The best features nobody talks about. Among many additions, iOS 12 offers a wide range of new features for iPhone and iPad. On iOS 12 there is much more than announced to the WWDC. The new iOS update also offers a series of changes across the board that will improve Apple’s mobile devices in many small ways. Here are some of the most notable improvements.
Face ID now supports a second face
With iOS 12, you can save a second face for Face ID authentication on devices that support the feature. To be, if your appearance changes dramatically for any reason, and the existing face data do not fit with what the camera sees TrueDepth of iPhone X, you can add a second Face ID of yourself to avoid being blocked by your iPhone.
iPad receives the iPhone X type menu bar
In a change that seems to prefigure a future iPad with a controversial iPhone X style, Apple has reorganized the menu bar at the top of the screen on its tablets. The date and time have been moved to the left side, just as they appear on Apple’s flagship phone. Meanwhile, the battery indicator and other icons move to the right.
This was apparently made to make room for a system of TrueDepth cameras capable of 3D facial recognition, just like the one on the iPhone X.
Custom ignored duration in Apple podcasts
One of the main reasons why podcast addicts tend to gravitate away from Apple’s integrated app and to third-party options is customization. The standard iOS app simply does not offer the wealth of settings you’ll find alternatives on the App Store. However, Apple borrows a useful feature to compete: custom jump lengths. Now, listeners will be able to change the duration of a jump forward or backward past the standard 15 seconds.
New 3D Touch shortcuts
3D Touch is a forgotten iOS feature that can be extremely useful, as long as you remember it exists. And in iOS 12, Apple adds some new shortcuts to particular apps when you firmly press on their icons. Notes now reveals a menu item to instantly scan a document, while Camera provides a shortcut that instantly opens the viewfinder to search for QR codes.
Further languages of Siri
At this time, Siri offers only three accents in English: American, Australian and British, with both male and female variations. With iOS 12, Siri will acquire Irish and South African voices. By comparison, Google Assistant recently received six new entries for a total of nine – and this does not include Grammy-winning singer-songwriter John Legend, whose voice will arrive later this year.
USB accessory lock
In a controversial move, Apple has added a new default behavior of iOS 12 that prevents external USB accessories from accessing the contents of your iPhone after 1 hour that has been blocked (the previous limit was seven days). While it can dramatically improve device security, critics argue that the inability to get locked in iPhone with tools like the popular GrayKey will hinder law enforcement investigations.
The extra security feature is automatically activated when iOS 12 is installed (note that USB accessories in the “Allow access when locked” tab in Face ID and passcode are disabled, which means USB devices are locked after one hour). However, you can disable it, paradoxically, by turning on the switch.
Search for Apple Music with lyrics
This is for those moments when you desperately want to know the name of a melody, but everything you’re working with is truncated texts. On iOS 12, Apple Music users will be able to search for songs using lyrics only. Of course, you can do it with Google or a dedicated website, but having the functionality built into a streaming app is extremely convenient.
Automatic updates
With automatic updates, your iPhone or iPad will immediately download the new iOS software in the background as soon as Apple releases it, without you ever having to activate the process by itself. This setting is turned off by default, so you’ll have to manually turn it on if you want to use it (or keep it off if you’d like to check when the iPhone updates to the latest version of iOS).
Closing apps on iPhone X is easier
To close an app on an iPhone X with iOS 11, you have to scroll up to reveal your previous apps, then long press on one of them to reveal the delete button. This is a bit tricky, especially considering that iPhone 8 users can simply run apps to close them, without involving them any longer.
Fortunately, Apple will give the iPhone X the same gesture with iOS 12, eliminating an unnecessary step and making it easier to stop unwanted software from consuming system resources in the background.
AirDrop for passwords
Apple is reviewing many aspects of its password management system in iOS 12. For example, if you typically reuse the same passwords, iOS will suggest safe alternatives. And when you get a single-use code via text, iOS will be smart enough to apply it to the app in question without forcing you to copy and paste it.
One of the less known but equally useful additions is AirDrop for passwords. With iOS 12, you can easily share passwords with close friends and family via AirDrop, the same way to send photos and videos.
We will update this guide over time to reflect everything that iOS 12 has to offer.