It’s not even been a day since the release of the brand new iOS 11.3 for the brand new iPad, and Apple is already rolling out software updates for Apple devices. The new iOS has a slew of additions, including fun new Animoji character for iPhone X, an improved ARKit and Business Chat for iMessage.
Last, but not the least, we’ve got new settings for battery health that comes with the superpower of turning off processor throttling for iPhones with ageing/dying batteries. Thanks to the hailstorm of criticism and bad press they faced for slowing down batteries, Apple decided to give back the right to turn off processor throttling to the customers, along with a public apology of course.
ARKit Goes Vertical
In case you didn’t get it before, Apple is now offering the ability to map and make use of vertical surfaces like walls, doors, etc. So go ahead, bring out your best paintings and artistic posters (virtual of course!) and decorate away. And once you spend some time with the upgraded ARKit, you’ll notice that the differences are subtle but profound.
My verdict – Apple went all-in on ARKit, and it shows.
Animoji Quartet
Time to bring out the karaoke. Again. Apple added 4 new emojis to its Animoji feature: dragon, bear, skull, and lion.
No doubt these new emojis will steal the limelight for the first 24 hours. And that’s okay coz Animojis are not meant to be anything more than a way to show off Apple ARKit’s face detection capabilities, and a source of endless entertainment, of course.
iMessage Business Chat
Apple’s messaging app ain’t just for casual conversations anymore. Thanks to the latest iOS update, you’ll now be able to communicate with businesses directly. Oh, and if you are wondering about privacy, I’ll just quote Apple…
“Business Chat doesn’t share the user’s contact information with businesses and gives users the ability to stop chatting at any time.”
Battery Health
To make up for the much flaked iPhone advance power system management – the system that forced people to join the #iPhoneSlow movement – Apple rolled out a new feature, Battery Health.
Now, while we know that replacing the battery is the best way to maintain peak performance, Apple understood that we would like to be the judge of that. This feature provides you with the information on the current battery performance and capacity and recommends if the battery needs to be replaced. Additionally, its also allows you to turn off your ‘Advance Power Management’ feature.
As always, there’s a bunch of more features in the new iOS 11.3. Some of these super cool features include expanded health record integration, Apple Music, HomeKit Software Authentication, advanced mobile location, and Apple news. So, who’s keen to update their software?