IOS 12 review: patches are in

iOS 12 is officially available today, after months of beta for both developers and the general public, following its announcement at WWDC in June. And as is the case with Apple's iOS updates, this is a huge range of iPhone and iPad, from the latest iPhone XS of 2013 to the iPhone 5S.

And with every iOS update, the question arises, especially for owners of old devices: "Do I have to install the new update? Or will he slow down my phone? For years, Apple has deliberately paralyzed its older devices with software updates, subtly encouraging customers to opt for the latest model, which has been confirmed, at least in part. with the revelations about the limitation of Apple's batteries at the end of last year.

But iOS 12 is a very different software update for Apple. Unlike previous years, where the focus has been on radiant and vibrant changes – whether it's a whole new look for the operating system, redesigned notifications and widgets, or redesigned applications – updating this year focuses on job better, instead of just looking better.

Or to put it another way: While most of the iOS updates tend to focus on brightly colored dessert, this year Apple is serving a large amount of vegetables.

Performance improvement

Apple claims performance as one of the major changes in iOS 12, promising things like 40% faster launch speeds for apps and speed improvements up to 70% faster for launch of the camera. And while it's hard to tell if these numbers are really accurate, the bottom line is that it works. The installation of iOS 12, for the first time that I remember, has made my iPhone and iPad faster and more stable, not less. During several weeks of testing (both on the public beta and the finalized Apple software), my iPhone X, several years, overflows tasks.

And most importantly, my old iPad Air, which was barely usable on iOS 11, was redesigned with the software update. It's still not the fastest iPad, but it has at least returned to a state where there are no very long delays when opening applications. Since long-term software support is a key benefit of iOS on Android, it's interesting that Apple pays more attention to older devices. After all, running the latest version of iOS on a five-year old phone really does not help anyone if it works too badly.

iOS 12 (at this point, of course, at first) seems much more stable than the iOS 11 of last year, which was infested with months of bugs and problems. This can change because the final version of iOS 12 is entering the world, but so far, it's better than last year, which is already an improvement.

This idea of ​​rethinking How we use our phones, instead of just adding new ways to use them, we are also working our way through most of the other features of iOS 12.

Screen Time well spent?

And there is no clearer place that this philosophy can be seen with Screen Time, probably the biggest novelty of iOS 12. Apple adds a new dashboard to the Settings menu, which gives you a bunch of details really granular. how much time exactly you spend on your phone or tablet, and what applications you spend on them. You'll also be able to track the number of notifications each app sends to you and even the number of times you pick up your phone.

As part of the activation of Screen Time, you also receive a weekly summary – somewhat ironic – by a push notification, allowing you, in theory, to get an overview of what you spent your time on .

This is Apple's attempt to counter the growing concern that we are all spending too much time on our phones, as part of the "well-spent" move that has swept the tech world in recent months. Google's Digital Wellbeing dashboard is also similar to the one the company adds in its own annual update, Android 9 Pie.

Screen Time does not just give you information on how you use your phone – it provides you with tools to handle that use. You will be able to set daily time limits that will prevent you from using apps if you reach your quota, or schedule "downtime" that allows you to use only a few whitelisted apps. It's here that Screen Time falls a bit flat because if Apple gives you the tools to improve your behavior, the process is extremely passive.

This is running you to decide whether or not you want to set the limits and which apps you want to set up – Screen Time does not even offer a recommendation. And unless you use it in the password-protected parental control mode, the "barriers" set up by Screen Time are ridiculously easy to circumvent. When your daily time limit is reached, the application will gray and show you a splash screen informing you that your time is up when you try to open it, but there is also a button that allows you to continue right in front of you.

Yet even if there is room for improvement, it's good to see that Apple is starting to think about the problem and is proposing solutions, even if Screen Time, in its current form, is concerned more to note that the overuse of the phone is a problem. rather than repair it.

The notifications

Another area in which Apple seeks to help users manage their time on their phone lies in the notifications, a particular difficulty with which Apple has struggled in recent years.

The good news is that Apple is improving with iOS 12, which solves one of the biggest problems with iOS 11's weird notification strategy: finally grouping of notifications by application. It's a seemingly minimal change, but it's much easier to manage a stream of messages.

And each notification now offers the ability to change the settings of this app as soon as it arrives – you'll be able to set up notifications for an app so that they're delivered with peace of mind, without pinging your phone, without having to navigate Apple's granular and labyrinthine menus.

Similarly, Apple has updated Do Not Disturb mode with settings that expire automatically, and a new "Bedtime" mode that automatically turns it on for scheduled sleep times.

