry. Even if you back up every night, you'll want to make sure it's absolutely up-to-date.

1. Plug iPhone or iPad into your Mac or Windows PC.
2. Launch iTunes.
3. Click on the iPhone or iPad icon in the menu bar when it appears.
4. Make sure backup is set to This Computer. (And enable Encrypted backup — it's worth it!)
5. Click on Back Up Now. (Click on Encrypt Backup and add a password — you want the security.)
6. Back up Apps, if asked.
   
   
   

7. Press Command, to open Preferences. (Or go to iTunes in the menu bar and click on Preferences.
8. Click on the Devices tab.
9. Control-click on your Backup and choose Archive.
   
   
   

Archiving will prevent your current backup from being overwritten by an iOS 12.1 backup in the future, should you want to revert for any reason.

How to register your account for the iOS 12.3 public beta

If you've already joined an Apple public beta in the past, you shouldn't need to register again for iOS 12.2; simply sign in with the same Apple ID. If you've never joined a public beta before, you'll start by signing up with your Apple ID.

1. Go to beta.apple.com on the iPhone or iPad you want to enroll in the beta.
2. Tap on Sign up to get started. (If you've already signed up for a previous public beta, tap on Sign in and skip to our "How to enroll your device" section below.)
3. Enter you Apple ID email address and password.
4. Tap Sign in.
5. Tap Accept to agree to the terms and conditions.

Once you're signed up and signed in, it's time to start downloading.

How to enroll your iPhone or iPad in the iOS 12.3 public beta

Unlike regular iOS updates, where you just tap and start downloading, Apple is using configuration profiles to validate devices for the iOS 12.3 public beta. Here's how to install it.

Note: If you've been on a previous iOS public beta, you may need to remove the previous beta profile before installing the iOS 12.2 version. You can do so by going to Settings > General > Profile, selecting the iOS Beta Software Profile, and pressing Delete Profile.

1. Go to beta.apple.com, if you're not there already.
2. Tap the iOS tab, if it's not highlighted already.
3. Tap on Download profile.
4. Tap on Install in the upper right corner.
5. Enter your Passcode.
6. Tap on Install, this time to consent to the beta agreement. (Read it: There are risks to any beta.)
7. Tap on Install at the bottom to confirm. (Yes, you need to be really sure.)
8. Tap on Restart to reboot your device.

Once your iPhone or iPad has finished rebooting, it should start to download iOS 12.2 automatically. From this point on, the process is the same as any other iOS update.

How to install the iOS 12.3 public beta

To install the iOS 12.3 beta, you'll need to visit Software Update on your iPhone or iPad.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen, tap on General, then tap on Software Update.
2. Once the update appears, tap on Download and Install.
3. Enter your Passcode.

4. Tap Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
5. Tap Agree again to confirm.

Your iPhone or iPad will reboot to install iOS 12.3. There will be a couple of progress bars going across the screen. Sit tight, and let everything finish.

How to get started with iOS 12.3 public beta

Once your iPhone or iPad reboots, it'll be running iOS 12.3. There's a brief bit of setup you'll need to go through, however, as the system will have changed enough that it'll need your login to complete the update.

1. Tap Continue.
2. Enter your Apple ID password. iCloud settings will update, so give it a minute.
3. Tap Get Started.

Once that's done, you'll be on the Home screen and ready to rock iOS 12.3.

In today's world, we don't just want to "read the news". We want it delivered, not tossed onto the digital porch like a newspaper but curated with articles that fit our interests. Apple's News app isn't the first one to do this—Flipboard has been a high-profile example of this model for quite awhile—but the company's program has an advantage over all those in the App Store: It's part of iOS and available to everyone with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

• What's new in the News app
• How to get started with the News app for iPhone and iPad
• How to manage notifications in the News app
• How to read articles
• How to like, share, and save stories
• How to follow a channel or topic
• How to stop following a channel or topic
• How to block a channel
• How to view items in your reading history
• How to clear individual articles from your reading history
• How to clear your reading history
• How to open a News app article in Safari
• How to report a concern to Apple's News staff
• How to disable Background App Refresh
• How to disable Cellular Data
• How to disable Story Previews
• How to restrict stories in Today
• How to use News+

What's new in the News app?

Apple is always tweaking, adjusting, and redesigning their software and the News app is no exception. As the app changes, we report on what's new.

The News app is now available in Canada. Additionally, Apple has launched Apple News+, a subscription service that offers access to hundreds of magazines for $9.99 per month ($12.99 CAD).

What's new in the News app

How to get started with the News app for iPhone and iPad

While in previous versions of iOS, News would ask you things like your favorite topics or publications, these days, when you open News for the first time, it just gives you things to read. Over time, the app will learn what you like based on what you follow, the stories you open, and what you actively like or dislike.

How to manage notifications in the News app

You can turn your notifications on and off using the Following tab in the News app.

1. Launch the News app from your Home Screen.
2. Tap the Following tab. It's in the bottom right corner of your screen.
3. Tap Manage Notifications. You'll need to scroll to the bottom.
4. Tap the On/Off Switch next to the channel(s) you want to receive notifications from.

How to read articles in the News app

Reading articles that interest you is simple enough: You can either read selected articles for you from the Spotlight screen or pop into the News app itself.

1. Swipe right on your Home screen to open Spotlight.
2. Swipe up to scroll down.
3. Tap the news item you'd like to read.

1. Launch the News app from your Home screen.
2. Tap one of the three options along the bottom of your screen. On the iPad, these sections are in the sidebar, and there is now Following section, as everything you follow is in the sidebar as well.
   • Today: The latest articles from various news sources.
   • News+: Apple's new magazine subscription service, available in iOS 12.2.
   • Following: Everything you follow, notification management, search, and Siri suggestions.
3. Tap the channel or news item you'd like to view. If you've tapped a channel, you'll need to tap a news item to start reading.

How to like, share, and save stories in the News app on iPhone and iPad

Apple News isn't just about reading all about what's happening, it's about sharing what matters most to you with the people that matter most.

How to like, share, and save stories in Apple News

How to follow a channel or topic in the News app for iPhone and iPad

1. Open News on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Following (unnecessary on iPad).
3. Tap the Search bar and search for the channel or topic you want to add.
4. Tap the heart icon next to the channel or topic.

How to stop following a channel or topic in the News app on iPhone and iPad

1. Open News on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Following (unnecessary on iPad).
3. Perform a long swipe to the left on the channel or topic you wish to stop following.

How to block a channel in the News app for iPhone and iPad

If you don't want to see any stories from a particular publication, you can simply mute the channel from right within the article.

1. Launch the News app from your Home screen.
2. Tap an article to read it.
3. Tap the Share button. It's the box with the upwards arrow on the top-right of your screen.

4. Tap Block Channel.
5. Tap Block in the pop-up.

Keep in mind that this won't remove the stories that are already in your feed, but it will prevent new ones from that publication from showing up.

You can also mute a channel using 3D touch in the News app for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch the News app from your Home screen.
2. Press firmly on an article in your feed to peek at it.
3. Swipe up to reveal the options.

4. Tap Block Channel.
5. Tap Block in the pop-up.

How to view items in your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad

You can return to any story you've ever opened in Apple News by going to your history screen. This contains all articles you've read within the News app. To do so:

1. Open News on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Following (unnecessary on iPad).
3. Scroll down and tap History.
4. Tap on an article to read it.

How to clear individual articles from your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad

1. Open News on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Following (unnecessary on iPad).
3. Scroll down and tap History.
4. Perform a long swipe to the left to delete an item.

How to clear your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad

1. Open News on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Following (unnecessary on iPad).
3. Scroll down and tap History.

4. Tap Clear.
5. Tap Clear History, Clear Recommendations, or Clear All.

How to open a News app article in Safari

If News isn't rendering an article correctly—for example, if a video doesn't appear—or you'd just rather read it in a web browser, you can send it off to Safari.

1. Launch the News app from your Home screen.
2. Tap the article you'd like to open in Safari or tap the Share Sheet button on the bottom right of the article and skip to step 4.
3. Tap the Share button in the top-right corner of your screen. It's the box with the upward arrow.
4. Tap the Open in Safari button. The page then opens in the browser.

How to report a concern to Apple's News staff

If something about an article looks off—perhaps a video doesn't play, it's offensive, or mis-categorized—you can easily report a concern to Apple's News department.

1. Launch the News app from your Home screen.
2. Tap an article to open it. Alternatively, you can tap the Share Sheet button on the bottom right of the article preview and skip to step 4.
3. Tap the Share Sheet button in the bottom lefthand corner of your screen. It's the box with the upward arrow.
4. Tap Report a Concern.

5. Tap a reason you don't want to see the article.
6. Tap the Tell us a little more field and type your explanation for reporting the article.
7. Tap Send in the upper right corner of your screen.

How to disable Background App Refresh for the News app for iPhone and iPad

Your News app is constantly refreshing content in the background. This can use up battery and cellular data if you're not careful. Turn it off if you don't mind loading your stories when you open the app.

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Scroll down and tap News.
3. Tap the switch next to Background App Refresh to disable it.

How to disable Cellular Data for the News app for iPhone and iPad

If your News app is refreshing in the background or if you're using it while not connected to Wi-Fi, it could be using up your cellular data, which could end up costing you a ton. If you're worried about your monthly data cap, it may be best to just disable data usage for the News app.

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Scroll down and tap News.
3. Tap the switch next to Cellular Data to disable data usage for the News app.

How to disable Story Previews in the News app for iPhone and iPad

1. Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
2. Scroll down a bit and tap News.
3. Tap the switch next to Show Story Previews.

How to restrict stories in Today in the News app on iPhone and iPad

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap News.
3. Tap the switch next to Restrict Stories in Today to the white 'off' or green 'on' positions if you want to only see stories from channels you follow in the Today tab.

How to sign up for News+ in the News app on iPhone and iPad

If you're looking for details on Apple's magazine subscription service, we've got a comprehensive guide for you.

• How to sign up for a News+ subscription in the News app on iPhone and iPad
• How to use News+: The ultimate guiide

Questions about the News app?

Let us know and we'll try to answer them.

Updated March 2019: Added news about Apple News coming to Canada, Apple News+, updated instructions for iOS 12.2.

Shortcuts is the name Apple is giving to quick actions across your apps on iOS, which either perform a task within the app automatically in the background or jump deep into the app to something you've might want to open. By mapping certain requests to a specific trigger phrase, you'll be able to better customize what Siri can do for you. Here's everything you need to know about Shortcuts.

What's new with Shortcuts?

Apple has released Shortcuts 2.2, a major update that adds actions for the Notes app. These actions allow you to create a note, append to a note, find a note, and show a note. This update also lets you pull numbers out of text using the Get Number from Input action, tapping the Library button now jumps to the bottom of your Shortcuts list, and the Travel Time action now offers more details, such as route name and arrival time.

Free - Download now

The Shortcuts app is now available on any device running iOS 12. If you already have the Workflow app, it will change to Shortcuts when you update to iOS 12. If you didn't have Workflow, you can find the Shortcuts app in the App Store on iPhone and iPad.

July 5, 2018: Developers can now request access to beta version of Shortcuts app

Apple is now allowing registered developers to request access to the beta version of the Shortcuts application. Developers who are approved will be sent an email to join the TestFlight beta.

Shortcuts: What are they?

Once you have iOS 12, all you need to do to start using Shortcuts is perform the same tasks you'd normally do inside your apps – the main difference is that later, those actions will be surfaced outside the app as convenient Shortcuts to perform those tasks quickly again.

Shortcuts performing the task you're hoping to achieve in the background without opening the app. Shortcuts are triggered by either tapping a button surfaced in different places on iOS or by voice using Siri.

With Shortcuts, you'll be able to quickly go back to recent conversations or files, commonly-used places in the app, pre-filled information for things you do regularly, and more – what's possible will depend on the app's capabilities.

Shortcuts in iOS 12 will appear in three main places: - As suggestions, proactively presenting shortcuts to actions from apps based on usage - In Siri, triggered by your own custom voice commands - Custom-built shortcuts, coming later with the Shortcuts app

Your first encounter will likely be a Shortcut suggested to you proactively on the Lock Screen, Spotlight, or on the Siri face of the Apple Watch. You'll automatically be suggested tasks you do ofte based on appropriate activity you take on iOS – the information is securely passed from the app to the system for on-device analysis.

Once the system has detected Shortcuts, you can then set up voice triggers with your own custom phrases that can be spoken to Siri and launch off your Shortcut. These can be triggered via voice on iOS, but it'll even be possible on the Apple Watch, HomePod, and CarPlay too.

And soon, Apple will release a dedicated Shortcuts app that will allow even deeper customization and performing multiple actions in a row with one voice command or tap.

Suggested shortcuts

To get proactive Shortcut suggestions, people using iOS 12 just have to use their apps – once support is added, the system will surface the appropriate actions based on the activities taken in the app, making it easy to do the same thing again later.

Shortcuts might offer to take you back into an app to something you recently used or use often, like a playlist or file, or offer to complete a task in the app – developers can set up custom structures for their shortcuts if they don't fall into the default Siri domains already available.

Once a device is on the developer or public betas, Shortcuts like these begin working in the background – once you perform actions in apps that can be used as Shortcuts, the system will automatically suggest these Shortcuts to do tasks or open the app when appropriate (based on usage, time of day, & other signal). You'll start to see one-tap buttons to perform those shortcuts on the Lock Screen or while swiping down on the Home Screen to search via Spotlight.

The example used in the keynote was Siri recognizing that you've ordered from the Philz app every morning, then preemptively sending you a notification the next morning asking if you'd like to place the usual order. But these proactive shortcuts can be simpler too, like showing a button to contact the person in your most recent text thread when you swipe down on the home screen to search via Spotlight.

This one part of shortcuts gives Siri a lot more smarts – she's able to recognize the actions you're taking and automatically display these shortcuts, so you don't have to open the app and do it yourself every time or necessarily set up all these shortcuts in advance. But once you've seen the Shortcuts enough, you have the power to make them even more useful and add custom voice commands.

Custom voice commands for shortcuts

Once you've performed enough actions for the system to find as shortcuts, you can go to Settings > Siri & Search and add custom voice commands for any Shortcuts you want to use with Siri to kick off that action again later.

When you see an action you want to create a Shortcut for, tap on it or the plus button next to it and you'll be taken to a popover where you can speak your command. Siri will listen, save your command, and add it to your Shortcuts list – then, anytime you want to run the action, just speak your command to Siri and you'll be taken to the corresponding app.

This feature is huge, putting the power of how you speak to Siri into your hands and letting you customize the words your assistant is looking for. Instead of hoping the assistant can magically know what to do based on some phrase you utter, you can have your own control phrase and have your phone do exactly what you want it to do.

Developers can also add in-app support for suggesting a task become a shortcut, so when you finish doing something useful, there's a one-tap button to create your Shortcut and add custom voice command right there in-line. Here developer can suggest phrases, but the choice will ultimately be up to you.

Plus, developers can surface even more suggested actions in the Siri settings later, so people can use actions they find relevant or take advantage of common use cases, even if they haven't done that task yet.

Importantly, this is all private to your device – the OS identifies and makes actions available based on each app's declared intention for that activity. The app notices your activity, shares it to the system, and based on clear guidelines iOS passes the action back to the app when your shortcut is triggered. This keeps your experience secure around Apple's app-centric model – Siri just uses the shortcut to connect to the action in the app, and the app executes the task itself.

How can I use shortcuts now?

Shortcuts are most impressive not only because of their deep capability and customization, but because they already work on Apple devices where the same apps are supported. Shortcuts will start for many people on their iPhone, but they work on iPad, HomePod, and even CarPlay – setting up custom voice commands for your Shortcuts can go a long way quickly if you're deep in the Apple ecosystem.

Apple Watch will also have its own Shortcuts support, either triggered by voice or launched from the Siri watch face. These will execute tasks in the background the same as the iOS shortcuts, plus will allow opening into Apple Watch apps to perform the actions.

This could be very important for making the Apple Watch's potential more accessible, surfacing actions you'd normally do with your phone right on the watch, but also making Apple Watch apps themselves more useful and easier to take advantage of.

The Shortcuts app

These first main features of shortcuts are already available in the developer betas (and likely the upcoming public betas), which means anyone with an Apple device can start customizing Siri more than ever before.

But that isn't the limit of Shortcuts. The dedicated Shortcuts app, not yet available, promises the ability for users to customize the entirety of their shortcuts, allowing you to string together your shortcuts to create powerful multi-step shortcuts that take advantage of multiple apps and features you can use with one tap or a quick phrase spoken to Siri.

Following in the footsteps of Workflow, which was purchased by Apple last year, the Shortcuts app will allow you to kick off a series of actions and execute your tasks. But the main difference is that, with the power of the Shortcuts' background capabilities, these will run smoothly in the background instead of showing the process step-by-step, even accessible by voice.

In the keynote, Apple suggested you'd be able to set up a shortcut so that you arrive home and turn on the lights, play music, and send off a message, all from one voice command (or a tap).

It seems from the visuals of Shortcuts that it will maintain many if not all of the features that Workflow had on iOS (which is still currently available to download, if you want to try the drag-and-drop actions and see what's possible).

We'll have to wait until the Shortcuts app is released – I hope to see this within the beta testing period so current developers can test their apps in the larger context of Siri and iOS, so Workflow fans can rest easy, and also so maybe we'll see new apps pop up that could take advantage of Shortcuts in new ways.

Shortcuts for all

When potentially every app integrating with Shortcuts, and users getting control of how they use their voice assistant, it seems Shortcuts will push Apple's ecosystem integrations further and change the way people interact with their devices.

Already the Shortcuts will work with Siri on other Apple accessories like HomePod, Apple Watch, and even in cars with CarPlay.

The opening up any app's actions to quick suggestions by the system and integration with custom voice shortcuts in Siri should open up a world of opportunity – it's exciting to imagine the possibilities. What used to be many taps on a small screen can soon be done with a quick few words spoken to Siri or automatically be surfaced to you in the moment.

Along with new features like Screen Time, Apple users can change from using the devices more and more to using the devices smarter, empowering each person to get more done in their own way while spending less time doing it.

The real question is, how will you take advantage of it?

Check out my new YouTube channel where I cover all the ins and outs of Siri Shortcuts.

New in iOS 12 is a feature called "Critical Alerts". Apple describes it as a "new type of opt-in alert for important information, like reports from a healthcare provider, which you'll receive even during Do Not Disturb".

Not every app has the ability to issue a critical alert. Instead, third-party app makers must apply to Apple for permission to include the feature in their app. Apple plans to allow only those apps related to public safety, security, and medical/health to make use of a critical alert setting.

My spouse called me today to tell me that she had accidentally triggered our house alarm. I was driving at the time—with Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on. It would have been nice if the house alarm app on my iPhone had been able to break through Do Not Disturb and alert me that the alarm had been triggered. But alas, the app has not yet been updated.

Enabling Critical Alerts

You may have an app on your iPhone that can take advantage of this new feature. If so, you were already notified about it. The first time you launch an app that supports critical alerts it will display a sheet to allow you to turn on the feature.

You can also turn the feature on and off for each app whenever you like through its Notifications settings. Here's how:

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Notifications.

3. Tap the app you want to work with.
4. Tap the switch for Allow Critical Alerts to turn the feature on or off.

Let's get the ball rolling

At the moment, the number of apps that support this feature are few and far between. I've already contacted developers of apps that I'm using for my home alarm, water leak sensor, and smoke/CO2 alarms requesting they add this feature. Can you think of others, such as blood glucose monitoring? Let us know in the comments below...and make those feature requests!

