Apple’s newest iPhone operating system, iOS 15, launched on September 20. The update brings new features and controversial design changes to the vast majority of iPhones, including many older devices. Whether you’re planning to buy a new iPhone 13 or holding onto your older iPhone model, here’s everything you need to know about iOS 15 and its subsequent updates.
The new Focus feature enhances the Notification Summary even further. You can choose from among the preset Focus modes — Work, Personal, Sleep, and Do Not Disturb — or create up to 10 Focuses so iOS 15 can prioritize notifications based on your circumstance. Focus modes can even be set to a location, and once you set your status, it automatically applies across all connected Apple devices.
Shared With You works throughout the iPhone, from Photos, News, and Podcasts to Safari, and lets you share articles, songs, and photos with friends as a message. Photos integrates shared photos from friends who have added you to friends and family on iCloud, and iOS 15 will sort photos with you in them and place them in your gallery. News shared with you in this way is placed at the top of your list, and you get reminders about who sent you the story.
To personalize them further, you can edit these using Memory Mixes to change the pacing, songs, and even the look using different filters. And iOS 15 continues to analyze the Memory and makes further recommendations on songs to use, all based on your personal tastes. Cities with AR will also support walking directions. To use walking directions, people with eligible iPhone models will scan their surroundings using the Camera app. Maps will determine your location and then deliver walking directions back to the Camera app.
Another security feature, Mail Privacy Protection, prevents senders from learning whether or not you’ve opened their emails. Traffic leaving your device via the Safari or Mail app will remove most personal information, like your IP address and location, so that no one can build a profile around that information.
Safari Apple iOS 15 introduced Tab Groups that sync between devices. You can create whatever groups you need, like Recipes for weekly meal-planning. When you don’t need to see those tabs, you won’t have to keep scrolling past them. You can also switch between tabs by swiping left or right on the new tab bar at the bottom of the browser.
You don’t know me. Dafuq do you know what I need?