Overall, it's a lot better than it was, but Apple still has some way to go compared to Google's more manageable Android notifications.

Memoji and minor apps

iOS 12 does not only concern responsible choices when using your phone, but also an essential performance improvement. There are also some interesting and fun new features, like Memoji – Animoji custom animated avatars.

Now you will need an iPhone X – or one of the newly announced XS, XS Max or XR models – to use Memoji, and unlike other applications and avatar services 3D custom, you will have everything from scratch. But there are many options for customizing your avatar, and the end results tend to look like custom versions of Apple's own emoji series, which avoids the strange creations of the valley that you can sometimes encounter.

That said, while it's fun to play with Memoji for a few minutes, it's hard to imagine that they'll make a bigger impact than Animoji did.

There is also a new Message Effects mode, which allows you to superimpose Memoji and Animoji in real time on live images and videos (with Stickers, text labels and Instagram and Snapchat designs), which seems well ripe. .

Also new: updates to iBooks, Apple News, Stocks and Voice Memos, all of which have been updated to fit Apple's more modern style. The latter two are also making their debut on the iPad for the first time, for anyone who would die would like to check his investment portfolio from his tablet.

CarPlay is largely the same in iOS 12, with a big change: Apple lets third-party map applications work, instead of just Apple Maps. Google Maps and Waze both plan to support CarPlay and have already started beta testing, although there is still no release date for updates.

In other improvements to the quality of life, Apple has also made some updates to password management on iOS 12. Third-party password managers like LastPass and 1Password can now directly integrate the password fields. password for applications and web browsers, which is extremely useful. And SMS passwords that are sent to you by two-factor authentication services now automatically appear as auto-typing suggestions, so you do not have to re-enter them each time.

The iPad has also attracted the attention of Apple in another important way: it now offers gesture navigation to switch from one application to another, read notifications and access at the control center very similar to the iPhone X. – simple split-screen mode, although moving the control center in a drop-down menu a little helps to unclutter the multitasking menu, in addition to making the whole of the more consistent system on all devices.

The gestures themselves are also interesting to use on existing iPads, with the same level of finish that you expect from Apple, but that's what they represent that's even more interesting: a base for Apple to present an iPad without bezel with the home button fully – just like the one that should come out later this year.

Developers, Developers, Developers

Other parts of iOS 12 will have no impact until the developers have had time to launch applications for them. Apple is upgrading ARKit 2's enhanced augmented reality system in the new update, which allows AR experiences to be shared among multiple users.

Apple has presented some interesting technical demonstrations, and there will definitely be a bunch of apps available shortly after launch that support ARKit 2, but that will really depend on apps that take advantage of the new feature to see if that will be possible . The decisive point of Apple for AR or just another fun experience to show a friend once and never use it again.

Photo of Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

There are also new Siri shortcuts, which allow users and developers to add their own interactions and macro sequences to Siri. The new feature has multiple layers, from intelligently generated suggestions based on factors such as your current position and time, to custom Siri interactions, and to fully automated automated sequences that combine multiple applications.

Out of the box, you can configure custom commands for Siri for some functions. For example, I configured my iPhone so that asking "Hey, Siri, to wake me up in the morning" will automatically set my alarm.

And with the Siri Shortcuts app, you'll be able to create even more powerful settings that combine multiple actions. With a single "Hey Siri" query, you can activate your morning routine such as turning on your lights, getting your travel time, hearing the predictions and knowing when your first meeting is.

Theoretically, it's a big step forward for Apple to open Siri to developers to interact. But many of these features do not really work outside of Apple's bundled apps – which means we'll have to wait to see how the developers are adopting the features and whether they're actually useful for everyday use. better idea of ​​how they will work.

A healthier approach

If iOS 12 was just a faster and more stable version of iOS 11, that would have been enough as an update. Long-time Mac users can see it almost as the iOS Snow Leopard updates the iOS 11 Leopard – Apple's software version should have come out last year, instead of mess with months of quick fixes that we had with iOS 11.

This is a more mature attitude towards Apple, ensuring that its existing base is solid and functional before adding new features. Take, perhaps, the most dazzling feature announced by Apple for iOS 12, Group FaceTime video chats with up to 32 participants, which were postponed until the end of the fall as Apple finishes it. Is it disappointing that it is not ready for launch? Sure. But it is encouraging to see that Apple has recognized this and has changed its strategy accordingly.

Or to return to our original analogy, iOS 12 may not be the most exciting software update on the surface: it's a plate of broccoli, not a fresh pie or a pile of oreos. But like a plate of broccoli, at the end of the day, it's pretty good for you.