In a crowded room where a lot of people are talking, you may find yourself distracted and unable to clearly hear what the person in a group is saying. You may not need a hearing aid but would benefit from hearing assistance. With the help of your AirPods and your iPhone running iOS 12 or later, you can use a feature called Live Listen to get a little clarity.

Live Listen lets you put your iPhone close to the person talking while you listen through your AirPods so that you can better hear what is being said in the discussion, instead of funneling in all of the ambient chatter that might be taking place. Here's how to set up and use Live Listen with your iPhone and AirPods.

• How to set up your iPhone or iPad and AirPods for Live Listening
• How to use Live Listen with your AirPods and your iPhone or iPad
• How to position your iPhone or iPad for optimum audio with Live Listen
• How to turn off Live Listen on your iPhone or iPad

How to set up your iPhone or iPad and AirPods for Live Listening

Before you can use your AirPods as a Live Listening device, you have to add the controls to Control Center on your iPhone or iPad.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Control Center.

3. Tap Customize Controls.
4. Tap Hearing.

This will add the Live Listen feature to your Control Center panel so you can quickly access it whenever you need to.

How to use Live Listen with your AirPods and your iPhone or iPad

Make sure your AirPods are connected to your iPhone or iPad before you turn on Live Listening.

1. Swipe down from the upper right corner of the screen on iPhone X or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on all other iOS devices to access Control Center.
2. Tap the Live Listen icon. It looks like an ear.
3. Tap Live Listen to turn the feature on.

How to position your iPhone or iPad for optimum audio with Live Listen

Though Live Listen is intended to help isolate one area so you can hear conversations better, it's still just a microphone picking up sound. I have a couple of suggestions for the best way to position your iPhone or iPad to get the best possible audio.

• Point the bottom of your iPhone or iPad toward the area you want to hear better. Live Listen uses your device's microphone, which is at the bottom of the iPhone and iPad.
• Set it as close as possible to the person you want to hear. The microphone will still pick up ambient sounds, so it works best when your device is closer to the subject than surrounding noises.
• Adjust the volume on your iPhone or iPad to get better sound quality. If the volume is all the way up, everything will get louder, including ambient noise. I've noticed that, when I set the volume at about middle or slightly above middle, I get the best quality of sound for the person I'm listening to without bringing in all of the loud noise around me, too.

How to turn off Live Listen on your iPhone or iPad

When you're done using the assisted audio feature, you can turn it off by tapping the red banner at the top of your iPhone screen and then tapping Live Listen.

You can also find it in Control Center.

1. Swipe down from the upper right corner of the screen on iPhone X or swipe up from the bottom of the screen on all other iOS devices to access Control Center.
2. Tap the Live Listen icon. It looks like an ear.
3. Tap Live Listen to turn the feature off.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about how to set up and use Live Listening on your iPhone or iPad and AirPods? Put them in the comments and I'll help you out.

Updated January 2019: Updated for latest iOS.

In the Shortcuts app in iOS 12, Apple's own apps have the deepest integration with many actions that take advantage of the system in unique ways. Here's a great list of all of the ways you can use the Shortcuts app with Apple's built-in apps.

If you're new to the Shortcuts app, be sure to check out our beginner's guide.

Getting started with Apple's new Shortcuts app

How to find actions

When you're creating a new shortcut or editing an existing, there is an action pane full of choices you can tap on to add to your shortcut or drag and drop into place.

On the iPhone or in Split View on iPad, this will appear as a drawer at the bottom with suggested actions and a search field; on iPad in a wider view, the action pane will always be visible on the left.

When you tap into the Search field, you can see five main action groups:

• Favorites
• Siri Suggestions
• Scripting
• Content Types
• Apps

The Apple apps are what make up most of the Content Types section (corresponding apps marked with *):

• Apps (App Store*)
• Calendar*
• Contacts*
• Documents (Files*)
• Health*
• Maps*
• Music*
• Photos & Video*
• Sharing
• Text
• Web (Safari)*

Additionally, other Apple apps are included but within other dedicated sections (main section marked in parentheses):

• Reminders (Calendars)
• Messages (Sharing)
• Mail (Sharing)
• Notes (Sharing)
• Phone (Contacts)
• FaceTime (Contacts)
• Apple Pay/Wallet (Contacts)
• iBooks (Documents)
• Camera (Photo & Video)
• iTunes (Music)

Actions for Apple's apps

The following list details every action for an Apple-created application within Shortcuts (including some overlap with content actions).

This list is grouped by the subcategory labels within the Shortcuts app, which are visible when you tap into Search in the action drawer and drill down into an action category.

These descriptions are included under every action and taken from the Shortcuts app, with minor edits and some more information filled out for "Get Details Of..." actions.

To see these descriptions and more in the app, including what the actions accept as Inputs and send out as Results, you need to tap the information icon in the app (shown in screenshots)*.

• Open App: Opens the specified app.
• Search App Store: Searches the App Store, returning the apps that match the specified search terms.
• Get Details of App Store app: extracts information about an App Store app, including artist, price, currency code, formatted price, release date, category, description, the overall rating, the total number of ratings, the current rating, the number of ratings for this version, the version, the date it was last updated, the latest release notes, the content rating, the minimum OS version, whether it's a universal app, the supported devices, supported languages, screenshot URLs, iPad screenshot URLs, download size, store ID, store URL, artwork, artwork URL, name, & more.

Calendar.app

• Add new event: Creates a new event and adds it to the selected calendar.
• Find calendar events: Searches for the calendar events in your library that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Get details of calendar events: Allow you to extract information from calendar events, including start date, end date, whether it's an all day even, the calendar it belongs to, the location, whether it has alarms, the event duration, the organizer, the attendees, the URL, the title, the notes, & more.
• Get upcoming events: Gets upcoming calendar events, ordered from nearest to farthest away in time.
• Remove events: Removes all events passed into the action from the calendars they are contained in, including future repeats.
• Show in calendar: Shows the date or calendar event passed as input in the Calendar app.
• Filter event attendees: Given a list of event attendees, this action returns the event attendees that match the given criteria.
• Get details of event attendees: Lets you extract information from event attendees, including their name, whether "Is Me" is true, their role, or status in regards to the meeting.

Reminders

• Add new reminder: Creates a new reminder and adds it to the selected list of reminders.
• Find reminders: Searches for the reminders in your library that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Delete reminders: Removes all reminders passed into the action from the lists they are contained in.
• Get upcoming reminders: Gets upcoming reminders, ordered from nearest to farthest away due date.
• Get details of reminders: Allows you to extract information from reminders, including due date, priority, whether it's completed, the completion date, the list, whether it has alarms, the reminder location, the title, the notes, & more.

Contacts.app

• Contacts: Passes the specified contacts to the next action.
• Find contacts: Searches for the contacts in your library that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Get contacts from input: Gets contacts from the result of the previous action, including vCards, event attendees, email addresses, phone numbers, and locations.
• Get details of contacts: Lets you extract information from contacts including first, middle, and last name, phone number, email address, street address, URL, birthday, contact photo, prefix, suffix, nickname, phonetic first, middle, and last names, company, job title, department, notes, & more.
• Select contacts: Prompts to pick a person from your contacts and passes the selection to the next action.

FaceTime

• FaceTime: Calls the contact passed in as input using FaceTime video or audio.

Mail

• Email address: Passes the specified email addresses to the next action.
• Get email addresses from input: Returns any email addresses found in the output from the previous action.
• Select email address: Prompts to pick an email address from your contacts and passes the selection to the next action.

Phone

• Call: Calls the phone number passed in as input.
• Get phone numbers from input: Returns any phone numbers found in the output from the previous action
• Phone number: Passes the specified phone numbers to the next action.
• Select phone number: Prompts to pick a phone number from your contacts and passes the selection to the next action.

iBooks

• Open in iBooks: Opens the input as a PDF in iBooks.

File storage

• Append to file: Adds the text passed as input to the end of the specified file. Requires the name or path of the file to retrieve. For example, if you are appending a file called "notes.txt" in a folder called "Public", use "/Public/notes.txt".
• Create folder: Makes a new folder in the specified file storage service.
• Delete files: Delete the files passed in as input.
• Get file: Get files from iCloud Drive or Files. Turn off "Show Document Picker" to specify a path to retrieve.
• Get link to file: Gets a public link to the file passed into the action.
• Save file: Save files to iCloud Drive. Turn off "Ask Where to Save" in order to specify a destination path in the Shortcuts folder.

Files.app

• Filter files: Given a list of files, this action returns the files that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Format file size: Format a file size automatically, or using bytes, KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, EB, ZB, and YB or higher.
• Get details of files: extracts information from the file, including file size, file extension, creation date, last modified date, and name. This can be extracted from many other file types as well in the "Get Details Of" actions.
• Open in: Opens the input as a file in the selected app. Can either use the Open In menu or have a supported app selected to open into automatically – toggle "Show Open In Menu" off and select Choose to see the list of available apps on your device.

Archives

• Extract Archive: Extracts files from the archive passed as input. Many archive formats are supported, including zip, rar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar, gzip, cpio, cab, and iso archives.
• Make Archive: Makes an archive out of the files passed as input. Supports creating zip, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar, gzip, cpio, or iso archives.

Health.app

• Find health samples: Searches for the health samples in your library that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, grouping by time periods, limiting the number passed as a result, and more. Includes most information in the Health app.
• Get details of health sample: lets you extract information about a health sample including the type, value, unit, start date, end date, duration, source, and name.
• Log health sample: Adds a data point into the Health app. You can log anything that the Health app supports, including your weight, steps taken, running distance, and more.
• Log workout: Adds a workout into the Health app without requiring an Apple Watch. You can log all kinds of activities, from running and cycling to playing a sport.

Maps.app

• Get addresses from input: Returns any street addresses found in the output from the previous action.
• Get distance: Calculates the distance to the location passed into this action.
• Get halfway point: Gets the halfway point between two locations.
• Get maps URL: Creates a URL to search for the location, place, or text that was passed into the action in a separate maps app.
• Get travel time: Estimates the amount of time it will take to travel to the location passed into this action. Lets you adjust the time interval.
• Search Local businesses: Searches for nearby businesses and returns them as results. Pass a location as input to search near there.
• Show directions: Open directions to the location passed into this action in your choice of Maps, Google Maps, Citymapper, Transit, or Waze. For example, you can use this action to get directions to an upcoming event on your calendar.
• Show in maps: Opens your choice of Maps, Google Maps, or Waze and searches for the location, place, or text that was passed into the action.
• Street address: Passes the specified address to the next action.

Location

• Filter locations: Given a list of locations, this action returns the locations that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Get current location: Gets the current location of the device using the GPS signal.
• Get details of location: Allows you to extract information from a location passed as input, including the latitude, longitude, altitude, street, city, state, ZIP code, country, phone number, URL, and name of a location.

Playback

• Pause: Pauses the currently playing music.
• Play: Plays the currently playing item.
• Set volume: Sets the system volume. If you set the volume using a variable, use a number between 0 and 1 (for example, pass 0.5 for half volume).
• Skip back: Skips to the previous item in the current queue.
• Skip forward: Skips to the next item in the current queue.

Music.app

• Add to playlist: Adds the items passed as input to the specified playlist.
• Add to up next: Adds the music passed as input to your Up Next queue.
• Clear up next: Clears all the music in your Up Next Queue.
• Create playlist: Creates a new playlist in the Music, adding any items passed as input to the new playlist.
• Find music: Searches for the music in your library that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Get current song: Returns the song that is currently playing in the Music app, if any.
• Get details of music: Extracts information from the music item, including title, album, artist, album artist, genre, composer, date added, media kind, duration, play count, album track number, disc number, album artwork (as a photo), whether it's explicit, the lyrics, release date, comments, whether it's a cloud item, the skip count, last played date, the rating, and the name.
• Get playlist: Gets every song in the specified playlist.
• Select music: Prompts to select music from your local music library.

iTunes

• Search iTunes Store: Searches the iTunes Store, returning the items that match the specified search terms. You can get more details about the results using the Get Details of iTunes Product action.
• Show in iTunes Store: Shows the iTunes products or App Store apps passed as input in a store sheet. This is useful with the Search iTunes Store and Search App Store actions.
• Get details of iTunes product: Extracts information from an iTunes product, including artist, price, currency code formatted price, release date, genre, duration, whether it's streamable, whether it's explicit, the description, the store ID, the story URL, the artwork, the artwork URL, and the name. Works for music, movies, podcasts, music videos, audiobooks, short films, TV shows, and iBooks (you may have to guess which named field is right depending on the type).
• Get details of iTunes artist: Extracts information about the creator of an iTunes product, including the genre, type, store ID, store URL, artwork, artwork URL, and name.

Photos.app

• Delete photos: Deletes the photos passed as input from the device's photo library. This action asks for confirmation before performing the deletion.
• Find photos: Searches for the photos in your library that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Get latest photos: Gets the most recent photos from the camera roll.
• Get latest screenshots: Gets the most recent screenshots from the camera roll.
• Select photos: Prompts to choose photos and videos from your photo library.

Editing

• Combine images: Combines the images passed into the action horizontally, vertically, or in a grid. Includes option for adding spacing between images.
• Crop image: Crops images to a smaller rectangle, including a specific width and height or positioning the crop at a specific spot (center, top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, or custom dimensions).
• Flip image: Reverses the direction of images either horizontally or vertically.
• Markup: Edits an image or PDF with Markup.
• Mask: Applies a mask to each image passed into the action. For example, you can cut images into a rounded rectangle, ellipse or icon shape, or provide a custom alpha mask.
• Overlay: Overlays an image on top of another image, with the background image as input and overlaid image inputted as a variable.
• Resize: Scales images to a particular width and height. If one value isn't inputted, it is automatically calculated.
• Rotate: Turns an image clockwise by a particular number of degrees.

Images

• Convert image: Converts the images passed into the action to the specified image format, including JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, JPEG-2000, BMP, PDF, HEIF, and matching the inputted file. Allows you to choose the quality (but increase the file size) and toggle whether to preserve metadata.
• Filter images: Given a list of images, this action returns the images that match the given criteria. Allows for sorting, changing the order, and limiting the number passed as a result.
• Get details of images: lets you extract information from images, including the album, width, height, date taken, media type, photo type, whether it's a screenshot, the location, the duration, the frame rate, the orientation, the camera make, the camera model, the metadata dictionary, whether it's hidden, whether it's a favorite, & more.
• Get frames from image: Splits an animated GIF or a photo burst into individual frames.
• Get images from input: Gets images from the result of the previous action. For example, this action can get the album art of a song, or all the images on a web page.
• Get latest bursts: Gets the most recent burst photos from the camera roll.
• Get latest live photos: Gets the most recent Live Photos from the camera roll.

Video

• Encode media: Re-encodes the media passed as input at the specified size, optionally converting to audio. Includes option to change speed or add metadata to the file.
• Get latest videos: Gets the most recent videos from the camera roll.
• Trim media: Presents a view allowing you to trim the media passed into the action.

Camera

• Take photo: Uses the camera to take photos, with the option to show the camera preview, take multiple photos, or use the front or back camera.
• Take video: Uses the camera to take a video clip, with the option to use the front or back camera, or change the quality between low, medium, and high.
• Save to photo album: Adds the photos and video passed as input to the specified photo album. This action is required if you want images, photos, or videos in Shortcuts to be saved into the Photos app.
• Record audio: Uses the microphone to record audio to an M4A file. Set the quality to Very High to return an uncompressed WAV format.

Mail

• Send Email: Presents an email composer. Pass text into the action to set the email body. Other types of input are added as attachments.

Messages

• Send Message: Sends an iMessage or SMS. Pass images, videos, or other files as input to include attachments.

Notes

• Create Note: Shares the input with Notes using the standard Notes share extension.

Photos

• Share with iCloud Photo Library: Shares the input with the Photos app.

Articles

• Filter articles: Given a list of articles, this action returns the articles that match the given criteria.
• Get article from web page: Gets an article from every URL passed into the action. This action only supports getting one article from each URL.
• Get details of articles: extracts information from an article, including title, author, published date, body, excerpt, number of words, main image URL, URL, and name.

URLs

• Expand URL: This action expands and cleans up URLs which have been shortened using a URL shortening service like t.co or bit.ly. The expanded URL is cleaned, removing unnecessary parameters such as "utm_source".
• Get component of URL: Gets the specified part of the URL passed into the action. URLs are structured as follows: scheme://user:password@host:port/path?query#fragment.
• Get contents of URL: Gets the contents of URLs passed into the action. Useful for downloading files and web content, or for making API requests. Includes GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE methods, and options to add headers. To make a multipart HTTP request, choose "Form" as the request body type and add files as field values.
• Get headers of URL: Retrieves the HTTP headers of the URL passed as input using a HEAD request.
• Get items from RSS Feed: Downloads the latest items from an RSS feed.
• Get RSS Feeds from Page: Extracts any RSS feed URLs from the given web URLs or web page.
• Get URLs from Input: Returns any links found in the output from the previous action.
• URL: Passes the specified URL to the next action.

Safari

• Get details of safari web page: Gets a specific piece of information from the safari web pages passed into the action, including page contents, page selection, page URL, and name.
• Add to Reading List: Adds URLs passed into the action to your reading list.
• Get Contents of Web Page: Extracts the contents of the web pages passed into the action.
• Open URLs: Opens URLs passed into the action in Safari (or the corresponding app if it's a deep link).
• Run JavaScript on Web Page: Runs JavaScript on a Safari web page passed as input. Only available when running your shortcut as an Action Extension from Safari.
• Search Web: Searches the web for the text provided as input.
• Show Web Page: Shows the web URL passed into the action in a Safari View Controller, allowing you to view the web page without switching apps. Includes a toggle to enter Safari Reader mode if it's available for the given web page.

Suggested shortcuts

So far, with the suggested shortcuts feature available in both the public and developer betas, some of Apple's apps have also shown up as shortcuts in Siri settings in our testing.

From our tests, we've seen the following donated shortcuts from Apple apps, all of which can be set up with custom voice triggers for Siri:

• Safari web pages visited recently
• Option to link from Clipboard
• View recent photos, albums, etc
• Start a timer for X minutes
• Open recent file, folder
• Open mail inboxes
• Show address or get directions to one
• Play recent track, music or Beats 1 radio
• Open recent notes, create new note
• Call phone numbers
• Resume podcasts, start next episode of show
• Listen to most recent voice memo, record new voice memo
• View recent message threads with specific people
• See stories from Apple News channels, top stories
• Show weather in location
• Check stock price
• Create a new contact
• Enable alarm for recently-used time
• Open Reminders lists
• Custom shortcuts from the Shortcuts app that have been run recently

Most often they're suggested in Spotlight search, but some on Twitter have seen more intelligent suggestions pop up after Siri receiving "donations" from Messages and made recommendations:

Hoping for more

There are a few things that are exciting about this huge list of Shortcuts actions for the default apps.

First, These are only the actions for Apple's own apps – besides what we shared in this article, there are even more in the app that we'll cover in coming articles: * Content-based actions, * Built-in actions for a small set of third-party apps, * Scripting actions that let you make more powerful shortcuts, and * An unknown/unlimited number of suggested shortcuts soon becoming available from other apps when iOS 12 launches.

In addition, these actions were there when Workflow was acquired. So far, there only a few new actions in the Shortcuts app (in this list, Run Javascript on Webpage). Otherwise, the main features – outside of the Siri integrations and suggested shortcuts – are currently freely available in Workflow for iPhone and iPad. If you want to start playing around while waiting for Shortcuts to come with iOS 12, there's nothing stopping you.

