The excitement from Apple’s Showtime event in March is just dying down, but Tim Cook and the team have given us yet another reason keep fanboying. This time the talk of the town is about the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference which will begin on June 3. And the most anticipated announcement is the unveiling of iOS 13 – the next big upgrade in the iPhone and iPad operating system. Rumours mills are in full swing and if there’s any truth to them, we are in for a treat!
Go Dark Mode
Going Gotham dark may be just an unrealistic dream, but our long wait for the Dark Mode on iPhone will bear sweet fruits with the feature finally making an entrance. iPhones and iPads running on iOS 13 are set to have a system-wide Dark Mode setting.
Wait, that’s not all! You can also have a similar version of the high contrast feature which MacOS currently has. MacOS powered iPad apps using Marzipan will also be able to enable the Dark Mode. So, it’ll be like getting the best of both systems.
A Better Safari Experience on iPad
Safari browser will definitely see some improvements with iOS 13. How, you ask? Do you remember that every time you browse a website on your iPad, you’re forced to use the ‘Request Desktop Site’ for its full version? The issue with the current Safari is that websites render the iPhone version when running on an iPad, and to switch it a desktop version you have to take a flex your fingers a little more with all the tapping. Now, with iOS 13, there will be an automatic suggestion to switch the website view to a desktop version.
A New Way to Undo
There’s a lot of things we’d like to go back and change. Unfortunately, the world doesn’t give us superpowers like that. But at least, we can undo stuff we want to change when it comes to all things technology. The new iOS 13 will pack a neat Undo gesture. So, you can stop frantically shaking your device to delete whatever mistake you committed (on the device, silly!).
All you’ll be required to do is make a three-finger tap on the keyboard area, slide to the left or the right to undo or redo. Voila! Now, you have the power to remove your mistakes. And because Apple is considerate of those who are technologically challenged, it will provide a tutorial the first time you open the keyboard to show you how to go about using this gesture. And if all goes well, this interaction could get adopted into the custom controls through a public API.
Multitask Like A Pro
You might not be good at juggling your job and your life well, but at least you’ll manage different windows well. iOS 13 will bring many new changes to iPads, of which one is the multitasking feature. (Told you, you’ll be better at handling different things at once now) With the iOS 13 upgrade, you’ll be able to have multiple windows for apps.
While each window will have sheets attached to the screen, you’ll also be able to detach individual windows with a drag gesture. The detached window will be like a cad that can be moved freely. And if you have too many of these free cards, you can arrange them one on top of the other and use a depth effect to tell them apart. And once you’re done using them, all you need to do to dismiss them is to fling them. Easy peasy, right?
Smarter Mail App
Apple is all about smart designs, and with that in mind, the Mail app is getting a new, smarter look. The upgraded app will allow a user to organize
Flaunt Some New Fonts
With iOS 13, another major upgrade is the font management. Say adios to installing profiles for new fonts into the system. That was such a hassle anyway, so good riddance! Now, if we’re to believe their words spun with our hopes, Settings will include a new font management panel.
Developers will get a new standard font picker component. And if any document has missing fonts, the system will send the user a notification.
And Many More
Apart from the big changes, there are also other smaller features that will be getting new elements. The multiple selection feature will get an improvement wherein the new gestures will allow selection of multiple items. You can view the selected items in table views and collection views. In addition, multiple-finger drag feature to select a list or multiple items will also be added.
Another improvement in iOS 13 is the addition of light and dark status bars to differentiate between two screens when using apps in splitview. This should solve the current issue where there is a lack of contrast in the status bar. Users will also be able to resize splitviews on iPad designed Marzipan apps that run on Mac. To resize, you only have to drag the divider and rest the position by double-clicking the divider, like how it works on Mac.
There’s also a redesigned Reminders app, a new Volume HUD, and an expanded in-app printing controls. Other additions are an improved “Hey Siri” which rejects mistake noises like laughter, and keyboards and dictation that have better multilingual support. And that means no more awkward accent to activate “Hey Siri”!
And that’s all folks. It’s quite the list! Which are you the most excited about?