Hey, I was just calling to tell you that iOS15 is now officially released, which means that
if you already have it installed and you are wearing AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, you should
be able to enjoy this call with Special Audio, which is definitely one of my new favorite
features of this new iOS release.
Now, before I hang up so that I can tell you the other iOS features that actually make
a difference in my everyday life, I have to mention that this video is brought to you
by iMazing.
OK..bye now.
So, Special Audio is definitely something to look up to with iOS 15.
This feature is now deeply integrated into many iOS apps and, more notably, in FaceTime
as a feature to enhance our conversations with the family and sound less digital in
meetings.
It is a bit difficult to demonstrate in a video.
Still, the best way to explain it is to think of it this way - it is a virtualized surround
that also tracks your head so that no matter where you turn, the sound ends up coming from
the broadcasting device.
It's really the next level and absolutely cool to use, and for months it is still something
that I keep getting impressed by.
Aside from Special Audio, FaceTime also gets another essential feature which is a blurred
background.
Now, I know that many people were hyped at first by the wide-angle tracking camera of
the iPad Pro.
Still, I believe that the blurred background feature is something that benefits all parties
on a call.
Let's be honest - you don't want to have to tidy the place up before a call, and the people
on the other side don't want to see your mess anyway.
On a single press of a button, everything becomes clean…or blurred to be more precise.
Another feature that I welcome with open arms in iOS 15 is the Left behind notification
option.
This is basically a separation notification that lets me know if I have left my tablet
at home or forgot my keys, which might be a huge deal for people who commute a lot.
Imagine going home and getting to work only to realize that your keys were left behind.
This feature should work with AirPods, too, but I can't get it to work for some reason.
The next feature, I bet, is something you haven't even heard of.
This is called background sounds, and it's a bit like the first version of mouse support
on the iPad - berried deep into the accessibility settings.
Sometimes I think Apple sees the accessibility settings as a sandbox to test new features
and see how many people will find them useful.
Anyway, I am talking about built-in White noise.
Yes, if you are a big fan of white noise…as you should be, you no longer need to install
a separate app for that or play a 10 hour YouTube video, but rather enable that feature
from iOS itself.
It comes in 6 different sound options, and of course, all of them are fantastic to sleep
on, or meditate or just drift off from the world around you.
This feature and be added to the Control Centre for easy access because it's not like a music
player that you can play pause or you can use triple-tap to enable and disable it - isn't
it cool?
A while back, I did a video on which I introduced a sponsored app called TextSniper.
This app can extract text from any photo to paste it anywhere.
Well, that feature is now built into iOS 15, and it's called live text.
You can now grab any text from a photo or directly from the camera app and just use
it as any other digital text from a document.
Copy it, look it up and paste it.
Instead of scanning a document or having to rewrite it by hand, you can just snap a picture
of it or just focus your camera app on it and paste it into a blank document.
This is next-level cool and what's more extraordinary is the fact that it's built into iOS.
For example, you can summon this feature within other apps like notes, which is just remarkable.
It's like Google lens…but less purpose-built and instead a tool-oriented OS feature.
Next up is iMessage, which has gotten subtle but more than a welcome overhaul.
For a start, the quick access to FaceTime audio and video has less friction providing
quick access to directly reach out to someone from the top right.
Tapping the contact now goes straight into that someone's profile.
Finding a particular photo or document is a lot easier too.
Going up my rank of favorite new features is bulk images carousel.
Endless scrolling is no more, and I can quickly flip around the photos that I have received,
and YES...the save button is right beside the images.
Pining is another feature that shouldn't be underestimated.
Pinning links could be very useful if I want to go back in a conversation to quickly find
a reference to something that was berried a long time ago.
I find iMessage slowly turning into a multifunctional platform that can also send blue bubble messages.
Talking about Swiss Army Knife capabilities, iMazing, who is sponsoring this video, has
a fantastic iOS device management multitool that I'd like to show you before upgrading
to iOS15.
It's a macOS and Windows desktop app which lets you take control of your iOS data.
For example, before upgrading to iOS15, you can make a Time-Machine-style wireless backup
of your iPhone.
Also, you can quickly transfer documents, media, and content and even dig into system
files, access device and battery diagnostics, and more.
With iMazing's advanced backup browser, you'll have access to all your data locally, should
anything go wrong when updating.
This backup feature is free btw, but should you decide to go further, you can always purchase
a license later and unlock advanced features such as exporting your Messages and WhatsApp
chats to PDF, for example.
Go to the first link in the description below and check out iMazing.
Premium upgrade is 30% off for 1 month using my link.
Thanks, iMazing, for sponsoring this video.
So, Safari!!!
To be completely honest, when I first started using this new version of the browser, I was
furious.
In fact, somewhere in my notes, I have a separate video idea called Why Apple ruined Safari.
Few versions of Beta updates later, and opening my mind to embrace this update, Safari for
iOS 15 now makes a lot of sense to me.
The first and most prominent feature that most people might find frustrating at first
is the search/adreess bar being placed at the bottom of the screen.
There's a lot of muscle memory involved in this change, and it really drove me nuts at
first, but it makes a lot more sense once you get the hang of it.
For a start, reachability is priority number one.
Second, being able to quickly swipe between tabs is so much better than having to open
all the tabs at first before making a choice, just like swiping between apps.
Tab groups are also something that comes in handy, especially when it's shared across
devices.
A little bonus I might add is the custom backgrounds that can be placed on the browser, which meant
I had to immediately utilize some of my new wallpapers from my Reflection collection.
Another feature that I find a lot of use in is weather notifications.
Now that the iOS15 weather app is completely revamped, it adds a feature to notify you
when there's a weather condition change, like precipitation.
Very handy, especially when I am with the motorcycle somewhere.
Focus modes are definitely something to talk about too.
We've all come to love the moon or Do not disturb icon of previous iOS releases, and
now that we can create multiple do not disturb or disturb or focus modes is much appreciated.
I, for example, have created a new Recording mode that I use whenever I record a video
like right now.
While in the mode, no one can pass through the cracks, no notifications, no distractions.
In the meantime, my family can see in iMessage that I am in the middle of a recording should
they decide to call me once again to pass through the multiple attempts algorithm.
Focus modes can be synced across devices, too, although this is not something that works
for me since all my other Apple devices are on DND the rest of the time.
Just be careful on how you set those Focus modes up because you might lock yourself from
essential notifications, so FOCUS...when you set up your focus modes.
So there are few honorable mentions that I'd like to quickly go over.
Number one is quicker shortcuts pop-ups.
This is a valuable feature when using custom icons because there's almost no delay when
triggering a shortcut, opening the app, and then having the ability to start using the
app in question without having to wait for that banner to disappear.
Of course, if the banner notification was to go missing altogether, it would've been
a much sleeker experience, but hey...I can't complain.
You can check out my icon packs in the description below BTW.
Sound recognition is another honorable mention because it is a feature that can be used to
let your iPhone notify you when there's someone going bonkers with your bell or even if your
dog is barking for an unexpected reason.
So which are your favorite iOS15 features?
Let me know in the comment section below and if you have any questions, feel free to list
them also or ping me on Twitter.
As always, it's been an absolute pleasure, This is E
Over and Out