And finally, this could just be the start – Apple should definitely make more actions. I hope that the rest of the teams for Apple's apps are jumping onboard and working with the Shortcuts team to bring cool new actions from their apps (Pages, Keynote, and Numbers would be amazing for productivity, for example).

This is important because every time new actions were added to Workflow in the past, users immediately found new opportunities that changed the way they use iOS in exciting new ways. Keeping a steady pace forward can have a significant impact across the millions of devices that will be able to use this feature – I hope these types of additions happen more often than Apple's traditionally once-a-year update cycle.

Any questions?

Do you have any questions about the Shortcut actions available in the Shortcuts app on iPhone and iPad? Please put them in the comments below. If you'd like to know more about Shortcuts, be sure to follow all of our coverage.

Shortcuts for iPhone and iPad

Updated January 2019: Updated with clarification on additional coverage.

Yeah, you laugh, but emoji are one of the biggest update drivers, because people are people, and those aren't coming until iOS 12.1, a little later this fall. Meanwhile, iOS 12 has hit 50% in less than a month in public release. iOS 11 is down to 39%, all other previous versions a combined 7%. And that's counting any 32-bit devices that simply can't run iOS 12.

iOS release dates shift very slightly, Apple doesn't update the numbers at regular intervals, and different amounts of devices become incompatible with the latest updates, all of which conspire to make year-over-year comparisons problematic, but here are the figures for roughly the same periods over the last few years:

• iOS 12: 50% as of October 11, 2018.
• iOS 11: 52% as of November 11, 2017.
• iOS 10: 54% as of October 11, 2016.
• iOS 9: 61% as of October 19, 2015.
• iOS 8: 56% as of November 11, 2014.

Although it's an Apple's to Google's comparison at best, and the numbers haven't been updated to include the latest version, Pie, Android is currently sitting at almost 20% for last year's Oreo, almost 30% for the previous year's Nougat, almost 22% for the year before that's Marshmallow, and around 20% for the year before that's Kit Kat.

And yeah, the models are completely different, but the availability of updates, for all devices, in all regions, on all carriers, is absolutely something everyone should factor into every purchase decision they make. "It's the same bits I bought!" is rationalization and excuse-making that'll serve you not at all when a critical bug fix or sought-after feature just never comes your way.

Read our complete iOS 12 review

When Apple released iOS 12 to the masses a few weeks ago, it brought about many cool new features to our iPhones and iPads. However, one of the best improvements involves password management, which we covered in-depth earlier.

But what if you prefer using 1Password as your default password manager? Or if not 1Password, something like LastPass or Dashlane? Don't worry, with iOS 12 Password Autofill, it is entirely possible to change the autofill provider to your preferred password manager of choice, as long as it supports Apple's new Password Manager API framework.

Here's how to change your default password Autofill provider:

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Go to Passwords & Accounts.
3. Select AutoFill Passwords.

4. From here, you can toggle AutoFill Password on or off. It may be more secure to leave it off, but it's definitely much more convenient if you keep it on.
5. Underneath the toggle, you'll find Allow Filling From. The iCloud Keychain is checked off by default. Any other apps that you have installed that support Apple's Password Manager API will appear underneath.
6. Find 1Password (or any third-party password manager of your choice) and tap on it to check it off to use.
7. With 1Password, you'll be asked if you want to Auto-Copy One-Time Passwords, but keep in mind that this requires notifications to be on.

8. Once 1Password is selected as an option to AutoFill from, just tap on Keychain to unselect it.
9. With Keychain AutoFill off, your default password AutoFill provider just became 1Password.

What's your default password manager?

I've been a long-time user of 1Password myself, so I have years of hundreds of credentials stored in my vault. I definitely don't want to have two password managers enabled, as that could complicate things on my end. I'm glad to see Apple allowing us to change our default password manager option for AutoFill, and hopefully, it's a step forward for more customization options in the future.

Have any additional questions? Sound off in the comments below.

Sign up at 1Password

Since Apple released iOS 12 to the public, there's been a lot of cool new stuff that we can do on our iPhones and iPads. In fact, you should take a look at Rene Ritchie's iOS 12 review if you haven't already to get a deep dive into the latest iteration of iOS. There are other neat hidden features that everyone should know about too.

However, one of the best new things about iOS 12 is how passwords are handled. For example, you can generate strong passwords natively through iOS 12 without the help of a third-party password manager, audit current passwords, autofill your passwords and security codes in websites and apps automatically, and more.

But how do you go about using these new password features? We'll show you how!

• How to generate automatic strong passwords
• How to audit reused passwords
• How to autofill security codes
• How to autofill passwords in websites and apps
• How to share and receive passwords from nearby iOS devices

How to generate automatic strong passwords

1. Launch Safari and go to a website where you need to sign up for an account. Or launch a third-party app where you need to create a new account.
2. Input a username or email address into the first field.
3. Tap on the text input field for the password - iOS 12 should have generated an automatic strong password for you.
4. If you want to use that generated password, just tap on Use Strong Password to use it and have it stored in iCloud Keychain.

If you ever need your password, call out for Siri. Just ask her to show you the password for a specific account, such as "Siri, show me my Google password." Once you authenticate your identity with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode, Siri opens up the iCloud Keychain with that specific entry for you.

How to audit reused passwords

1. Launch Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Go to Passwords & Accounts.
3. Tap on Website & App Passwords.

4. Look for passwords with the triangular warning symbol and select them.
5. Tap Change Password on Website to open that webpage and make the necessary change.

This is optional, but it's highly recommended to change repeated passwords so that all of your accounts have a unique password. If someone happens to get a hold of that reused password, they can take it and try and force their way into your other accounts if it uses the same password.

How to autofill security codes

You know when you log in to something like a bank account on a new device, and you're asked to authenticate your identity with a security code that's sent as a text message to you? It's always annoying having to go back and forth between the website or app and the message with that code in it, right? With iOS 12, it can automatically fill in those codes for you.

1. Launch an app or go to Safari and navigate to a website where you need to authenticate your identity and device with a security code.
2. Fill in your credentials, including password, and proceed.
3. When asked to verify with a security code, make sure you select the text message option, instead of email or phone call.
4. Remain on the screen where it asks you to input your verification code.
5. Once the message comes in, the code should appear at the top of the keyboard as an Autofill option.
6. Tap on the code above the keyboard to automatically insert it into the text input field for verification purposes and submit it.

There are some security risks associated with this feature, such as financial fraud or man-in-the-middle attacks. Just make sure that you're the one who requested the security code and was expecting one.

How to autofill passwords in websites and apps

1. Launch Safari and go to a site that you already have account credentials for or a third-party app.
2. Select the text input field for the username or email address associated with the account.
3. In the Autofill suggestions on the keyboard, select "for this website: and then authenticate with your Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode.
4. If you put the wrong information in, go back to one of the fields and tap on the Passwords button in the extension above the keyboard.
5. Tap on it and you can bring up Other Passwords, find the one you want to use, and select it. The information gets autofilled into the appropriate fields.

Third-party password managers, such as 1Password and LastPass, may use Apple's Password Manager API in iOS 12 to allow users to access their passwords from such apps and services in the QuickType bar. So now this works natively, without having other apps integrate with 1Password to work, as this was the case prior to iOS 12.

How to share and receive passwords from nearby iOS devices

Have you ever had a time when someone needed a password from you to access something, but you don't want to read it out loud or send it unencrypted in a message or email? Now you can share safe and encrypted passwords with others when it's necessary.

1. Go to Settings and then Passwords & Accounts.
2. Find the account and password that you want to share, then select it.
3. Tap on the password field, and two options popup: Copy or AirDrop. Select AirDrop.
4. Other nearby devices with AirDrop enabled appear in the share menu. Select the one you want to send the encrypted password.
5. If you are on the receiving end, tap on Accept once the AirDrop comes through.
6. The encrypted password then gets stored on the receiving device's keychain.

However, because it's in the keychain, that user can go into Accounts & Passwords and then view the plaintext password if they wanted to. Please make sure that you only use this iOS 12 feature with people that you absolutely trust.

Managing your passwords is easy with iOS 12

There's no doubt that iOS 12 has made managing your passwords and generating new ones a lot easier than before. But of course, that does come at a risk with things like the security code autofill. However, as long as you play it safe, everything should be fine.

How are you liking the new password features in iOS 12? Are you just using iCloud Keychain, or do you prefer 1Password or LastPass for password management? Sound off in the comments!

Continuity is one of the most useful convenience features that Apple has introduced to iOS in recent years, letting you seamlessly move between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac by letting you open content from an app on one device in the same app on another device. But, as with anything else, problems will likely crop up from time to time.

If you find yourself experiencing a problem with Continuity or Handoff, follow these steps to fix the issues.

• Turn wireless on your iOS device off and on
• How to troubleshoot Handoff issues on your iPhone or iPad
• How to troubleshoot SMS forwarding on your iPhone or iPad
• How to troubleshoot call forwarding on your iPhone or iPad
• How to troubleshoot Handoff issues on your Mac

Turn wireless on your iOS device off and on

The first thing you'll want to try to do is just reset your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections between your iOS devices and any Macs with which you're attempting to use Continuity features. This is easily achieved using the Control Center and the Airplane Mode button.

1. Open Control Center on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the Airplane Mode button. Wait for the cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth buttons to all darken.
3. Tap the Airplane Mode button again. Your various wireless connections will reestablish themselves.

How to troubleshoot Handoff issue on your iPhone or iPad

If you're having problems using Handoff between apps on one of your iOS devices and your other devices, here's how you can try to fix them.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Handoff.

4. Flip the switch next to Handoff to the white "off" position.
5. Flip the switch next to Handoff to the green "on" position.

How to troubleshoot SMS forwarding issues on your iPhone or iPad

You'll need to follow these steps if you want the standard text messages you receive on your iPhone to show up on your iPad or Mac as well.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap Messages.
3. Tap Text Message Forwarding.

4. Tap the switches next to the devices to which you want to forward messages to the white "off" position.
5. Tap the switches next to the devices to which you want to forward messages to the green "on" position.

How to troubleshoot call forwarding on your iPhone or iPad

If calls to your iPhone aren't popping up on your other devices, here's how you can try to fix that.

1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap Phone.
3. Tap Calls on Other Devices.

4. Tap the switch next to Allow Calls on Other Devices to the white "off" position.
5. Tap the switch next to Allow Calls on Other Devices to the green "on" position.

How to troubleshoot Handoff issues on your Mac

1. Open System Preferences on your Mac.
2. Click General.

3. Click the checkbox next to Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices to uncheck it.
4. Click the checkbox next to Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices again to check it.

Questions?

Do you have any more questions or specific concerns about troubleshooting Continuity features on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac? Let us know in the comments.

Battery health is always something that we worry about when getting new hardware or even updating our old devices to new software versions. It may not seem like a big deal sometimes, but it does impact how we use our tech throughout the day, because sometimes we may not have access to a charger until much later, like when we get home.

I know many of you, myself included, liked having battery percentage on older devices, so you always know the precise battery level you're at during any point of the day. Or maybe you just prefer diving into the battery settings to check out what's been sucking up all of your juice for the day.

With iOS 12, there are plenty of improvements to the information you get when viewing battery info for your device. In fact, you can even customize it to get the stats that are more useful to you! Here's how to do it.

1. Go into Settings on your iPhone.
2. Tap on Battery and you'll find the Battery Detail screen.

From here, you can enable Low Power Mode if needed (though this is done faster through Control Center). The Battery Health option tells you the capacity level of your current battery, and whether it's supporting peak performance or not.

But underneath those two sections is where you'll find all of the good stuff. You can switch between Last 24 Hours or Last 10 Days. Both views display informative graphs of total battery usage and activity from apps. The graphs even point out when the device became fully charged after plugging it in.

On these graphs, you can tap a specific bar or part of the chart to view usage and activity from that specified time frame. The view also includes the amount of time that the screen was on and off. Just tap on the charts again to go back to the normal total view.

Below those charts, you'll find all battery usage listed out by the app. By default, it shows battery usage in descending order, with the most app using the most battery at the top. Battery usage displays the percentage of battery drain that a particular app took.

You can tap on the Show Activity text or on any cell of the list and it switches the view. Activity is measured in time, including the time spent running in the background. To go back to Battery Level, just tap again.

Are you finding the new Battery Health views useful in pinpointing why your battery drains the way it does throughout the day? Let us know in the comments!

Virtual reality and augmented reality are no longer industry buzzwords. More and more companies are releasing AR-enabled applications such as Amazon's Store app that allows you to "see" what a product will look like in your home and Clips 2.0, which changes your surroundings in real time when recording live video.

With all of this support from Apple, there is very little in the way of you developing some amazing AR apps using 3D engines.

If you're a Unity 3D engine or Unreal engine developer that is interested in creating augmented reality apps for iOS, here's where you can get the information you need to bootstrap your project. You can also check out how to get started in porting your VR apps to SteamVR for macOS if you're so inclined.

• What is the Unity 3D Engine?
• What is the Unreal Engine?
• How to get started with ARKit on macOS and Unity
• How to get started with ARKit on macOS and Unreal
• Go to the Unity and Unreal forums for questions

What is the Unity 3D Engine?

One development toolkit is the Unity 3D Engine. Although Unity first started life as an Apple-only 3D engine, it now supports a myriad of platforms and architectures. You can freely download the engine for personal use and learn the skills required to make amazing 3D applications with their online tutorials.

Unity 3D engine provides an ARKit specific plugin that allows you to create and develop projects. According to its website:

What is the Unreal Engine?

Another development toolkit is the Unreal Engine. Unreal is named after the wildly popular 1998 FPS Unreal) and its underlying platform has since been released and updated for anyone to register and download to hone their skills. Unreal provides access to forums and tutorials to help you learn basic and more advanced techniques.

How to get started with ARKit on macOS and Unity

When you've decided that you're primed enough and are ready to get started, you'll need the following to develop ARKit enabled apps on macOS:

1. You need to install macOS High Sierra or higher. Updates to Metal and GPU drivers have been made to macOS that facilitate the adoption of VR and AR capable applications on macOS.
2. You'll need to download the experimental build of Unity. As with any new technology, the bugs will need to be worked out. The more developers that are out there building their wares on macOS, the faster we can squash them out.
3. You'll need iOS 11 or later on your devices.
4. You must use XCode 9 or later, with iOS SDK{.nofollow} that includes ARKit Framework.
5. Finally, you'll need an iOS device that is supported by ARKit Framework such as the iPhone 6s and up.

How to get started with ARKit on macOS and Unreal

Perhaps your development tastes are geared towards the Unreal engine. Here are the need pieces to get up and running:

1. You need to install macOS High Sierra or higher. Updates to Metal and GPU drivers have been made to macOS that facilitate the adoption of VR and AR capable applications on macOS.
2. Register and download Unreal Engine 4.17 and up, with ARKit Support.
3. Download and install XCode 9 or higher.
4. Ensure you have an iPhone or iPad with iOS 11 or higher.

Go to the Unity and Unreal forums for questions

If you feel stuck or need help with some aspect of your Unity code, there are dedicated forums for Unity and forums for Unreal where you can discuss and collaborate with other macOS ARKit developers.

Final thoughts

So there you have it! I've pointed the way, all we need now is for you creative types to follow the path. From my personal experiences with VR and AR (which have been extensive), it's obvious to me that we are living in the future. Will you be an AR pioneer and catch the wave early on, or are you going to take your time and refine your skills to release something the world has never seen?! Let us know in the comments!

Updated September 2018: Updated for the official launch of iOS 12 and macOS Mojave.

With the release of iOS 12, iPhone and iPad users have a new option for getting software updates on their devices. With the automatic updates setting turned on, your iPhone or iPad will download and install the latest updates to iOS 12 and beyond when they become available. If you want to wait on a particular version, you can easily turn off automatic updates with the flip of a switch.

Here's how to turn it on.

How to turn on automatic software updates in iOS 12

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Software Update.

4. Tap Automatic Updates.
5. Tap the switch next to Automatic Updates so it flips to the green "On" position.

Questions?

If you'd like to know more about automatic software updates on iOS, ask away in the comments.

With macOS Mojave and iOS 12, users can finally view website icons, or favicons, in tabs in Safari on either platform. While the look isn't as clean, favicons can be helpful if you're looking for a particular tab, especially helpful if you're like me and you've got at least a dozen tabs open at once on any given device.

The option is off by default on both macOS and iOS, so here's how you go about turning it on.

What are favicons?

Favicons are tiny icons that appear in tabs on most popular web browsers like Firefox and Google Chrome. However, up until now, you could only get favicons in Safari if you were using a pinned tab. Favicons are a useful way of quickly identifying your tabs, so rather than having to read out its name (one that might be hidden, in any case, depending on the number of tabs you have open), you have a definitive identification marker to look for. It good to see that Safari is finally adopting them in full.

How to view favicons in Safari tabs in iOS 12

1. Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap Safari.
3. Tap the switch next to Show Icons in Tabs.

How to view favicons in Safari tabs in macOS Mojave

1. Open Safari from your Dock or Applications folder.
2. Click Preferences in the Menu bar.
3. Click Tabs.
4. Click the box next to Show website icons in tabs.

Questions?

If you have any more questions about using favicons in Safari on macOS Mojave or iOS 12? Let us know in the comments.

Apple has made a lot about the performance improvements in iOS 12. Everything from opening apps to bringing up the keyboard seems to have gotten an upgrade across the range of iOS 12-capable devices when compared to iOS 11 and its subsequent updates. But what sort of improvements can you expect? And will be old devices be left out in the cold?

Here's what you need to know about iOS 12's performance improvements.

Doesn't every iOS release come with "performance improvements"? What's so special about the improvements in iOS 12?

It's true that most versions of iOS come with certain improvements to system performance, but the work Apple has done in iOS 12 is on a different level. The company seems to have improved performance across the board. The company has hit every aspect of the system, such as overall responsiveness, smoother animations, and app launches.

Is my iPhone going to feel faster?

Speed and responsiveness are at the top of Apple's list for the enhancements in iOS 12. Everything you do across the system on iPhone and iPad will happen faster. Apple has overhauled iOS for performance across its device lineup.

You should also notice improved animations, with everything looking and feeling smoother and more responsive.

Apple is also getting smarter about when to ramp up CPU performance. So when you're launching an app or scrolling quickly, for instance, the CPU will give you a burst of speed by ramping up immediately, then back down in order to preserve battery life.

Will apps launch any faster?

In some of its testing, Apple saw app launches up to 40% faster in day-to-day use compared to the same device running iOS 11.4. When multitasking with a lot of apps, launches were up to two times faster.

Other common tasks should be faster, too. Swiping to the Camera from the Lock screen? Up to 70% faster. Launching the Keyboard sees boosts of up to 50%. And the Share sheet, which, on every iOS device I've ever owned has taken its sweet time in launching, now appears up to two times more quickly than in iOS 11.4.

Are these improvements coming to older devices?

Indeed they are. In fact, many of these improvements are aimed at older devices. In particular, the speed improvements. The numbers mentioned above were taken from tests that Apple performed on an iPhone 6 Plus, a phone that came out in 2014.

Apple also claims that performance has been improved for devices as old as the iPhone 5s and the iPad Air.

Will I even notice these improvements on my iPhone X?

It's true that you won't see as dramatic improvements on, say, the iPhone X as you would on an iPhone 6 Plus, but that doesn't mean newer devices won't benefit. App launching does seem faster, and animations seem just that much more fluid. But this is anecdotal, and your experience may vary.

