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iOS 15, Apple’s next update for its widely used mobile operating system, was unveiled in early June during the WWDC21 opening keynote. This update comes with noticeable and tiny changes in the operating system. However, it left some of us disappointed due to some missing features that we were hoping for. As for a full version, iOS 15 is a small upgrade, relatively speaking. Although it includes some new features that make life a little easier and more organized, it was considered disappointing by some avid users.
Below are three features that we really love in this next version of iOS. They are followed by three that we’re disappointed Apple hasn’t added yet.
the yes
FaceTime
iOS 15 brings powerful additions to what used to be a simple and limited video calling app. This version allows you to schedule and share FaceTime meeting links. They are accessible from a web browser on almost all devices, including Windows computers and Android phones. It’s an unprecedented move from Apple – the company notoriously known for its walled garden approach – but it was inevitable in the age of COVID, remote work and calls. While FaceTime isn’t as feature-rich as Zoom and Google Meet, it can now make its privacy-focused approach to video conferencing accessible to a wider audience. There’s an argument to be made about how well Android and Windows support is implemented, but we’re taking it step by step.
This FaceTime facelift also comes with a portrait mode video effect for iPhones with the TrueDepth camera (i.e. those with FaceID). This is in addition to the microphone mode controls (Standard, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum) which make it easier to join calls in noisy environments. Note that these camera and microphone effects can be used system-wide and implemented by third-party application developers.
Another small but handy addition to the app is the Smart Keyboard Suggestions for FaceTime Links. Assuming you’re using Apple’s keyboard, you can type “video call” in any messaging app – or in a text field in any other app, but the functionality makes more sense when you chat with people – and the keyboard will suggest a FaceTime link to insert directly into your message. This allows you to effortlessly invite someone you text to a FaceTime call, without having to open the FaceTime app and link manually.
Another important addition to FaceTime is SharePlay, which allows users to enjoy music, TV, and other content together. They can control everyone’s Apple Music queues, watch Apple TV + originals, or share what’s on their phone screens. It also has an API that third-party application developers can implement to support the functionality. While SharePlay isn’t available in iOS 15 at launch, we still expect to see it arrive in the coming weeks.
Safari
Apple’s native browser becomes more useful than ever in iOS 15 with the introduction of third-party extension support. While Safari on iOS still hasn’t fully caught up with that of macOS (lack of support for website notifications, for example), it’s one more step towards achieving that goal.
iOS 15 also redesigns Safari, introducing a start page with customizable and relevant content and wallpaper support. It also moves the top website address bar down, making it more accessible for one-handed use. A welcome pull-to-refresh gesture has been added, and the top and bottom safe areas of the iPhone screen adapt to the colors of the websites visited and change color accordingly.
Tab groups make it easy to organize and separate your work and personal life. With dedicated groups for any topic / category, we can add so many relevant tabs to a group to make moving from one workspace to another a quick and effortless process.
Time
The Weather app on iOS is finally getting some love from Apple with iOS 15. It boasts a modern icon and user interface, as well as new air quality metrics from BreezoMeter in supported regions. It is still not available on iPad or Mac, for reasons better known to Apple.
The redesign also adds new background animations to match almost any possible weather condition regardless of the time of day / night, in addition to an updated widget.
The no
Music app needs some tweaking
It’s 2021. Users will literally be able to control their queues remotely with SharePlay this fall, but for some reason Apple still hasn’t implemented an equivalent to Spotify Connect that would allow us to control music playback. from any device signed in to the same Apple ID.
Also, the obstructive pop-up window, whenever any song / playlist is added / deleted to library / queue, should disappear. But given that it took Apple over a decade to remove the similar volume pop-up, I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see this behavior change anytime soon. It would also be nice to have lyrics available for offline viewing when downloading a song; it is an insignificant text file that would have no effect on device storage.
Let’s choose more default apps
Having a choice only when it comes to setting default email and web browsing apps is hardly enough or satisfactory. With antitrust lawsuits hitting the company, Apple was slated to expand default app support to music and maps, but that was nowhere to be found. Users can now teach Siri which music app they prefer, but that still doesn’t make it a default app.
Mail and Messages need more competitive functionality
Compared to similar apps and competitors, Mail and Messages lack a lot of features. From Mail, many options available on the web version of iCloud Mail cannot be found on iOS, such as vacation auto-replies, aliases, and more. Additionally, the iOS app looks and feels oversimplified compared to the Gmail app and its features.
As for Messages, it needs to catch up with instant messaging apps. Despite some welcome changes in iOS 15 (photo collages and “Shared with you” sections), the app still isn’t as feature-rich as popular instant messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. Indexing of old messages is interrupted, loading of older content takes time, and searching for them is painful.
While not a major update, iOS 15 still makes some notable changes that make iOS more useful – custom focus modes, live text selection, redesigned notifications and their summaries, and more. . We can only hope Apple adds some (or, wishful thinking, all?) Of our wishlist features with iOS 16 next year.
iOS 15 is currently available in beta for developers and public testers, and is expected to be released publicly this fall, from mid-September to the end of September after the new iPhone announcement event. iOS 15 will work on all devices that currently support iOS 14 (that’s a huge 7-year software support for the iPhone 6S, so far).
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