1. The QuickPath to Swipe and Type
All right, so a lot of people HAVE talked about this, but that does not make it any less important. You can now swipe to form words on the iPhone keyboard just as you can on Android devices. Apple calls it the QuickPath keyboard, and from what we have seen, it works quite well. So you can goodbye to tapping on the keyboard. Or not. Both methods of typing work seamlessly!
2. Video editing? Simple, just like images!
The camera and photo app overhauls have grabbed more headlines, but for us, the best change perhaps has been the fact that you have more editing options for videos right in the Photos app. Whereas in the past, all you could really do was trim the video, now you can edit it almost as you can edit a photograph- from using filters to fiddling with exposure, shadows, warmth, tint and so on. And well, you can also change the orientation of a video. Does not sound like much? Well, as folks who always had to open another app to edit video, take it from us – it is!
3. Get on Apple Arcade
It is Apple’s own special gaming section, available on the App Store. And it features games that you can play without having to worry about any ads or in-app payments. Yes, these are early days but from what we can see, the section already has some promising titles (Cricket Through The Ages, Overland, What The Golf and Assemble With Care, to name just a few – yes, you will be hearing more on these in the coming days). They are all designed to work smoothly on your iPhone and make gaming an uninterrupted experience. Yes, it costs Rs 99 a month in India (USD 4.99 in the US), but the first month is free. And up to six members from your family can use it for that much. Game on, surely? If only for a month?
4. The Dark Mode rises…no need to go to Settings!
No, we are not going to get into crazy detail about Dark Mode. We assume you already know enough – as its name indicates, it darkens the background of supported apps, giving a very different viewing experience. What we want to point out is that you do not have to go to settings to get into Dark Mode. Just pull down Control Centre and long-press the capsule for display brightness. You will, of course, get a larger display brightness capsule but below it will also be three options: Dark Mode, Night Shift, and True Tone. Just tap Dark Mode to turn it on or off as the case may be.
5. Check those images and attachments you messaged
There is a search box on top of the Messages app. Of course, you can enter what you are searching for in it. But just tapping in it will show you recent contacts you have messaged, and even more interestingly, links, images, and attachments you have received. It is seriously handy for those of us who send a lot of attachments in messages! Bring this to Whatsapp already, Facebook!
6. Take full page screenshots
You could take screenshots on your iPhone (just press the power button and volume up button together on Face ID devices, and power and home button on others), but taking a screenshot of an entire web page was not possible from the default Safari app, unless of course, all the content was in just one screen. That gets fixed with iOS 13. Now when you take a screenshot, you will be shown a preview of the page and given an option to save the “Full Page.” Choosing the latter will save the entire page in PDF format and save in the Files app. Documentation lovers are going to love this.
7. Control volume with a touch
Changing the volume on an iPhone inevitably meant using the volume keys on the left (that’s why they are called volume keys, duh!). Well, with iOS 13, all you need to do is press any of the volume keys. This will bring up a tiny capsule showing volume on the left side of the display (a smaller version of the one you see in the Control Centre). Well, you can continue to press the volume keys, or simply slide your finger up or down on that capsule to tweak volume. Cool, eh?
8. One iOS device, two AirPods – you bet!
This is a bit of very handy tech wizardry – two people can now listen over their wireless earphones to sound from an iOS 13 device. Mind you, this will not happen with EVERY pair of wireless earphones and iOS devices – devices released by Apple in the last two years will definitely be supported, though, as well as any audio device with Apple’s W1 and H1 chips. All you have to do is connect both AirPods to the iOS device, open AirPlay and go right ahead!
9. Download some files to Safari
The Safari browser now has a download manager. Whatever you opt to download will now be stored in a downloads folder in the Files app by default. And of course, now that there is support for zipped files, you can even download zip files and open them in the folder!
10. Read lyrics in time with them songs on Apple Music
Apple Music always had the option to let you view the lyrics of the songs you were playing. Well, with iOS 13, the lyrics will scroll up on the display in time with the singing, and well, you can even skip ahead to another part of the song by simply scrolling up or down and tapping the line you want to hear. Karaoke fans will love this.