The other factor here is that devices from the past couple of years are just much faster than their older counterparts. They already handled most tasks with an alacrity that shows just how much work the hardware engineering team at Apple does. And I expect that those devices will still be noticeably faster. It's just that the advantage might not seem so severe anymore.

When can I expect these improvements to arrive on my iPhone or iPad?

These performance improvements are available right now on iPhone 6 and later thanks to iOS 12.

Our two kitchen windows needed some new blinds. So naturally, I got out my iPhone.

If that seems like a non-sequitur to you, remember that Apple is all-in on augmented reality (or AR, as we say in the biz). So we took this opportunity to play around with a few third-party AR measuring apps, as well as Apple's new Measure app, released on Sept. 17 as a part of iOS 12.

If you've ever had to measure a window for blinds, you know that wrangling a tape measure can be a two-person job, so one person holding an iPhone to make measurements has some distinct appeal. Accurate measurements are critical, though, particularly for inside mounted blinds.

A trip to the App Store revealed plenty of third-party apps to choose from. So I downloaded eight of them (your guess is as good as mine as to how many AR rulers and tape measures exist on the App Store) and took them for a spin, seeking answers to the following questions:

1. How easy is the app to use?
2. How accurate is the app compared to actual measurements taken with a metal tape measure?

I discarded two of the apps either because they just didn't seem to work or required an in-app purchase to reveal the measurement results.

I didn't try to be overly scientific, such as measuring each dimension three times and taking an average, though I did stand-in the same location when making the measurements with each of the apps. If a measuring result seemed to be not in the ballpark of the actual measurement of the window, I re-measured.

About the Apps

Most of the apps I looked at had various tools beyond the usual length measurement. Some had the ability to create floor plans, measure a person's height, determine face attributes, perform chaining (start a new measurement from the last point), and figure out whether or not something was level.

For all these apps, you can choose your preferred unit of measurement (metric/imperial). The mechanics of doing simple length measurements with these apps are all pretty much the same. After the iPhone camera orients itself to its surroundings, the app displays a focus ring typically in the center of the iPhone's screen. Tap the screen to select a starting point, then move the camera to an ending point and tap again.

Just about all of the apps have the ability to save the results and share them with others. This is helpful for those times when you get a call from your spouse who is standing in the middle of the home furnishings section of a store and asking you to measure the size of your couch. The ability to send along a photo with AR measurements overlaid on it is pretty cool.

Apple's Measure app probably has the fewest features — and therefore is one of the simplest to use — of any of the apps I tried. The only setting you can fiddle with is switching between imperial and metric measurements. There is a camera button built into the interface, so if the image you're measuring can fit on the screen, it's easy to take a screenshot with the measurements included. Measure will also automatically measure rectangular objects, but the iPhone must be in a horizontal position to do so. So consider this a version 1.1 feature request for automatic measurement of vertical rectangles....like windows.

Apple's Measure app comes built-in with iOS 12.

AirMeasure had the greatest number of measuring tools available as well as the ability to activate the iPhone's flash to use as a flashlight. AirMeasure also keeps a history of all the measurements you've taken along with the ability to group them into a project and mark them up. The app includes helpful video tutorials for both overall uses of the app and for each of the individual tools. AirMeasure was very easy to use because the button to tap to mark the starting and ending point of a measurement was located well below the focus ring and within easy reach of a thumb. The virtual tape measure that unspools on the screen as the camera moves is a nice touch.

Free - Download now

AR MeasureKit has a good selection of tools, including Face Mesh, which creates a wireframe map of your face—sans emoji skin, along with a flashlight. The app provides detailed directions for each tool, but without videos. Making measurements with the ruler tool is difficult because the focus ring is also the button to tap to mark the starting and ending point. Covering the focus ring while tapping leads to a lot of uncertainty about the accuracy of the measurement.

Free - Download now

Tape Measure was fairly easy to use but produced fairly inconsistent results. The app provides only the very basic measuring tool for free. All of the app's additional features—including the flashlight, chaining, taking and sharing screenshots, even changing the measuring line color—are pro features that require a $25 annual subscription, but includes a 3-day free trial.

Free - Download now

Measured is a simple app that only does very basic measuring, and provides a fairly sparse set of tips for using the app. Interestingly, one of the tips was to perform vertical measurements from the bottom to the top. A nice feature: haptic feedback as you move the camera and draw out the measuring line.

Free - Download now

AR Measure offers just a few measuring tools. Interestingly, it offers two ways to perform a basic measurement: A-B Targets [described as "Target points from a distance (Accurate)"] and A-B Markers ["Place your camera at points (Fastest)"]. A-B Targets was easier to use because the focus area was separate from the button to tap to set an A-B point. Curiously, A-B Markers required tapping the focus area to set its A-B points, making it harder to use. The app produced inconsistent results when I used it. [AR Measure Markers]

Free - Download now

This app—not made by Apple—lets you do one measurement each time you launch it; to perform multiple measurements without relaunching you need to make a $1.99 in-app purchase. The app can only measure basic length and has very few options. In addition, the focus area doubles as the button to use to set starting and ending points, making it harder to use.

Free - Download now

How they measure up (#sorrynotsorry)

And now for the numbers from each of the apps, as well as the actual measurements, taken with a physical, metal tape measure:

Overall, AirMeasure came the closest to the actual dimensions of the window.

Your Mileage Will Vary

During its WWDC demo, Apple specifically stated that measurements derived from its Measure app were "approximate"; interestingly, none of the apps I looked at provided the same disclaimer.

All of these apps will give you a pretty good approximation of what they are measuring. Accuracy goes up if the interface is easier to use and you have steady hands. And they all will perform better the closer the camera is to the object being measured.

If you're measuring room size, furniture, or backyard areas, these new AR measuring tools are pretty good. It's early days for this technology; it's bound to improve.

But if you need absolute accuracy, stick to a physical tape measure. For now.

Measure for Measure

Have you tried an app we didn't try? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.

Updated September 2018: Added Measure for iOS 12.

When you install iOS 12, you can either keep all of the information and settings the same as you did before, or another option is starting over from scratch with a clean install; it all depends on what you're most comfortable with.

Why a clean install of iOS 12 is good

Have you ever had a tupperware container of food that you accidentally let sit in your lunchbox for one week too many, and so when you finally go to wash it out, you contemplate throwing the entire thing out and just starting from scratch with a new, less disgusting container?

Well think of your iPhone as the tupperware container, iOS 11 or later as the gunked-on food, and iOS 12 as the brand new, non-smelly container, and you're pretty much in the right mindset as to why some people think a clean install of iOS 12 is a great thing.

With a clean install, you have a chance to declutter your iPhone and get rid of heavy data, apps, and nonsense that might be stored on your iPhone or iPad that you don't need or ever use. You get an opportunity to reinstall apps sparingly and really make good use of your device's space.

It is worth keeping in mind that if you do opt for a clean install of iOS 12, you will need to take some time to set everything back up the way that you like it, so allow yourself a bit of time to get things in order.

Why a standard installation of iOS 12 is good

Simply put, if you love all the apps and settings that you already have on your iPhone or iPad, and if you feel like your iPhone or iPad doesn't need to be reset or bumped back to square one, stick to a standard installation.

When you have a standard install, you won't have to worry about reinstalling different apps and tweaking your settings back to normal; you just download the update and get on with your life.

Which one is better?

At the end of the day, everyone is different. If you have an iPhone or iPad with a ton of different pictures, files, apps, notes, and everything in between, then a clean installation might be a bit daunting and unnecessary.

However if you're someone who wants a fresh start and doesn't mind taking the time to put things back together, then a clean installation is the way to go.

What do you think?

Have you ever done a clean install with your iPhone or iPad? Do you prefer a standard install with one piece of tech over another? Are you excited to get iOS 12 on your iPhone or iPad?

Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments below!

Read more comics from The Pixel Project.

Now that iOS 12 is available to the public, many users are clamoring to try out the Shortcuts app that speeds up what you do on your devices.

But shortcuts are more than just the sum of this app. You can also use the suggested shortcuts feature and add shortcuts to Siri with their own phrases – here's how.

• Suggested shortcuts
• Voice commands for shortcuts
• The Add to Siri button
• Build your own Siri

Suggested shortcuts

As you're using iOS 12, you will still start to see shortcuts appearing across your operating system.

These might include options like a recent Messages conversation you were having with a specific person, an option to open the link on your clipboard for a page you've visited in Safari, or the option to resume a podcast you'd recently paused or listen to regularly.

In order to use these shortcuts, you tap on the one you want and the action occurs right away. These suggested shortcuts will do things like:

• Take you deeper into the corresponding app.
• Playback media in the background.
• Perform a task that doesn't require input seamlessly.
• Operate within the interface in a popover (much like normal Siri interactions).

When you pull down on the home screen to search for something, you'll likely see three suggested shortcuts that the system thinks you might want to use now.

Voice commands for shortcuts

Once you've triggered events across your apps that surface as suggested shortcuts, you can also add specific custom voice recordings that will enable you to issue a command to Siri and have her run your shortcut.

To find these, you need to:

1. Go into Settings and then Siri.
2. Choose one of the three preview options, or tap More Shortcuts
3. Review the list of suggested shortcuts and tap on the one you want to add
4. On the next screen, you'll be shown the title of the action and a suggested phrase, with a big red button for recording. Tap that
5. Record your custom phrase, making sure to avoid anything else you've already set up. Keep it short and memorable
6. Invoke Siri with the hardware button or "Hey Siri", then give your custom command to activate the shortcut

Once you've recorded multiple commands for shortcuts, you can go back to the Siri settings page and see the full list of voice shortcuts you've set up so far.

Another thing to note: you can record multiple phrases for the same shortcut – you'll have to get the action to surface again in suggestions, but once it's there you can record a new phrase and it'll just be added to the list.

The Add to Siri button

Creating voice shortcuts is somewhat manual for now, but Apple's developer sessions also spoke about a new Add to Siri button that you should see in many apps in iOS 12.

"Add to Siri" will be a one-tap, visually distinct way to create voice commands for actions you've just completed in the app, making it much easier to add to Siri than digging into your Settings app.

For example, once the dedicated Shortcuts app is released, each custom shortcut you create can be added to Siri from the options screen in the Add to Siri section.

Developers who implement this feature can also suggest phrases for people to use, which should help take off some of the mental load of creating new unique commands for Siri every time (but you can also just ignore it).

Build your own Siri

For many people, adding custom voice commands for simpler shortcuts may be all they need to add a ton of valuable features to their Siri experience.

As you go about your day using iOS, actions that are programmed by developers to be suggested as shortcuts will start telling Siri that you've done that action and they'll just show up.

Once you've found a few shortcuts you use regularly or could be even more useful triggered by voice, you have the option to add it to Siri, then later you can tell her your command and it'll just work.

Plus, this will work on Siri on most of your Apple devices – iPhone, iPad, through AirPods, on Apple Watch, via HomePod, and even in the car with CarPlay.

The shortcuts suggested to you by Siri will be as powerful as your apps can be in iOS 12.

If you're just upgrading to iOS 12 today and you've heard all about Siri Shortcuts, you may be looking for the Shortcuts app that allows you to set up custom shortcuts with multiple steps chained in a row.

However, like many, you won't see it on your device by default – only the shortcuts feature is part of the operating system (OS), which starts to give you proactive suggestions for actions to take, as well as introduces the Add to Siri button in apps to let you create your own trigger phrases for that app's action.

The Shortcuts app, however, is only available on the App Store, alongside apps like Pages, Numbers, and Keynote under Apple's developer page.

You can also find it by searching for Shortcuts, either in the App Store or even from Spotlight search. From there, it will download onto your device, and if you were a Workflow user your old workflows will automatically be imported as custom shortcuts.

Why it's okay that it's not a default app

Apple's apps in the App Store are usually only available there since they're not as directly tied into the OS in how they work, they aren't necessarily used by every single user of Apple devices, and they can be updated out of step with the annual release cycle.

Having Shortcuts as an app you have to download from the App Store might be a good thing for the community, because it means that custom shortcuts and the complicated drag & drop action steps within the app won't be presented to users who aren't looking for it.

This self-selection into the custom shortcuts world of the Shortcuts app hopefully creates a highly-interested user base. There is so much to learn and take advantage of, which should help grow a passionate group of people investing their time into this app they chose to use and figure out.

Hopefully, this could also allow the Shortcuts team to update the app more regularly than if it was only changed with the next version of iOS.

Each addition to the app could enable leaps and bounds in possibilities for whichever portion of the 2 billion Apple devices in use are capable of running the Shortcuts app. Every new action added to Workflow in the past opened new doors for its users, so it'd be fantastic to see Apple continue that with Shortcuts too.

Where to get started

The Shortcuts app is powerful and full of potential, but once you get into examining all of the actions it may be overwhelming. We've created a few guides to help you get started, as well as some ways you can use shortcuts elsewhere, and are covering of all the actions included in the app that you can read online alongside poking through each category.

Be sure to check out Apple's official Shortcuts User Guide too, where they have updated the Workflow documentation for the new Shortcuts app and improved the layout so you can dig in.

Plus, there is even more great coverage across the web too. MacStories.net has a wide range of articles and the entire history of Workflow before it, as well as an in-depth review of iOS 12. Plus, David Sparks of MacSparky has updated his Workflow Field Guide (now free, definitely get it) to a Shortcuts Field Guide.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out on Twitter or check out my new YouTube channel helping you learn Siri Shortcuts as well.

Now that iOS 12 has launched, the rest of the iPhone using world can check out and start using the Shortcuts app, bringing the ability to build scriptable custom shortcuts to iOS that can be added to Siri or run from your device.

This app is the result of Apple's acquisition of Workflow, an automation app that let users take advantage of their phone's potential capabilities as a computer while also connecting apps together in new ways.

What is Shortcuts.app?

As we mentioned in our Siri Shortcuts FAQ, the dedicated Shortcuts app coming to everyone with iOS 12 that lets you go deeper into Shortcuts beyond the suggestions or voice commands.

Building off the shortcuts feature which already allows for actions to be taken on-device or with Siri using your voice, the Shortcuts app lets you build multi-step shortcuts that combine multiple steps you might take on your phone into one flow of actions.

This app is like a visual programming language, letting you tell your computer what to do ahead of time by building it from individual pieces like a Lego set letting which you can organize into a sequence using drag-and-drop. Then, you can trigger the advanced shortcut by running it in the Shortcuts app, with your voice, or anywhere else Siri Suggestions show up (on the Lock Screen, in Spotlight, and on Siri face for Apple Watch).

While most shortcuts are single tasks taking you into an app or doing something like ordering coffee, the Shortcuts app combines these will new actions that can be mixed-and-matched to get an endless combination of different results.

The actions that are available for you to use in Shortcuts include the new Siri Suggestions of shortcuts offered by apps, but they also have the ability to perform deeper functions using the features of Apple's default apps like:

• Calendar
• Contacts
• Documents
• Health
• Maps
• Music
• Photos, and
• Safari

Not only will you be able to do things like order from the Philz app as Apple demoed at WWDC, but you can also do things like gather recent photos, combine them into a GIF, and share it out to Messages in one tap.

Going even further, these actions can enable programming-type functionality including (but not limited to):

• Operating on text or dates to change it into a different format,
• Adding scripting options to repeat through items or change depending on different conditions, and
• Sharing back to other apps on your device (or even the web)

With these features, you can do a whole variety of things like build email templates, find all the recent music you've listened to and great a grid of album artwork, or even interact with web services like Dark Sky to retrieve information from online databases (and much, much more).

If you're new to this, there is an almost overwhelming amount of potential here. You can make simple little tools that accomplish a single task for you quickly, or you can go hog-wild and built a suite of mini-apps that serve your needs exactly – there's a lot to learn here.

Starting out with the Shortcuts app

Once you have access to Shortcuts, the app consists of two main screens – your Library of shortcuts and the curated Gallery that shows pre-made shortcuts you can add and try out.

If you had Workflow already installed and have created workflows, those will be imported into Shortcuts automatically so you don't have to add them manually.

If you're new to Shortcuts, however, I suggest looking through the Gallery and browsing the collections to see what's possible – they're organized by topic, app, or use case, plus there are banner pages at the top with larger groups of collections.

You can tap on a shortcut to see its description, where you can tap "Get Shortcut" to add it to your Library to use later. Or, you can tap Show Actions and get a preview of the steps included in that workflow, which helps you get a better sense of what's happening if you're curious to learn more.

Once you've added some shortcuts, you can run them by tapping on them once in the Library view. The shortcut will run in the background, completing its steps and moving through each action in a row until the shortcut is finished and your task is complete.

These shortcuts will only operate inline, however, if they don't include any prompts for the user – if you're prompted to pick from a list of options or enter text in the course of the shortcut running, that will pop up on top and you can continue there.

You can also add a custom voice command so that can you run that shortcut with Siri by tapping Add to Siri in the shortcut's settings and speaking your prompt out loud.

In order to edit a shortcut that's been added to your library, tap on the ellipsis (dot dot dot) in the top right corner of a shortcut and you'll enter the Shortcuts Composer view, wherein you can re-order the sequence of actions, add new ones, or change the details of an action if available. (Adding a new shortcut will immediately take you to the Shortcuts Composer).

Once you're in the composer view, you can add new actions to the flow using the expandable drawer and search field at the bottom of the screen.

If you pull up on the grab handle, you'll be presented with suggested actions to use in your shortcut – these are grouped by app/category, so you'll likely see Calendar, Maps, and Sharing at first.

But if you tap in the Search field, you'll be presented with a full list of the available action groups:

• Favorites
• Siri Suggestions
• Scripting
• a Content Types section for each type of content made by Apple's default apps
  • an Apps section with actions from any third-party apps you have installed.

For each action available in Shortcuts, you'll see the icon, title, short description, and an info button to learn more.

If you tap the action once, it'll be added in the next available spot in your current shortcut. If you tap the Info icon, the drawer will be expanded to show buttons for Favorite and Add to this shortcut, as well as a description and more details about how the action operates.

We'll get into just exactly how Shortcuts work, how actions operate and pass content in between each step, and some tips for learning more in another article.

But for now, you should know that in between actions inside a shortcut, content can be passed as input/result into/out of the action step, usually represented by the vertical line connecting the two. (This is partially where the original name Workflow came from, as content flows from one action to the next).

Start testing what's possible

Getting started with Shortcuts is understandably overwhelming – you've got quick pre-built tools you can already use, a whole new suite of apps to utilize and interact with, and a new visual programming tool that you can start to dig into.

I suggest starting small – look through all the actions available, browse the gallery, and start running some shortcuts to see what happens (if you run it from the compose view, you'll see each step occur one-by-one).

Start experimenting with new shortcuts using only a handful of actions – Get Recent Bursts, Make GIF, and Quick Look will let you instantly turn a recent burst into a GIF in one tap, for example, which is in no way easy on iOS currently.

And there's a whole community to explore – we shared some links in our Siri Shortcuts FAQ as well.

I also suggest reading the recently updated Workflow documentation from Apple or the previous version still available on the Internet Archive (written by yours truly when I worked at Workflow before it was acquired).

Otherwise, there's a whole new world of automation that you can start exploring. There will likely be a lot of trial-and-error if you're doing deeper shortcuts programming, but once you get beyond the learning curve the sky is the limit right now.

We'll be covering much more here on iMore, and if you have any questions you can ask @iMore or me directly at @mattcassinelli and I'd be happy to help. Also check out my YouTube channel where I'm producing videos to help you learn the Shortcuts app.

Happy iOS update day! To celebrate, everyone's favorite snarky, AI-controlled weather app, CARROT Weather, just got even better. Who can resist a GLaDOS-like artificial intelligence insulting you subtly while giving you the day's forecast?

Today's new 4.8 update includes a handful of brand new features that make the app compatible with Shortcuts in iOS 12, the new Siri watch face, and new complications coming in the Apple Watch Series 4.

• Siri Shortcuts
• Siri watch face
• New Apple Watch Series 4 Complications

$5 - Download Now

Siri Shortcuts

The biggest and most exciting new feature is definitely the compatibility of CARROT with Siri Shortcuts. There are 18 shortcuts that work with CARROT Weather, and it's even customizable if you want your personalized weather reports. One neat shortcut is the ability to make Siri interact directly with CARROT, but this may make CARROT angry, so watch out with that one.

Shortcuts let you ask Siri about what the weather will be like for the week ahead. Or you can ask for precipitation reports that tell you when you're going to get rain. There are many possibilities here, and Siri Shortcuts makes CARROT Weather's data even more accessible at any time.

Siri watch face

When you use the Siri watch face, your day begins with a morning report of the weather for the day, and updates come in automatically for relevant weather events, such as rain. In the evening, you'll find a report for tomorrow's forecast.

All of the cards that Siri may display on the watch face are customizable with more data points that you find relevant. If it rains frequently for you, then the precipitation data is useful. Or UV Index if you're worried about the hot sun rays.

New Apple Watch Series 4 Complications

This 4.8 update includes some new complications and fully supports the new Series 4 complications on arrival. There are over 15 customizable complications for each, and you can add a single or double data point for each slot.

What's your favorite weather app?

We're big fans of CARROT Weather because of the hilarious insults that CARROT likes to fling at us while we check in on the weather forecast. Today's update makes it more useful and fun than ever, so we're glad to see support for iOS 12 right when it's available.

The update is available for existing customers for free. CARROT Weather is on the App Store for $5 with in-app purchases.

$5 - Download Now

Though I love the four-inch form factor, I've always been a bit disappointed in how Apple treats the SE. Its guts and hardware are years old, technologically. Even when it was only a year old, I had already noticed a slowdown in performance.

Running on beta

When I first wrote this editorial, I was running the developer beta of iOS 12. I'd been doing so since June of 2018. With the official launch of iOS 12 on my SE, I can say that the performance is still as stellar as it was when I first installed the beta version.

The test

Even though I've moved onto the iPhone X, I still keep my SE around because I love the size. This year, I decided to turn it into a beta testing device and installed the public beta of iOS 12.

The performance improvement was immediately noticeable.

When Apple unveiled iOS 12 at WWDC 2018, it noted that one of the major new features coming this fall is performance improvements. The latest software update is supposed to make app launching up to 40% faster, the keyboard to appear up to 50% faster, and the camera to launch up to 70% faster.

"Cool," I thought, but didn't really consider it after that.

Not until I started testing iOS 12 on my iPhone SE. Having switched to the iPhone X, the SE really felt like a dinosaur before. I didn't even like using it very much because everything took so much time to load.

I'd been so happy with iOS 12 on my SE since the beta launched that I was happy to update to the official iOS 12 immediately after it launched.

It's not magic

With iOS 12, it feels like the SE is brand new, with a brand new processor chip and extra RAM, even though it's the same exact iPhone I got two years ago.

We like to say things like, "It works like magic," but really it's not magic at all. The development team at Apple worked very hard to make these significant improvements to iOS performance.

iMore Editor-at-Large Rene Ritchie explains in detail how Apple managed this feat with faster processor ramp-ups, improved scrolling, and fetching data in the background.

Most importantly, Apple made changes to how our devices react to memory requests. In iOS 12, an app will 64, 32, or even 8-bits, depending on what the request calls for. This significantly lowers how often large memory demands are active.

These under-the-hood improvements are not so under-the-hood. It's like dropping a Hemi into a classic Impala. You notice it.

What's old is new again

There's no mistaking that iOS 12's performance enhancements help older devices. It's the little things that I noticed first.

When I launch an app, it loads much faster, even third-party apps. Trello is a perfect example. I basically hate using it, but it's the companywide program for tracking what we write about every day. In iOS 11, on my iPhone X, it would take a very long time to load and often froze for nearly a minute before working at all.

Trello on my iPhone SE with iOS 12 loads in seconds and, though it still freezes up on occasion, it gets back on track much faster.

Many other apps load at the exact same speed on my iPhone SE running the iOS 12 as they did on my iPhone X running iOS 11.4 when they've been opened before. They still loaded faster on iPhone X when launching an app that was previously closed in multitasking, but it's definitely faster than before.

The Camera app loads at the exact same speed as it did on my iPhone X in iOS 11. Whether I'm tapping in from the app, loading from Control Center, or swiping left from the Lock screen. There is no hesitation.

You have no idea how good it feels to see my iPhone SE working faster and smoother than ever before. I'm so proud of the little guy.

My iPhone SE finally feels like a pro

People with newer devices aren't as likely to notice the performance improvements. Your iPhone is already speedy! These changes are going to really feel good to iPhone owners that haven't upgraded in a couple of years. I noticed it as soon as I started using my iPhone SE with the iOS 12 public beta 1.

If you're still holding on to the four-inch form factor and your favorite mobile device is the iPhone SE, with iOS 12, your iPhone SE is going to feel new again, which will make you much happier now that we know Apple has killed the 4-inch form factor.

Have you tried it?

Have you updated to iOS 12 on an iPhone SE? Have you noticed the performance improvements? Tell me about your experience in the comments section.

Originally written in July 2018 after the beta launched. Updated and republished for the official launch of iOS 12.

Smartphones and mobile operating systems were originally designed to converge the past. They replaced our phones, personal digital assistants, portable video and music players, gaming handhelds, and GPS units into one, small, always-connected package. And it was good.

Now, smartphones and mobile operating systems are in a race for the future — not just to define it but to predict it. Surfaces can now read our fingerprints. Microphones can understand what we say. Cameras, who we are and what we're doing. Machines can also learn to anticipate what we'll do and want and when. Consequently, our devices have gone from reactively recording and retrieving only the information we've given them to trying to "know" us and proactively provide us with a range of information and services right before we realize we need them.

At the same time, we live in an era where the largest internet companies in the world have told us our privacy is effectively dead — and are now being forced to admit how they're the ones who actively abused it to death.

This is the world into which Apple is bringing iOS 12 for iPhone and iPad, which combines audacious new intelligence and assistance with fierce new protections for privacy and security.

It also contains foundational performance enhancements designed to make iOS software age as well as iPhone and iPad hardware; a giant leap forward in persistent, multi-person AR; proactive suggestions and voice-trigger-able workflows not just for core features but for any action in any app; much-needed improvements to notifications and the do-not-disturb system; full-on self and parental controls; fun new features for Messages like Memoji which put you not just into the emoji but into a new AR world.

That might seem like a lot of random pieces. But I'm willing to bet they're all part of the same puzzle. One that, as it comes together, will reveal that iOS 12's main purpose was shoring up and rounding out the interfaces, features, and devices we have today so we're ready for the ones coming tomorrow.

Again, no pressure.

iOS 12 Compatibility

iOS 12 supports all the same devices as iOS 11 did, which means all the 64-bit iOS devices on the market going back to 2013.

• iPhone X
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone SE
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 6
• iPhone 6 Plus
• iPhone 5s
• iPad Pro 10.5-inches
• iPad Pro 9.7-inches
• iPad Pro 12.9-inches
• iPad Air 2
• iPad Air
• iPad mini 4
• iPad mini 3
• iPad mini 2
• iPod touch 6

iOS 12 Automatic Updates

I've been using iOS 12 on my main phone, every day, since Apple released the first beta right after the WWDC keynote on June 4, 2018. That's not something I recommend for anyone who doesn't write reviews like this for a living, but I feel it's imperative to really get to know all the new bits before they ship.

Once you're on iOS 12, you'll have the option to enable Automatic Software Updates. That way, just like Automatic App Updates have done for years now, you won't have to worry about manually updating your iPhone or iPad anymore. Whenever they become available, software updates, beta and release, will simply download and install themselves overnight.

How to download and install iOS 12 on your iPhone or iPad

iOS 12 and iPad

Last year, given all the iPad-centric features, I made it a point to single out how much iPhone was getting as well. This year, given how much focus there's been on iPhone, I want to make sure to do the same for iPad.

There aren't many iPad-only features in iOS 12, although there is a new ink picker for Apple pencil that can toggle line width, opacity, and color. But there are a lot of new-for-iPad features and updates that have been customized for iPad.

The status bar layout and gesture navigation have been brought over from iPhone X. It's a little odd to see Apple introduce iPhone X-style interface before introducing iPhone X-style hardware. But, make of that what you will. Last year's gestures are fully replaced by the new ones, but the four-finger swipes and pinches introduced way back in iOS 4 remain. Make of that also what you will.

If you're not a fan of using the two-finger touch-and-hold on the virtual keyboard to trigger trackpad mode, good news: You can now do it with just a one finger touch-and-hold on the virtual space bar key.

Performance improvements make older iPads launch faster and scroll smoother and Siri Shortcuts take pro workflows to the next level. ARKit 2.0 and FaceTime AR calls really take advantage of the big screen, and Screen Time to make sure you — and especially your kids — aren't overdoing it on that big screen.

Apple's Stocks and Voice Memos have finally made the leap to iPad, though Weather and Calculator still have not. Both the new designs and the redesigns, like the News app, feature sidebars that take advantage of iPad's split view interface to make finding specific content a breeze. Likewise, though not unique to iPad, the new camera import interface is especially useful on iPad.

It might not feel as all-about-iPad as iOS 9 did with Split View or iOS 11 did with drag-and-drop, but including the above and everything below, iPad owners are still in for a very good year.

iOS 12 Performance

Apple has had a performance team for a long time who, as part of their jobs, have been required to carry older devices running upcoming operating systems. Engineers have often carried older devices as well to help ensure performance. But, every year is a crunch and, when something isn't a specific focus, you do the best you can and then you move on. This year, though, performance wasn't just a specific focus — it was the headline feature.

The goal of iOS 12 was to make iPhone and iPad faster and more responsive not just on current generation, 2017 hardware, but on up to five generations going back to 2013.

While competitors still struggle to get the latest version onto a single-digit percentage of devices on the market, and many competing devices are lucky if they ever see any updates at all, let alone a year, two, or three down the line, Apple is moving from leading the industry to lapping it.

It also makes Apple's software a better fit for its hardware, which typically stays active for generations — not just years after it was bought, but through successive owners, as it's sold or handed down.

It might seem like a poor business decision on Apple's part. After all, people happy with their old devices aren't as likely to upgrade to new ones. I think Apple sees it as an investment, though. People happy with their old devices are more likely to buy from Apple again when they finally do decide to upgrade to a new one. They're also more likely to convince friends and family, some of whom have creaky, cracking, nearly un-chargeable, almost always un-updatable, devices from other vendors to upgrade to Apple next as well.

It's an optimistic model, but when it's both the best thing and the right thing to do, you do it.

The only question is: Why did it take Apple so long to do it? Part of the answer is no doubt the controversy surrounding #iPhoneSlow, which reached a head following Apple's decision to gate performance to preserve battery life and prevent unexpected shutdowns. The other part is resources. Apple literally took the best and the brightest engineers, the ones who make the underpinnings of the system and in any other year would be leading the charge to push out new features, and had them spend their time improving the performance of the existing frameworks or technologies instead.

Apple gave its numbers at the keynote: Apps launch up to 40% faster. The keyboard launches up to 50% faster and remains more responsive. The camera launches up to 70% faster. The share sheet launches up to 100% faster — even when an older device is already under load.

Achieving that kind of performance enhancement starts with the silicon. Because Apple designs its chipsets in-house, it can build and optimize for exactly what it needs. That includes changing the normal, slow processor ramp up to an almost immediate one. (Think going from something that graphs like a gentle, symmetrical hill to something that looks like the front end of a crashing wave.)

This, for example, helped solve a weird situation where a device under no load would drop frames but, when under slight load, it would not (because, in the latter case, it was already ramped up). And it was done by passing information about what scrolling was happening and when acceleration will be needed from the interface frameworks to the CPU controller. That way, the silicon knows what's about to happen and what's needed to make it happen smoothly.

On the software side, Apple worked to improve scrolling (UITableView, UICollectionView, and similar custom views). On most devices, which operate at 60Hz, there's 16 milliseconds to set up, fill, and draw content into the cells that make up a view before frames start to drop and scrolling is affected. On a 120Hz iPad Pro, just 8 milliseconds.

iOS 10 began to address this with a prefetch API, which could work in the background to prepare views and prevent work having to be done on-demand when resources could already be strained. With iOS 12, Apple removed some edge cases which caused problems like drawing the same frame twice (which is indistinguishable from a dropped frame). In general, iOS 12 is also more intelligent about how it schedules prefetches, avoiding concurrency and handling them serially instead.

Auto Layout, the foundation for size classes, affects all of Apple's multi-size and, for iPad, multi-window displays. It's also been significantly improved in iOS 12. Independent sibling views, for example, used to scale linearly. Now, they scale slight sub-linearly. Dependent sibling views in iOS 11 scaled exponentially. Now, they scale linearly. Same with nested views.

Apple also addressed memory, which directly relates to performance. Previously, when apps made a large memory request, the system had to go find that memory from somewhere — likely other apps. That delayed the current app but also undermined the other apps. (If you later went back to one, it would likely have to reload either partially or completely, which takes time.)

iOS 12 helps address this, for example, with new techniques like Automatic Backing Stores. That means an app can draw a full fidelity Portrait Mode image if it needs to, but if it's only drawing a low fidelity line-art image, it can drop from 64-bits down to 8-bits to significantly reduce the demands on memory.

Apple is also deprecating the old UIWebView API for the more modern WKWebview, which works on both iOS and macOS, and runs in its own process, so even if it crashes, it doesn't take the app down with it.

All of this to say the performance fixes go deep. Even on most of the betas, you could feel significant improvements at the system level. Now that we're at release, it should get even better because some of the changes also required developers to adopt the new performance best practices. Fingers crossed they all have and we're about to hit the highway for real.

iOS 12 ARKit 2

One day, Augmented Reality (AR) will live in our glasses and contact lenses. Then in the photons hacked on their way to our visual receptors, if not embedded right into our brains. For now, it lives inside our iPhones and iPads. And Apple seems to want to make sure it goes as fast and as far with the technology on our current devices so it's as mature as possible by the time we get to whatever comes next. And that suits me just fine.

But, rewind, ARKit: It's Apple's framework for tracking the position and orientation of devices relative to the world around them (and, by extension, you), and the movement and expressions of human faces.

It can also understand scenes. Where ARKit 1.0, introduced just one short year ago this month, could handle single-user experiences and horizontal surfaces and lighting conditions. Then, it can render non-real 3D objects — using SpriteKit, SceneKit, or Metal templates — that feel like they belong in that world. (It also enjoys support from both the Unreal and Unity gaming engines.)

ARKKit 1.5, which shipped earlier this year, included support for things like vertical and irregular surfaces, continuous autofocus, and relocalization so apps could resume from background.

Now, ARKit 2.0 includes 4:3 video formats (think iPad); 2D image tracking and 3D object detection, so a photo can drag an augmentation with it, and a real-world model can come alive through AR; environment textures and mapping to make the augmented look more real; persistent experiences, so you can put that model away at home today, take it back out at school tomorrow, and continue right where you left off; improved face tracking, specifically for winking, gaze, and tongue — yes, tongue — movement; and… wait for it… multi-user experiences.

There's a ton of cool tech here, including a new, standardized format for AR called USDZ. It's better, I've been told, to think of it as an export/import format than strictly a file format. The USD part was worked on at Pixar for a while, since it's core to what they do, but Apple added the Z part, which took all the assets and opinions and bundled them up to make them easily transportable. So easily, in fact, you can tap on a web link and launch straight into an AR experience.

It's a big deal, both now as AR is beginning to go mainstream, and for the future, as we'll all benefit from speaking the same format language. Pixar, Apple, and Adobe will get support in the tools that are used to create the experiences, and we'll get compatible experiences created by the best and brightest, both in the studios, the big companies, and out in the world.

The mesh for face tracking, by itself, looks totally sci-fi. Apple renders it with lighting that estimates intensity, direction, and ambient color temperature, but also provides spherical harmonic coefficients — yeah, I had to look it up, too — for apps that need them. It basically makes rendered augmentations look like they fit into the real world around them.

Some find the new gaze-tracking creepy and the tongue detection a tad on the excessive side. I haven't explored the former enough to form an educated opinion on it, though I'll be doing just that before the fall. The latter is just plain fun, though. (It's also binary for now, so tongue in or out, no elaborate gymnastics just yet.)

Map saving and loading is what enables persistence and multi-person experiences. Instead of generating and then throwing away the 3D world map, ARKit now provides it to developers, complete with simple anchors and support for custom anchors, to keep and share.

For multi-user, because the world map represents a single, real-world coordinate system, one person can initiate the experience and then share it with one or more other people. And each of them share the same AR space from their own physical perspective. It does this by being not only faster to initialize in iOS 12, but through faster and more robust tracking and plane detection.

The experience is shared locally through multi-peer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networking, which means you're not relying on the cloud, which is great for performance and privacy. You can use the internet when you want to, not because you have to.

There's also a fiendishly clever system for reflection mapping. While building the world map, ARKit also uses computer vision to build out a cube or other map representation based on scene texture. Machine learning is used to fill in any holes and create the "hallucination" of a complete map — as long as you don't look too closely. Reflection probes then detect objects and apply that texture when and as appropriate.

I had the chance to try the LEGO ARKit experience at WWDC and it was a ton of fun. It uses the 3D object detection, which means the object needs to be both built in the real world and scanned into the digital one first. Those objects need to be textured, rigid, and non-reflective, at least for now.

The real-world LEGO building sat on a table but, with an iPad, I could crack it wide open, drop the Joker in, and watch as he promptly set it on fire. Then, another person I was playing with could call up The Batman, get him into the chopper, and rescue the clowns (?!) while a third positioned a firetruck to put the blaze out. I've built LEGO for years, including a pretty great Arkham Asylum set, and I'd like nothing more than to bring it to life with my godkids for a few hours every week.

I also played a bunch of the SwiftShot game, which is a code sample for ARKit. You have three catapults. Your opponent has three catapults. Last catapult standing wins. What made it so much fun, especially the tournament on the last day of WWDC, was that multiple people could join in and watch and, when that happens, it starts to blur the lines between augmented and reality.

It's not just all fun and games, either. Shared experiences are going to be transformative in everything from education, where a teacher can lead a classroom through augmented discoveries, to enterprise, where teams can collaborate on prototyping, production, repair, and iteration.

About the only thing I'm missing is all this AR goodness being integrated into Apple's Maps app. Hopefully, the Maps-side data for that isn't too far away.

And yeah, we're all still semi-awkwardly holding up our phones and tablets to do all this – for now. But, again, at some point in the near future we won't be. And Apple will have all this technology — and apps will have all of this content and these services — for us when that time comes.

Clever fruit company.

Part showcase, part utility, Apple is shipping a new Measure app in iOS 12. With it, you can use ARKit to automatically detect and measure objects, including tables, walls, artwork, shelves, and anything else that's rectangular in shape. All you have to do is draw a line with your finger and you'll get the metrics.

iOS 12 Camera & Photos

Portrait Lighting is now officially out of beta. It uses Apple's new and improved segmentation masking to better separate subject from background and, with the TrueDepth camera on the front of iPhone X and the upcoming iPhones XS, XS Max, and XR, reduce the previous blurriness around edges.

If you load the depth data into an app capable of displaying it, you'll also see it's significantly better. Where TrueDepth under iOS 11 looked … bumpy, TrueDepth under iOS 12 looks like a 3D model. This is why, yes, you do need real depth data from your camera system.

Apple is also providing the new segmentation system to developers so they can uses the mattes in their own apps.

On the upcoming iPhones XS, XS Max, and XR, Apple is delivering an all-new depth effect based on careful study of high-end cameras and lenses. It looks terrific but even better than how it looks it how it works: You can now tune the depth in post, taking it from a simulated f/1.4 all the way down to f/16. That way you get just exactly the bokeh you want, and you can keep changing it at any time.

Importing photos from other cameras and onto iPhone and iPad has also been improved. It's easier to tell which photos, if any, you've already imported. You can choose now where you want to import them, either into an existing or new album. There's a large preview mode so you can scrutinize your photos in more detail before choosing to import them. And, once you start an import, you can switch to other apps and leave it importing in the background. (You can even edit RAW photos on iPhone 7 or later or iPad Pro.)

Photos holds digital representations of all the moments you care about, be they pictures or videos of your kids, screen captures of glorious or terrible moments, even your favorite animated memes. All of it. Historically, though, Photos has held them more like a vault than like a library. It's been incredibly easy to get stuff into it but very difficult to get stuff back out.

Apple began to fix that a couple of years ago with computer-vision-assisted search. Instead of just knowing something was a picture, computer vision let Apple know what was in the picture. Mostly. Even though Apple kicked it off with thousands of category types, it still felt limited. You couldn't even search for Apple's own devices …

With iOS 12, Photo Search gets better. It's still not great, which is super frustrating because search — including complex and sloppy search — feel like problems that were solved decades ago. Granted, all the machine learning stuff is new and, meritoriously, Apple's doing it on-device and not sucking it up into the cloud to power its own projects — which for some other companies seems to include training surveillance and even drone systems for government agencies and the military. But that's not the part that feels like the limitation here. It's still the search.

Photos offers search suggestions now, which are fine. I'm not the target market for that feature but I think, given the popularity of Memories, it'll be a big hit with those who use Photos as a way to go back and relive their favorite moments.

It's also got a far more robust query system, including the ability to search not just for categories but for places, business names, and — really cool — over four million real world events by time and place, things like sports games, concerts, and more. That way, you can find your photos from the playoffs.

The way Photos handles search itself, though, just feels incredibly broken to me, and it's because of the refinements mechanism.

See, Apple wants you to type in one thing, like "Cupertino", then get that result, then type in something to refine it, like "2017".

But I just want to type "Cupertino 2017" without having to interrupt myself and do the manual parsing. That's Apple's job. I should just be able to type without a second thought and Photos should slice and dice it up as needed to give me the answer.

Instead, if I type "Cupertino 2017", I get no answer. Then, I have to go back and delete the 2016, send off the "Cupertino" query, then refine it with "2017", and I just want to quit the app already. Especially when I try to further refine it with "Coffee" — hey, the Bitter + Sweet is real, y'all — and it goes back to not giving me in answer. (It does say indexing and there may still have been an issue with the beta, so hopefully that part will still pan out.)

First, no answer is a terrible user experience. It makes you feel like you did something wrong. Systems should always do everything possible to avoid returning no answer, including trying to get you the answer it thinks you want regardless of what you typed.

Second, this implementation is particularly bad because what I'm asking for is a perfectly conventional query — and something that currently returns results under iOS 11.x.

I was hoping Apple would fix this before iOS 12 came out of beta and went into release, but no such luck. It tarnishes what should otherwise be a huge leap forward in Photos functionality. (Even if I still can't search for "phone"… but searching for "tablet" brings up both tablets and phones. Baby steps!)

My other huge frustration with iOS 12 is how long it takes photos and screenshots to show up in Photos. For screenshots I can work around it by using the Instant Markup interface... sometimes. (It often AirDrops smaller, uglier-named versions of the screens.) If I dismiss it and then go to my album, I still have to wait, sometimes a long time, for it to show up. Photos there's just nothing to do but wait. Everything about the iPhone camera system is so stupefyingly fast, it's a shame iOS 12 has slammed on the breaks right in the middle.

Hopefully, that'll be fixed soon as well.

There's a new For You tab, which I like. Again, it's not how I use Photos, because I'm apparently more robot than person, but it's consistent with Apple Music and — I was going to say Apple News, but iOS 12 ditches the For You tab there in favor of Today. Consistency is a user benefit so it's weird timing. I'm also hoping Apple can standardize around Today for everything. It loses a little on the personal feels but gains immediacy … and a nice cross over with everything from Apple Retail to the new App Store.

Suggested sharing, which is something Apple piloted in the Clips app a couple of years ago, is especially good. Because, if you let it, Faces can know who's in a picture, Photos can surface it when and as appropriate and prompt you to send it to them. Even better, thanks to things like event detection, if you send photos to someone else also running iOS 12, it can prompt them to share related photos from their library back to you.

It's like Memories Tennis, and I think it'll be super popular.

Effects for Live Photos, like loop, bounce, and long exposure will also be suggested for photos the system thinks will suit them.

I also like the improved informational density on the albums view, which replaces what was previously a wall of thumbnails with only the most important thumbnails, and then a text list of media types. Not only does it make scrolling faster, it makes visually parsing the different sections much faster.

iOS 12 Siri & Shortcuts

Some still assume Siri is only a voice-based assistant. And it is. It's even getting 40 new language pairs for Siri translation in iOS 12, along with the ability to turn on the flashlight, play Find my iPhone alerts, answer questions about celebrities, food, and motorsports, and search for your photo memories and even passwords.

Since iOS 9, though, Siri has also been a text-based assistant. That's when the name Siri also began to be used for proactive, intelligent, search and suggestions.

Then, when Apple announced Siri Shortcuts, some assumed it was only a power-user feature that would let nerds assign voice triggers to actions and automations. While that's true, it's only half the story. In addition to the power-user aspect, there's an equally important — potentially even more important — aspect to Siri Shortcuts that's all about the mainstream.

But what Apple announced were two separate yet interconnected services:

1. Proactive prompting for mainstream users that'll gently lead them into greater convenience they never knew they needed.
2. Voice trigger-able automation for nerds that'll let them do much of what they've always wanted.

And, of the two, I think the first will not only be super easy to get started with — it'll be transformative.

For years we've been slowly, inexorably transitioning from pull to push interface.

Pull interface is what most of us are familiar with going back to the early days of computing: If you want to do something, you go find the feature or app that lets you do it, then the action within that feature or app, and only then can you do it — after spelunking through the operating system and app stack, and hunting it down. It imposes both temporal and cognitive load and it's part of what's made traditional computing confusing and even off-putting to large swaths of people.

Push interface is the opposite: Instead of you drilling down to find what you want, what you want comes and finds you. Notifications are a rudimentary example. Instead of launching a messages app, finding a conversation thread, and checking to see if there's anything you need to reply to, the notification comes and tells you there's something new to reply to. Actionable notifications were another step forward. Instead of hitting a notification and going to an app, you could act right in the notification.

But notifications are only driven by simple, event-based triggers. Someone sends you a message. An alarm or reminder goes off. A sports score or news happens. They're reactive.

What Apple did with Siri was an attempt to become proactive. It could suggest apps and even actions within apps based on signals like time, location, and past behavior.

Wake your iPhone and you might see it offer to play you your workout mix, if that's usually how you start your day. Or swipe to the minus one Home screen and see directions to the dinner you'd reserved along with traffic information to help you pick your departure time.

It was useful but it was extremely limited.

What Apple's done with iOS 12 and Siri Shortcuts is to start removing those limitations.

Not with automation. Again, that's for the power users. But with suggestions. Those are for the mainstream.

Developers can tap into the Continuity-derived user activity to make locations available within their apps. And they can use a new Intents API to let the system know, more expansively, the actions available in the app.

Once that's done, Siri keeps track of what you do with them and when you do it, and tries to guess when you'll do it next. Then, instead of you having to go find the app and dig down into the function you want, it presents it to you right before it thinks you'll want it, and right where you already are in the operating system.

For example, if you always order pizza before the game on Sunday, instead of having to go to the pizza app, pick your favorite, and place your order, it'll have a banner waiting for you right on your Lock screen ready with your favorite order.

If you always text your child to say you're on your way home from work, instead of having to go to messages, find the conversation with your child in the list, and tap to start a new message, a banner will be waiting for you, ready and able to send that message with a single tap.

Sure, if you want to, you can add a voice trigger to any shortcut. "Pizza time!" or "Homeward bound" could let you initiate those actions any time you want. It effectively lets you add Skills-like functionality without having to navigate an endless list of Skills you wouldn't ever want or need. (Downloading an app indicates you're interested in Skill-like functionality related to that app, effectively giving you a much more manageable, relevant list from which to choose.)

And that's really cool. It's sci-fi. But it's still pull-based interface.

It's the new engine that will help mainstream users discover shortcuts, at the right time, in the right context, that's powerful. That's push-based. And they couldn't be easier to discover and get started with.

Since I've been testing iOS 12, my Lock screen has offered to put my phone into Do Not Disturb when a Wallet pass, Open Table, and even simply iMessage indicated I might be having dinner or breakfast.

It hasn't offered to let me order my usual Philz Mint Mojito, because I don't have the Shortcuts enabled version of that app — yet! — but it has offered me directions to Philz after I used Maps for walking directions the first couple days of the conference.

Now that iOS 12 has shipped, iOS 12 apps with Siri Shortcuts will begin to hit the store in number. A week from now, two weeks from now, we'll all wonder how we ever lived without them before.

Combined with Lock screen, there will be a ton of Shortcuts suggested for a ton of users, and the same hundreds of millions of people who learned to download apps, and all the initial overhead that's involved, will learn how to take advantage of Shortcuts.

And we'll be another step closer to the next big revolution in human interface.

Apple's Voice Memos app, introduced in iOS 3 (iPhone OS 3) has gotten its first major update in … forever? (Not including the de-photorealistic flattening it received as part of the overall iOS 7 redesign.)

Saving is automatic now — no more modal pop-up step to get in your way — and new memos simply default to location-based naming. You can play, pause, skip 15 sec. back or forth, trash, and even edit, duplicate, and share, right from the voice memo list.

The record screen — which is in Dark Mode! — starts small but you can pull it up like Now Playing in Music. There, you can trim and even insert into the recording. Nifty! (You can also control playback on your Apple Watch via Now Playing.)

Best of all is iCloud sync. So, now all your Voice Memos are on all your devices.

I've been asked to use Voice Memos to record my end of national radio interviews and have used it for podcasts while traveling, so it's great to see it finally getting some love.

iOS 12 Apple News

Apple News, the app, has gotten a reorg. For You has been renamed Today, which matches the Today tab on App Store. The timing is odd given Photos for iOS 12 has just gotten a For You section and Music still has a For You section. I'd love to see some consistency here. (Much as I'd still love to see some consistency in heart icons across Apple's apps, and what they mean in terms of liking vs. favoriting.)

There's no subscription magazine service yet, but there is a new browse tab that replaces the previous Following, Search, and Saved tabs, combining them all into a single, one stop shop for everything you want to find. It should help with both discovery and channel selection. On iPad, in wider views, it shows up as a persistent sidebar making skimming even easier.

I miss having a dedicated Search tab, which other apps like Photos and App Store still offer. And, again, it breaks consistency. I do think there's some value in experimentation but I'm not sure this one will pay off. We'll see. Right now the whole tab bar just looks … sparse.

Apple News, the service, remains terrific. I'd argue it's one of Apple's best. It combines human curation on top of algorithms to provide a more thoughtful, more broad-based, and dare I say more responsible and trustworthy news feed than any of the big internet companies have so far managed.

But here's the thing: Apple News is still only available in the original three launch countries: the U.S., U.K., and Australia. AND IT'S BEEN OVER THREE YEARS.

Contrast that to Apple Music, which launched in 100 countries and is in well over a hundred today.

Also contrast it to Google News, which launched just last month in 127 countries, and Microsoft News, which launched just last week and while I couldn't find a country count, it seems numerous.

News has never been more important nor as ailing. Apple's approach to it is optimistic and almost laudable. Yet, for the vast majority of its customers, the service doesn't even exist.

Let's hope, as Apple integrates Texture and builds out editorial, it can start executing on News internationally and soon.

Apple Books — née iBooks — has been completely redesigned for iOS 12. Similar to last year's App Store redesign, the goal was to make it easier to discover new ebooks and audiobooks, organize and read your existing books, and return to what you were last reading.

My former colleague, Serenity Caldwell, put together an excellent preview just after WWDC:

What's new with Books in iOS 12

iOS 12 Screen Time

"Listen, and understand: Screen Time is on iOS 12. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are off your iPad." — Kyle Reese, if he were around and dealing with baby John Connor.

Seriously, though, the topic of "screen addiction" has been getting a lot of attention this year. That much of that attention has been driven by opportunism and sensationalism doesn't discount the real need by real people for tools that better let them manage the time and attention they — and more importantly, their kids — spend using their devices.

It's true, previous generations spent hours in front of the television, the radio, and books, and never needed tools to manage that time. But those products lacked the ability to provide such tools.

And yes, no tool is a replacement for self-discipline and active parenting, but these types of tools can be used as supplements to both of those things. In other words, if you have trouble saying "no" to yourself or your child, iOS will have no such trouble.

Screen Time is actually joined by a few new features in iOS 12 that have been designed to put you in control of how you spend your time and attention.

Do Not Disturb (DND), if you use the Bedtime integration, will automatically suppress notifications at night so that, if you wake up before the morning and decide to check the time, you're not tempted to tap right into Messages or Twitter or Facebook and never get back to sleep. Likewise, when you do wake up in the morning, you won't be overwhelmed with all of your notifications all at once. Instead, you'll just see the weather until you unlock and indicate you're ready — if not always willing! — to start your day.

If you manually enable Do Not Disturb from Control Center, 3D Touch lets you set it to end automatically after an hour, until the evening or morning, until you change locations or, if you're in the middle of an event like a meeting, until the event ends. (Siri will also proactively suggest DND along with end points when it thinks you'll find it useful, like if it detects a movie pass in your Wallet or a dinner reservation in your Calendar.)

There's also a provision for Critical Alerts, which include healthcare, public safety, and personal security apps, and will let them — with your explicit approval — blast through any DND setting and even the ringer switch set to mute and play a sound to help make sure they get your attention. Apps have to apply for a special entitlement to use Critical Alerts, and need to present a special permission request for you to approve, so the chances of them being abused are very, very low.

But, if your blood sugar is low or your alarm system is triggered, and you have your device with you, you will know about it.

As someone who has turned on DND to work or film and forgotten to turn it off, I really appreciate these settings. People can feel anxiety when cut off the same way they do when turned on, so just knowing you don't have to worry about forgetting to change states makes using DND so much more compelling.

This is coupled with Instant Tuning for notifications. With it, you can adjust the alerts you get right from the alert itself. For example, you can set a notification to deliver quietly or turn it off entirely.

It's another example of push interface, surfacing functionality where and when needed. You can even tap to go to straight from the notification to Settings if you want to set custom options.

Now, it does create two classes of notifications:

1. Prominent notifications are the ones we're all used to. They light up and stick to your Lock screen, beep and/or buzz your phone, banner the top of your screen, badge your icons, and get collected up in Notification Center.
2. Quiet notifications, by contrast, skip the lock screen, never beep or buzz, and don't banner or badge. But, they still get collected up in Notification Center.

If you choose to turn off rather than just quiet notification, you're presented with a confirmation sheet. That's partly to prevent accidental turn offs, partly to provide developers with a way to offer you alternatives. For example, a Twitter client might offer a Configure button that lets you choose to turn on or off different types of notifications or notifications from different people.

In other words, it basically deep links into in-app Settings for better customization. Apple is also providing a deep link from the system Settings to in-app settings, if available, as well.

Now, there is a potential downside. Because you can now manage notifications from within notifications, Apple is being more lenient about when and how apps can send you notifications. It's called "provisional authorization" and it's intended to be a way for apps to let you test out their notifications rather than forcing you to grant or refuse permission right up front, with no context or experience around what type of notification you'll be getting.

It's opt-in for developers. If they opt-in, you'll no longer get the notification permission pop up when you first set up an app. But, there's a price — any notifications they send will be delivered quietly by default.

If and when you see one of these provisionally authorized notifications in Notification Center and expand it, it will also give you Keep and Turn Off buttons, and a Configure (in-app) button, if available, right up front. The hope is, at that point, you'll know enough to make a more informed choice.

I'm not sure how I feel about all this yet because I'm not getting any of these notifications yet. Will they prove helpful or annoying? Now that iOS 12 has shipped, they're going to start coming in, and I'll have more and better data to help me make up my mind.

You can access Instant Tuning either by swiping the notification and tapping on Manage, or by opening the rich notification and tapping on the More (•••) button. Siri can also suggest muting or turning off notifications for apps it notices you're no longer using.

It's terrific. But it's also about damn time.

Speaking of which, notifications are no longer presented as single items in a reverse chronological list. Now, they're automatically grouped, both on the Lock screen and in Notification center.

By default, notifications are grouped by app using the bundle ID. Get a new notification from an app and it goes right to the top of that apps stack. (Groups are now presented in reverse chronological order based on the most recent app to receive a notification.)

Developers can also use the existing thread identifier property to set up custom groups. Messages, for example, aren't all jumbled together. Instead, each conversation gets its own group.

Also by default, each group contains a summary at the bottom right indicating how many individual notifications are in the group. But, developers can override the default text if there's more pertinent information they want to provide.

You triage notifications a group at a time, which is a great compromise between one at a time and the scorched earth that is 3D Touch Clear All.

If you don't like groups or threads, you still get the final say. You can go into Settings > Notifications > find the app or apps you want to change, and switch from Automatic (grouping) to By App (no sub-grouping), or Off (old-style, no grouping at all.)

Tap on a group and it expands out to show you each individual notification. In the expanded state, you can clear all the notifications or act on any single notification you want.

Interactive notifications are also being improved. Building on the notification content extensions included with iOS 10, iOS 12 now lets apps dynamically update or even remove options as context changes. So, for example, if you already liked a friend's video through the notification, and then you open the notification again, you won't still find that Like button staring at you, making you wonder if you really smashed it hard enough the first time. Instead, it could present you with an Unlike button (shudder).

Rich notifications can also now receive direct interactions. So, for example, instead of having to hang a Like button beneath the video notification, developers could integrate a thumbs up icon right into the notification itself.

Because this adds complexity — some people might be used to jabbing a notification to open the app, for example — developers can now also create custom buttons and triggers to open the app or dismiss (but not clear) the notification.

To continue with the same example, tapping the video could open the video app, or tapping the Thumbs Up icon could like it and dismiss the notification.

Screen Time proper is all new. It lives in Settings and was designed to provide you with a dashboard that shows how you spend your time on your Apple devices. In other words, it's not here to screen shame you. It's here to screen inform you.

It shows the time you're spending on your device and how you're spending it during the week, during the day, and even throughout the day. There's a big graph, which helps to visualize it, and you can tap into it to get more detailed information.

It's also broken down by categories like social networking, entertainment, and productivity, and will highlight time you might want to be especially careful about — like after bedtime when you should be sleeping, not correcting everyone who is wrong on the internet … !

You can see how your current usage relates to your average usage, and you can also see per-app usage, how often you're picking up your device, and what apps you're going to first when you unlock your device.

Also, you can see how many notifications you're getting, including an hourly average, and which apps are sending those notifications and how many.

You'll also get a weekly summary pushed to you as a notification, so if you forget (or "forget") to check it out, it'll come to you.

If you're not happy with the amount of time you're spending in one or more apps, you can set up App Limits. It's useful not just for people who can't control themselves but for people who lose track of time, especially in apps like social networks and games that are designed as attention traps using the same type of psychology perfected in casinos over the last few decades. Yeah, please do shudder.

Tap on any app in your report and set any amount of time, on any or all days, you want. You'll then get a notification telling you when you're almost at your limit and an intercept sheet when you've reached it. You can choose to dismiss the intercept and ignore the limit if you want to, but you'll only be cheating yourself.

If you own multiple Apple devices, like an iPhone and an iPad, App Limits will also sync between them so you can't just switch devices to stop the clock.

If you're a parent, you can set up your children's devices to send you their Screen Time reports as well. Also, instead of App Limits, you can set up App Allowances that sets the amount of time they can watch videos or play games. Kids can even send you a request for more time — which kinds of defeats the purpose of the machine being the big bad.

You can set up Downtime, which blocks almost all usage, and/or you can limit time by app category or individual app. You can also white list apps like Phone, so they can always call home in case of an emergency.

And, of course, Restrictions (Parental Controls) are still there, albeit jostled around a little, so you can turn off specific functionality and content types as you see fit.

It's all tied into the existing Family Sharing infrastructure, so you can manage what your child does on their device(s) through what is sent back to you on your device(s).

So far, every new beta — and there have been so many betas this year, has wiped screen time and sometimes turned it off without my realizing it. My testing has also completely thrown off the results, as I've spent more time in some apps than I would if I was just using my phone as a normal human. So, like much of iOS 12, I'm going to have to spend some extra time seeing how everything really works in the release version.

I am worried that I'll spend so much time in Screen Time that Screen Time will show up in Screen Time, but ultimately information is good. I like that Apple is providing all this insight and functionality without pandering to attention seekers or infantilizing users.

Did we worry about page addiction when kids spent all day reading books? Should a carpenter be told how much time they spend with their saws and chisels? Or, is it less about what we're doing with technology and more about what we might be missing out on beyond technology?

I believe nature and life tends towards balance. So, if Screen Time helps people achieve that for themselves and their families, more power to it — and us.

iOS 12 Messages & FaceTime

New Animoji! This is not a drill! New— Sorry. Yeah, Animoji are a gimmick but they're an important one. First, they not only provide a real-world example of what face detection in ARKit can do, but they harness the appeal of emoji to provide a gateway into augmented reality itself.

Like many Apple projects, they started small. At iPhone X launch, only a few Animoji were made available. More came in the spring, though, and now Ghost, Koala, Tiger, and even T-Rex are joining them.

All with support for ARKit 2's better eye tracking and tongue detection, of course.

But Apple isn't stopping with Animoji. With iOS 12, we're also getting Memoji. That means we can all build our very own Animoji and, better still, multiple Animoji.

You start off with a blank slate … er, face. Gender neutral, devoid of hair, freckles, or distinguishing features of any kind.

You start customizing your Memoji by choosing a skin tone. All the standard emoji tones are there, but so are all the colors of the rainbow and even gray. You can also choose freckles here, with four options from none to a face near-full.

The point is, you can make your Memoji as you are, as you see yourself, as anything you can imagine being. It can be literal but it can also be limitless.

Next is hairstyle, which includes main color, cut and style, and highlight color. All the same color options are available here and there are a bunch of great cuts and styles, though nothing overly long. The physics are also amazing, especially on longer hair.

Head Shape lets you choose your age which, honestly, really only varies from looking like a 3-year-old to looking like a 7-year-old. (Though it fits with the cartoon emoji style, I'd love to see more wrinkled options.)

Chins give you some cheek and jowl options, but nothing cleft. Superman and I are both shook by this.

Eyes can also be any one of the natural or rainbow colors, and in any one of nine shapes. Eyelashes have nine level of thickness, from born-with-it to maybe-Maybelline, and eyebrows a whole screen of options.

You can choose from three nose types, from button narrow to button wide, and nine lip types — with the usual color range here as well.

Ears also have three options, from flat to slightly stand-out, and there are a dozen earring options … though sadly nothing for AirPods.

More importantly, there aren't any accessibility options yet. No hearing aids, no accommodations for people with different colors per eye, lack of eyebrows, birthmarks, maybe even scars? It's an Animoji system, so we can debate how far it should go, but I do think it should go arther than it does now.

You can customize sideburns from clean to Elvis and mustache and beard through a wide range of combinations, including the Mr. T. (No Dalrymple, alas, but I assume Jim — and ZZ Top — have already filed bug reports.)

Eyewear includes options for frame and lens color (though not as many as other sections) and a dozen styles. Headwear has everything from turban to top hat, pith helmet to pillbox.

Once you've made a Memoji, you can duplicate it and make variants. For example, with sunglasses or hats, or with your hair up or down.

You can use your Memoji(s) just like any Animoji, either recording now-up-to-30-second animated clips with sound or sending them as still images or stickers.

But you can also use them — and standard Animoji — in the new, embedded Camera. (I'm going to call it the AR Camera even though Apple isn't — at least not yet.)

Tap the Camera button, tap the Effects button, and you get a front-facing "selfie" view that gives you access to dynamic versions of Messages apps. There are filters that look like something out of the Clips app, including Comic Book, Comic Mono, Ink, Watercolor, Watercolor Mono, Vivid, Vivid Warm, Vivid Cool, Dramatic, Dramatic Warm, Dramatic Cool, Silvertone, and Noire.

All your iMessage stickers show up here as well and, thanks to ARKit, you can stick them not just into the real-time camera view, but too whatever objects it can detect in the scene.

There's even a new Apple-supplied Shapes sticker pack that includes stars, hearts, squiggles, arrows and more.

Gussy a shot up any way you want, including with your favorite 'moji, and hit send.

Sure, it only works with the front-facing TrueDepth camera on iPhone X now, but more and more devices will be getting that camera. And maybe on more than just the front. (That's also why I think the main Camera app doesn't have this feature yet — Apple's waiting for the fall when it might just go both ways.)

Because the Camera button takes you directly to the AR Camera now, Photos has been demoted to a button in the app strip. Right now, I hate that. I keep hitting the Camera button out of habit and there's no elegant way to press on — no "mercy, Photos please!" button in the Camera — so you have to back out. Awkwardly. Over and over again.

Maybe new habits will save me or Apple will take pity on me and figure out something better. We'll all have to wait and see.

FaceTime gets the new AR Camera as well and you can use all the same features and effects. It's especially great in FaceTime because if you're caught unexpectedly, you can just slap a filter or 'moji onto your mug without having to worry about what you really look like at the time.

It's even better with FaceTime Group calls... or it would be if FaceTime Group Calls had been ready to ship. Unfortunately, that feature is taking longer than Apple expected and so it's being pushed back to a future update later this year.

That's fine. I've waited eight years for it, I can wait another couple of months. Especially given how great it's worked in the few controlled demos I've tried. They were even better than I dared hope or dream.

I'll update this review when FaceTime Group calls ships.

Because this is Apple, even with the new features, both Messages and FaceTime remain end-to-end encrypted, keeping them private and secure.

iOS 12 Privacy & Security

Security requires a degree of convenience. If security is too inconvenient, people stop using it. Touch ID and Face ID are examples of this but there are many more. Apple's been actively working to make security more convenient for years and iOS 12 continues that tradition.

Face ID on iPhone X, and on the upcoming iPhones XS, XS Max, and XR will now let you retry failed scan attempts simply by repeating the swipe up gesture. It's much better than the current version where it immediately and unforgivingly dumps you into Passcode after a single failed attempt.

You can also register an alternate appearance for Face ID now. No, it won't let you add a second person to Face ID. What it will do is, if you work or socialize with an appearance that's significantly different, store that version as well to let Face ID cover you to a greater agree. Performers, cosplayers, people who wear safety equipment on the job, people transitioning, people with prosthetics. It's not something everyone will need but it is something that will benefit some people enormously.

Touch ID also gets integrated into the iCloud Keychain AutoFill system, like Face ID was at launch. It means, if you have an older iPhone, you can now hand it to someone to make an emergency call or to look up something at a conference without worrying that you're giving them your logins and credit cards at the same time.

Combined with new strong, unique password generation for Safari and in apps, it makes iCloud Keychain a first-class password manager for anyone needing basic functionality. And today, that's everyone.

If you get sent an SMS security token as part of a login attempt, the QuickType Keyboard will now suggest that for AutoFill as well. That saves you having to test your memory or jump back and forth between Messages and the web or an app. I'm not a huge fan of SMS-based security tokens, because people have socially engineered them or used them while in possession of a device, but for most people, it makes what can be a cumbersome process more manageable.

To that end, Apple has also added "Hey Siri, show me my passwords" so you can go straight to your account list. You can even ask for specific passwords, for example, "Hey, Siri, show me my Instagram password".

Re-used passwords are flagged in the account list and there's a link to the web or app so you can replace them with new, strong, unique passwords too. Fabulous.

You can also share your passwords between nearby devices, including Apple TV, which is so much more convenient.

For people who already use or need a more advanced password manager, Apple is providing a Password Manager API to integrate them into AutoFill as well, so you can inject your 1Password, Dashlane, LastPass, etc. credentials right into any website or app as well, no Share Sheet required. I can't overstate how great — and important — this is.

Proactively, iOS 12 also includes new and improved Intelligent Tracking Prevention. Previously, ITP used machine learning to try and prevent cross-site tracking. Now, it can also block the share, like, and comment buttons that social networks like Facebook and Twitter use to track you across the web.

ITP will also try to prevent "fingerprinting" — where companies try to track you based on the configuration of your device — by presenting a simplified, much harder to track configuration. It also removes support for legacy plugins that could be used for tracking.

iOS 12 Accessibility

Everything from ARKit Face Tracking, which smart developers have used to make the Mac navigable by head turning and mouth clicking, to Siri Shortcuts for triggering actions and workflows are, at their core, major accessibility features.

But they're not the only new accessibility features – Apple is also bringing Live Listening to AirPods.

Previously available to hearing aids, Live Listening lets you add a button to Control Center that, when tapped, turns on your iPhone microphone and streams any audio it picks up to your AirPods.

So, you can turn it on, put your iPhone down next to the TV, or the lecture stand, or the baby crib, and take your seat or do your housework, and hear everything you might otherwise have missed.

It's not the same as real hearing aids but it's also not as expensive, especially if you're already using AirPods.

iOS 12 Miscellany

There are a ton of smaller but important new features in iOS 12 that deserve some attention. You can throw away app cards on iPhone X without having to touch, hold, and bring up the kill buttons any more. Of course, you still shouldn't force quit apps... unless like Facebook, Snapchat, or Pokémon Go, their resource use means they have it coming.

Battery Health, introduced in iOS 11.3, now shows Screen Time-style charts so you can get the gist at a glance but tap into a bar for more detailed information any time you want.

Wallet has support for Student ID cards. Educational Institutions have to add support for them, but if and when they do, students can use their iPhones or Apple Watches to tap into libraries, gyms, cafeterias, dorms, labs, vending machines, events and more.

It uses NFC and other Apple Pay-like technologies, and would be super useful for businesses as well as schools, so here's hoping Apple expands the feature over time. (Rumor has it Apple Park was the first deployment.)

CarPlay now supports third-party Maps, including Google Maps and Waze, which should make a lot of people happy.

There are new dictionaries for Arabic and English, Hindi and English, and Hebrew and English, and a new English thesaurus for synonyms and antonyms.

iOS 12 Conclusion

Apple calls iOS 12 not just the most advance but the most personal mobile operating system in the world. For those for whom "personal" is synonymous with customizable, it doesn't ring true. For those for whom "personal" is synonymous with private, it resonates loud and clear.

There's a lot I'd still like to see from Apple, from small details like rotation lock for everything but photos and video, to rounding out foundational technologies with handoff for media and the ability to change default apps, to re-revolutions like a new Home screen experience and far deeper and more personal, though still private, context for Siri.

Maybe that'll come tomorrow with iOS 13. Today, iOS 12 is the biggest sign yet that Apple is starting to think beyond multitouch interfaces by finally opening voice to all apps, and beyond current devices by pushing augmented reality so far, so fast.

But, in the meantime, there are still performance improvements for past devices and better security and privacy, and a ton more fun, for the here and now.

Apple has officially unveiled iOS 12, the latest version of its operating system for iPhone and iPad. It comes with changes to the iOS experience both major and minor, and I'm going to run through them with you now.

Here's everything you need to know about iOS 12.

What's new with iOS 12?

Apple has announced that iOS 12 will be available for compatible devices on Monday, September 17.

June 4, 2018: Apple announces iOS 12

Apple has officially announced iOS 12, bringing with it improvements for ARKit, device use management features, and more.

Jump to the new features in iOS 12

What is iOS 12?

iOS 12 is the latest major version of Apple's mobile operating system for iPhone and iPad. Each year, Apple uses these versions to bring important updates to their mobile devices, and this year follows that pattern.

When will iOS 12 be available?

iOS 12 has been available in beta form for developers since right after Apple's WWDC keynote, and the company launched a public beta later in June. Keep in mind that when Apple says 'beta,' they generally mean it: pre-release software, especially in the first few iterations, could play havoc with your device, so install at your own risk. It's best if you have a secondary device to use for the beta if you want to test it out.

The official release of iOS 12 will come on Monday, September 17 as a free update.

How do I upgrade to iOS 12?

Updating your iOS devices to a new version is easy. But if you're unsure of how to get started, we've got a guide for you.

How to upgrade your iPhone and iPad

What devices can run iOS 12?

iOS 12 will run on an extensive list of iPhones and iPads. Here are the devices that Apple's new operating system will run on:

iPhone:

• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 6
• iPhone 6 Plus
• iPhone SE
• iPhone 5s

iPad:

• 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2nd generation
• 12.9-inch iPad Pro 1st generation
• 10.5-inch iPad Pro
• 9.7-inch iPad Pro
• iPad Air 2
• iPad Air
• iPad 6th generation
• iPad 5th generation
• iPad mini 4
• iPad mini 3
• iPad mini 2

iPod touch:

• iPod touch 6th generation

What's new in iOS 12?

iOS 12 is full of changes, from new controls for managing our time on our devices to updates for ARKit that will allow for more immersive augmented reality experiences. Siri Shortcuts offers a more personalized experience for Siri, and Notifications can now be grouped by both app and type.

Here's what you can expect when you update to iOS 12 later this year.

Apple is putting a lot of emphasis on performance in iOS 12, particularly on older devices, increasing performance on those iPhones and iPads by as much as 40%. You can also expect faster app launches as well as a faster keyboard and more on devices going all the way back to the iPhone 5s.

Performance in iOS 12: Everything you need to know!

Apple is introducing a new file format for sharing augmented reality objects, USDZ. The company is working with several companies to make USDZ the standard format for AR object sharing, including Adobe. USDZ can be embedded in stories in News, and you can even find it on the web, viewing objects from the web in AR on your iPhone or iPad.

Apple has also introduced the Measure app, which can us ARKit to measure objects in the real world.

ARKit 2.0 brings support for multiplayer experiences, allowing users to share the same augmented reality playspace with one another. Lego will be bringing out an ARKit 2.0-powered game that lets players build virtual Lego sets, interact with select real sets and have fun adventures together.

AR and ARKit 2: Everything you need to know

Apple is bringing Message effects to the camera inside the Messages app. Add filters, stickers, and even your Animoji other items to the photos and videos you send via the Messages app.

Along with a new name, Apple Books has gotten a complete redesign, looking a lot like iOS 11's redesign of the App Store.

Apple Books: What's new in iOS 12

Apple is adding support for grouped notifications, which will bring notifications together by app and topic. You can swipe multiple notifications away at once. iOS will also stop showing notifications from apps that you don't use.

How Notifications will change in iOS 12

Apple is fine-tuning the Do Not Disturb experience, adding Do Not Disturb at Bedtime, which offers a minimal notifications experience that won't disturb you at night, and will only gently nudge you in the morning. You can also now automate Do Not Disturb based on events or locations.

How Do Not Disturb will change in iOS 12

iPhone X owners will also get an expanded set of Animoji characters to play around with, including Ghost, Koala, Tiger, and T-Rex. Animoji are also getting tongue detection, meaning that when you stick out your tongue, your Animoji will, too.

Apple is also introducing Memoji, letting you build your own, personalized Animoji. You can customize head shape, skin color, hair, accessories, and more.

Animoji and Memoji: Everything you need to know

Apple is introducing Group FaceTime calls, letting you participate with up to, yes, 32 different participants. FaceTime is also now integrated into Messages, letting you go from a group chat to a group FaceTime call. Just as you can with the camera in the Messages app, everyone can add fun effects to their FaceTime calls.

What's new in FaceTime in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave

iOS 12 introduces Siri Shortcuts, which lets all types of apps add shortcuts to Siri, letting you add custom phrases that correspond with a specific app to perform tasks, like adding a phrase with the Tile app for finding your keys.

There will also be a Shortcuts app that lets you create your own custom, multi-step Siri actions. The app seems to be based on Workflow and includes support for HomeKit.

Siri Shortcuts: Everything you need to know!

Siri suggestions will now be more robust, learning your app usage habits in order to be more helpful, offering suggestions on your lock screen and search screen.

Siri Suggestions: What's new in iOS 12

There are some filter, animoji, and Memoji intergrations coming to the Camera app in iOS 12.

The Camera app in iOS 12: Everything you need to know

Apple is adding search suggestions to Photos, which will offer, people, places, and activities when you go to search for photos. Search based on business names, events, and even use multiple search terms.

The new For You tab will contain your Memories, as well as featured photos that you've taken. You'll also see activity for shared albums and get sharing suggestions, which suggests photos to share and people with whom you can share them. People who receive shared suggested photos will be given suggestions for similar photos to share with you from their own albums.

Photos in iOS 12: Everything you need to know!

Apple News is getting a sidebar on iPad, making sections easier to access. The Stocks app is also getting Apple News integration, which offers relevant stories inside the Stocks app.

What's new in the News app for iOS 12 and macOS Mojave

In addition to the aforementioned News integration with curated business stories, the app has been completely rebuilt, adding stock price lines in the list view, and finally coming to iPad.

Stocks in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave: Everything you need to know!

Though the real change with the Home app is that it is coming to macOS Mojave, there are some very subtle differences in the Home app for iOS 12, in that you'll be able to better integrate with Siri and get suggestions for when to turn on the lights, lock the doors, and more.

Home app: What's changed in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave

Screen Time offers detailed breakdowns of how you spend your time on your devices. See how long you spend in apps, how often you pick up your phone, and how much time you spend responding to notifications. You can also set App Limits, which you can set to limit your use of specific apps. Your limits are synced across devices, and parents can see the device activity of their kids, and they can create allowances, including setting when you want your kids to put down their iPhones or iPads or allowing access to certain content at certain times.

Screentime for iPhone and iPad in iOS 12: Everything you need to know!

CarPlay is gaining support for third-party navigation apps.

CarPlay: Everyting you need to know

The bottom line

From multiplayer AR games and apps to custom Siri shortcuts, there's a lot to look forward to when iOS 12 launches later this year. We'll be sure to keep you up to date as we get closer to the public launch.

If you've got any other questions about iOS 12, be sure to leave them in the comments, and we'll answer them as best we can as we learn more about iOS 12.

Looking to jump into the stock market? Excited to manage and maintain your portfolio? Then the Stocks app on your iPad's got you covered.

Here's everything you need to know about navigating Apple's built-in Stocks app (and while you're add it, check out Stocks for your iPhone, too!)

• How to add stocks for iPad
• How to rearrange stocks for iPad
• How to delete stocks on iPad
• How to view stocks on iPad
• How to view trends over time
• How to add Stocks to Today on iPad
• How to manage Stocks notifications on iPad
• How to check on individual stocks with Siri
• How to check stock exchanges with Siri
• How to check on individual stocks with Siri
• How to check stock exchanges with Siri
• How to delete the Stocks app from your iPad
• How to check business news in the Stocks app

How to add stocks to Stocks for iPad

1. Launch the Stocks app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the menu button at the bottom of your screen.

3. Tap on the plus sign (+) in the top left corner.
4. Type in the name of a stock you would like to follow (I chose Nintendo).
5. Tap on the green add button next to the stock you want to follow.

How to rearrange stocks on iPad

1. Launch the Stocks app from your Home screen.
2. Tap the menu button at the bottom of your screen.

3. Tap and hold the Reorder button next to the stock you want to rearrange.
4. Drag your finger up or down the screen until your stock appears in the spot you want to place it.
5. Release to rearrange the stock.

How to delete stocks on iPad

1. Launch the Stocks app from your Home screen.
2. Tap the menu button at the bottom of your screen.

3. Tap the delete button next to the stock you want to remove. It's the red circle with the minus symbol in it.
4. Tap Remove.
5. Tap Done in the top right corner when you've deleted all the stocks you want to delete.

If you change your mind, don't worry: you can always re-add stocks later on.

How to change stock units on iPad

Do you prefer to see your stock changes as a percentage, price difference, or do you want to view the market cap? Customize the way you track stocks using the default Stocks App on your iPad!

Each tap will allow you to switch what information you see in the main Stocks dashboard. Additional taps will switch between displaying the marketcap, percentage, and price.

1. Launch the Stocks app from your Home screen.
2. Tap on the values next to each stock. You can switch from percentages to dollar amounts to price differences.

How to view trends over time

iOS 12 for iPad is bringing interactive graphs into the fold, and you'll be able to check a stock's progress over the last day, week, month, quarter, six months, year, or two years.

1. Launch Stocks from your Home screen.
2. Tap a stock.
3. Tap a time period above the stock name.

You have options to view one day, one week, one month, three months, six months, one year, or two years.

How to add Stocks to Today on iPad

Want a quick summary of your daily stocks without opening the app? Add the Stocks widget to your Today view.

1. Swipe down from the top of your Home screen.
2. Swipe right on the Notifications screen.
3. Tap on the edit button at the bottom.

4. Tap on the plus sign next to stocks to add it to your notification centre.
5. Tap on done to save.

How to manage Stocks notifications on iPad

Tired of seeing those stock summaries in your notification center on your iPad? No problem! It's easy to remove them!

1. Swipe down from the top of your Home screen.
2. Swipe right on the Notifications screen.
3. Tap on the edit button at the bottom of your notification screen (depending on how many notifications you have, you might have to scroll down to find this button).

4. Tap on the minus sign next to stocks to remove it from your notification center.
5. Tap Remove.
6. Tap on Done to save.

How to check individual stocks with Siri

If you want quick stock info and it's not convenient to type, strike up a chat with Siri and have her find the market info for you!

1. Say Hey Siri or press and hold the Home button to launch Siri.
2. Say something like "What is Apple's stock at today?" or "Show me stock information for Google."
3. Siri will then show you an overview of the particular stock you asked about. Tap anywhere in the stock widget to be taken to the built-in Stocks app for more information.

How to check stock exchanges with Siri

Besides giving you information on different stocks, you can also ask Siri for information on an entire exchange, including NASDAQ, NYSE, FTSE, Nikkei, or others.

1. Press and hold down the Home button to launch Siri.
2. Ask Siri about the exchange you'd like information for by saying something like "What is the New York Stock Exchange's current position?" or "How did NASDAQ close?" Siri will then present you with information about that specific exchange. If you want more information, tap on the stock widget and Siri will automatically launch the built-in Stocks app.

How to delete the Stocks app from your iPad

1. Tap and hold on the Stocks app icon on the Home Screen until it starts to jiggle.
2. Tap the x that appears on the top left corner of the app icon.
3. Tap Delete when prompted.

If you change your mind, you can always re-download it from the App Store!

How to check business news in the Stocks app

iOS 12 is bringing a refreshed look to the Stocks app, and business and finance news along with it, which you can check right in the app.

1. Launch the Stocks app from your Home screen.
2. Tap a story on the right of the screen to read more details.
3. Tap Done in the upper right corner when you're finished reading your article.

Do you have any questions about the Stocks app?

Let us know if you do in the comments down below! Good luck with your portfolio!

Today, Apple released the seventh developer betas of macOS Mojave, iOS 12, watchOS 5, and tvOS 12. However, the releases came with some possibly disappointing news for those of us who were looking to FaceTime with multiple people at once as soon as the new operating systems drop in the near future.

According to the betas' notes to developers shared by Guilherme Rambo, Group FaceTime won't be available upon iOS 12 and macOS Mojave's initial release. Apparently, the highly promoted feature "has been removed from the initial release of iOS 12 and will ship in a future software update later this fall." Group FaceTime has been present in all the prior versions of the betas up to this point, and Apple has yet to give any further clarification regarding the deferment.

Once the feature is actually released to the public, users will be able to have face-to-face convos with up to 32 people at once by entering multiple contacts in the recipient field before placing a call. Once on the call, all participants will show up in a group of tiles that can be individually selected and made full-screen. What's more, if you're using the feature on iOS, you'll also be able to utilize FaceTime's face-tracking Animoji, filters, and more while chatting with your group.

Thoughts?

Are you disappointed that Group FaceTime won't be included in iOS 12 and macOS Mojave from day one, or are you willing to wait if it means a better product? Are you unbothered either way? Are you grateful for the extra time to make 32 friends you can chat with? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

When Apple first announced Do Not Disturb While Driving, a feature introduced in iOS 11 that hides incoming notifications while you're driving, I was a little skeptical — surely automatically enabling Do Not Disturb when someone hits the road would do little to change how they interact with their device while driving. However, I've been using the feature for about a year now and I I've seen the proverbial light. It has genuinely changed the way I interact with my phone while on the road. I think it could change others' habits as well, provided they give the feature a try.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, in 2015 alone more than 390,000 people were injured and 3,477 were killed in vehicular accidents caused by distracted driving. Choosing to limit your distractions while driving could literally save lives — Do Not Disturb While Driving can help you do this.

• What you need to know
• The three different activation methods
• How to enable Do Not Disturb While Driving
• How to adjust Auto-Reply settings

What you need to know about Do Not Disturb While Driving

There's a lot to learn about Do Not Disturb While Driving but if you'd rather skip ahead to the how-to, click or tap right here!

Do Not Disturb While Driving is an extension of Apple's Do Not Disturb feature, which limits notifications on demand or during a schedule you set up. Along with limiting or muting notifications, Do Not Disturb While Driving can also reply to contacts who send you messages while you're driving, giving them a heads-up that you're on the road.

One of the most effective aspects of Do Not Disturb While Driving is that it can be set to turn on automatically. See, forgetting to enable the feature and only realizing you left it off after you receive a text message from a friend or a Snapchat message from a family member sort of defeats the purpose. So much of our "need" to engage with our phones exists in that moment we see it light up with a notification — suddenly you're missing out on something and "what if it's important" or "what if it's an emergency" or "what if someone needs an answer from me" or … you get the picture. Seeing a notification gets your brain spinning with a mixture of FOMO (fear of missing out) and maybe even a little anxiety.

You can set Do Not Disturb While Driving to turn on automatically. In fact, there are three different activation methods:

1. Automatically: Do Not Disturb While Driving will be activated automatically based on detected motion. The feature will use your phone's internal sensors to try to sense when you're driving.
2. When Connected to Car Bluetooth: In most cases, iOS can tell the difference between a regular Bluetooth speaker and in-car Bluetooth. If you have a vehicle with Bluetooth connectivity, Do Not Disturb While Driving will activate when it connects to your car's Bluetooth-enabled receiver.
3. Manually: If you'd rather enable or disable the feature manually (again, I think this is the least effective method) in Control Center, you'd choose this activation method.

Once the feature has been activated — or you've enabled it manually — iOS gets a little, erm, shamey — but in a good way! Trying to unlock your device will require an extra step: you have to tap a button that says I'm Not Driving. The feature exists for passengers who have Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on and set to activate automatically or when connected to car Bluetooth.

You'd think an extra step would do little to discourage interaction, but it's sort of like a little kick in the conscience. I'll admit I've been known to read and respond to notifications at stop lights and signs and in line at drive-thrus. With Do Not Disturb While Driving enabled, however, this is how it's gone:

• I come to a stop light or I'm stuck waiting in a drive-thru.
• My brain goes, "Mikah, it sure has been a looooooooong time since you last looked at your phone. You're sooooo bored sitting here and you should DEFINITELY check your phone to see if you've got any messages."
• I go, "You're right, brain. Y'know, you've never led me astray and I love that about you," and I reach out and tap my phone screen.
• My iPhone reminds me I've got Do Not Disturb While Driving turned on by showing a button I have to press that says I'm Not Driving.
• I go, "UGH. I am driving. I can't press that button."
• I do not press that button.

It's gotten to a point where I don't even get to the step where I reach out and tap my screen. I stop myself from looking at my phone and just enjoy the music I've got playing and go on driving (or waiting if I'm stuck in a drive-thru).

How to enable Do Not Disturb While Driving

If you want to enable Do Not Disturb While Driving, here's how!

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap Do Not Disturb.
3. Scroll down to the section marked Do Not Disturb While Driving.
4. Tap Activate.
5. Choose your activation method.

How to adjust Auto-Reply settings

Do Not Disturb While Driving can reply when people send you a message while you're driving, letting them know you're on the road and unavailable. If a person really needs to get through, they can send the word "Urgent" and iOS will trigger a notification on your device.

Here's how to adjust those settings and customize your Auto-Reply message!

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap Do Not Disturb.
3. Scroll down to the section marked Do Not Disturb While Driving.
4. Tap Auto-Reply To.
5. Choose to which contacts you want Do Not Disturb While Driving to reply. No One will disable Auto-Reply. Recents will automatically reply to recent contacts. Favorites will only automatically reply to your favorite contacts. All Contacts will, of course, automatically reply to all your contacts.

1. Launch Settings.
2. Tap Do Not Disturb.
3. Scroll down to the section marked Do Not Disturb While Driving.
4. Tap Auto-Reply.
5. Tap in the text box and change it to your desired message.

Are you using Do Not Disturb While Driving?

Are you using Do Not Disturb While Driving? Do you enjoy or dislike the feature? Give us a shout on Twitter or leave a comment below!

Updated July 2018 This article was updated with revised references to settings in iOS 12.

Read more comics from The Pixel Project.

Every year Apple announces some pretty awesome updates when it comes to their iOS software, and this year is no different.

Betas have been released already, and as people are figuring out which new features do what, it's worth noting that not all beta updates are permanent.

However one feature that's been noted with the iOS 12 beta is the ability to send direct links to iCloud photos. You can even send multiple links at a time which will last for up to 30 days.

Here's how to do it.

1. Launch the Photos app from your Home screen.
2. Tap the photo you would like to share the link with
3. Tap Copy Link at the bottom. It looks like a paperclip.
4. Share in the app of your choice by briefly holding in a text field and then tapping Paste just like you would with any other text.

What do you think?

Are you a big fan of this new feature from iOS 12? Is there another Photo app feature that you're more jazzed about?

Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments down below!

Apple occasionally offers updates to iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS as closed developer previews or public betas. While the betas contain new features, they also contain pre-release bugs that can prevent the normal use of your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac, and are not intended for everyday use on a primary device. That's why we strongly recommend staying away from developer previews unless you need them for software development, and using the public betas with caution. If you depend on your devices, wait for the final release.

iOS 12 brings along with it new ways to use your iPhone's camera within the Messages app. You can send photos resplendent with Animoji, Memoji, stickers, and other effects that really make your images pop. Of course, you can also do things like mark up and edit the photos you take, and that's changed in iOS 12, as well. There's also a new way of handling your existing photos that you'll want to know about.

Here's how to use the camera and photo effects in Messages in iOS 12.

• How to use the camera in Message in iOS 12
• How to use live camera effects Animoji, and Memoji in Messages in iOS 12
• How to edit and mark up photos you've taken in Messages in iOS 12
• How to send a photo in Messages in iOS 12

How to use the camera in Messages in iOS 12

Some things have changed with the camera in Messages in iOS 12. This is how you use it.

1. Open Messages on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the conversation for which you'd like to take a photo or start a new conversation.
3. Tap the camera button to the left of the message field.

4. Choose a type of photo or video that you want to take.
5. Take your photo or video.

6. Tap the Effects, Edit, or Markup buttons to edit your photo or add content to it.
7. Tap the Send button to send the photo or video immediately.

How to use live camera effects, Animoji, and Memoji in Messages in iOS 12

In order to put Animoji and Memoji into your photos, you'll need to add them before you actually take your photo.

1. Tap the Effects button after opening the camera in Messages (the Effects button resembles a star).
2. Tap on the button for the effect or you want to send with your photo or video. This can be anything from Animoji (and Memoji) to stickers from iMessage sticker apps.
3. Tap on the effect or sticker that you want to send. You can add multiple stickers or effects.

4. Place your effect or sticker if it needs placement.
5. Take your photo.
6. Tap the Send button.

How to edit and mark up photos you've taken in Messages in iOS 12

After taking a photo or video using the camera in Messages, right before you send it, you'll be given the option to add effects, edit, and mark up your content. Here's how you do it.

1. Tap the Effects button.
2. Tap on the button for the effect or you want to send with your photo or video. This can be anything from Animoji (and Memoji) to stickers from iMessage sticker apps.
3. Tap on the effect or sticker that you want to send.

4. Tap the X button at the top of the effect or sticker pane when you've added the effects and stickers that you wanted to.
5. Tap Edit.
6. Edit your photo or video as you see fit.

7. Tap Done.
8. Tap Markup (photos only).
9. Mark up the photo as you need to.

10. Tap Save.
11. Tap the Send button.

How to send a photo in Messages in iOS 12

In addition to photos you've just taken, you can also, of course, send photos from your existing library.

1. Open Messages on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the conversation for which you'd like to take a photo or start a new conversation.
3. Tap the Photos button in the iMessage app row.

4. Tap on the photos you want to send.
5. Optionally, write a message to go along with the photos.
6. Tap the Send button.

Questions?

If you have any questions about using the camera in Messages in iOS 12, put them in the comments.

Read more comics from The Pixel Project.

One day, Augmented Reality (AR) will live in our glasses or contact lenses, in the photons hacked on their way to our visual receptors, or embedded right into our brains. For now, it lives inside our iPhones and iPads. Apple seems to want to make sure it goes as fast and as far as possible with the technology on our current devices so it's as mature as possible by the time we get to whatever comes next.

That suits me just fine.

Reminders of the last ARKit

ARKit is Apple's framework for understanding what the camera sees and tracking the position and orientation of that camera relative to the world around it. That includes surfaces, objects, and faces, and their movements and expressions.

ARKit 1.0, introduced just one short year ago this month, could handle single-user experiences and horizontal surfaces, as well as lighting conditions, and could render virtual 3D objects into the scene — using SpriteKit, SceneKit, or Metal templates — that felt almost like they belonged in the real world.

ARKKit 1.5, which shipped earlier this year, included support for vertical and irregular surfaces, continuous autofocus, and relocalization so apps could resume from background.

ARKit 2.0, currently in beta, includes 4:3 video formats (think iPad); 2D image tracking and 3D object detection, so a photo can drag an augmentation with it, and a real-world model can come alive through AR; environment textures and mapping to make the augmented look more real; persistent experiences, so you can put that model away at home today, take it back out at school tomorrow, and continue right where you left off; improved face tracking, specifically for winking, gaze, and tongue — yes, tongue — movement; and… wait for it… multi-user experiences.

What's new in ARKit 2.0

There's a ton of cool tech in ARKit 2, including a new, standardized file format for AR called USDZ. It was launched in collaboration with Pixar and Adobe, so it should catch on.

The mesh for face tracking still looks totally sci-fi. Apple renders it with lighting that estimates intensity, direction, and ambient color temperature, but also provides spherical harmonic coefficients — yeah, I had to look it up, too — for apps that need them. It basically makes rendered augmentations look like they fit into the real world around them.

Some find the new gaze-tracking creepy and the tongue detection a tad on the excessive side. I haven't explored the former enough to form an educated opinion on it, though I'll be doing just that before the fall. The latter is just plain fun, though. (It's also binary for now, so tongue in or out, no elaborate gymnastics just yet.)

Map saving and loading are what enables persistence and multi-person experiences. Instead of generating and then throwing away the 3D world map, ARKit now provides it to developers, complete with simple anchors and support for custom anchors, to keep and share.

That multi-person though...

For multi-user, because the world map represents a single, real-world coordinate system, one person can initiate the experience and then share it with one or more other people. Each of them shares the same AR space from their own physical perspective. It does this by being not only faster to initialize in iOS 12, but through faster and more robust tracking and plane detection.

The experience is shared locally through multi-peer Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networking, which means you're not relying on the cloud, which is great for performance and privacy. You can use the internet when you want to, not because you have to.

There's also a fiendishly clever system for reflection mapping. While building the world map, ARKit also uses computer vision to build out a cube or other map representation based on scene texture. Machine learning is used to fill in any holes and create the "hallucination" of a complete map — as long as you don't look too closely. Reflection probes then detect objects and apply that texture when and as appropriate.

I had the chance to try the LEGO ARKit experience at WWDC and it was a ton of fun. It uses the 3D object detection, which means the object needs to be both built in the real world and scanned into the digital one first. Those objects need to be textured, rigid, and non-reflective, at least for now.

The real-world LEGO building sat on a table but, with an iPad, I could crack it wide open, drop the Joker in, and watch as he promptly set it on fire. Then, another person I was playing with could call up The Batman, get him into the chopper, and rescue the clowns (?!) while a third positioned a firetruck to put the blaze out. I've built LEGO for years, including a pretty great Arkham Asylum set, and I'd like nothing more than to bring it to life with my godkids for a few hours every week.

I also played a bunch of the SwiftShot game, which is a code sample for ARKit. You have three catapults. Your opponent has three catapults. Last catapult standing wins. What made it so much fun, especially the tournament on the last day of WWDC, was that multiple people could join in and watch and, when that happens, it starts to blur the lines between augmented and reality.

More than just fun and games

Shared experiences are going to be transformative in everything from education, where a teacher can lead a classroom through augmented explorations and labs, to enterprise, where teams can collaborate on prototyping, production, repair, and iteration.

So, yeah, we're all still semi-awkwardly holding up our phones and tablets to do all this – for now. But, again, at some point in the near future we won't be. And Apple will have all this technology — and apps will have all of this content and these services — for us when that time comes.

Clever fruit company.

Read the full iOS 12 preview: The deep dive