[imagesource: Economic Times]

Apple’s new iOS 15 software is available to download on your iPhone.

Sure, that’s not as exciting as running through the new range of iPhones due out soon, but you don’t have to wait for a South African release date to get started.

Keep an eye on Digicape, South Africa’s largest independent Apple retailer, for the latest on when we can expect the iPhone 13 range to go on sale, and how much each model will cost.

Before you update to iOS 15, it’s recommended that you back up your iPhone.

That’s pretty simple – open ‘Settings’, tap your name at the top of the list, tap ‘iCloud’, and toggle ‘iCloud Backup’ on.

If it’s already on, and you want to make sure you’re really up to date, you can select ‘Back Up Now’.

With that out of the way, let’s run through a list of the great new features that come with the iOS 15 update.

(To install, go ‘Settings’ > ‘General’ > ‘Software Update’, tap on ‘iOS 15’ and ‘Download and Install’, and finally select ‘Install Now’ once the download is complete.)

WIRED highlights these features.

A Fancier FaceTime:

For starters, there’s a grid view for multiperson chats that works like Zoom’s conference calls. There’s a Portrait mode—like the similar feature in the Camera app, it keeps your face in focus but blurs out your messy room in the background.

You can also create FaceTime links to share and invite others to a video chat, and these can be added to your calendar.

I don’t FaceTime much, but I definitely do spend too much time on my phone.

So do you, which is why iOS 15 comes with New Ways to Focus:

There are contact photos for your messages, larger icons for notifications that come from apps, and a new Do Not Disturb mode to silence them all. When you don’t want to be disturbed, your friends and family will see when you have Do Not Disturb turned on in Messages, exactly like a status update. They can still send a message through though, just like Do Not Disturb modes in other apps like Slack.

If you make use of the Notification Summary function, you can check unimportant alerts at specific times of the day, with on-device machine learning identifying your phone use patterns to determine certain alerts.

You can also set those manually via ‘Settings’.

Live Text, Photo Memories, and Better Safari:

One of the coolest features in iOS 15 is Live Text, and it’s tied to upgrades in Apple’s computer vision technology. Point your camera app at anything with text, and you’ll see a text icon on the bottom right. That’ll let you highlight the text so you can easily copy and paste it to another app.

This works for images with text in your Photos library too—just tap the same text icon on the bottom right. If there’s a phone number in the photo or an address, Live Text will turn it into a link so you can tap it.

Safari has also been given an update, designed to make it easier to use with just one hand.

The URL bar is now situated on the bottom, and it hides away when you scroll.

I don’t really like that repositioning, but you can move the bar back to the top by tapping the ‘aA’ sign in the URL bar and following the prompt.

You’ll notice Safari looks a lot more similar to the interface on macOS or your iPad on the new tab page—there’s your favorite websites, reading list, and content shared with you.  You can swipe through tabs easily and group them together.

And finally, for the first time, Safari extensions are coming to iOS. These are available through the App Store.

About time, because the option to customise Safari with extensions is long overdue.

The Maps app has also been given a fine-tuning for users in select countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Australia), as has the Health App:

With Apple’s Health App, you can now share your health data with family members or caregivers. That way, they can easily keep an eye on metrics and receive notifications for any unusual trends over time. There’s also a new Walking Steadiness metric that routinely analyzes your fall risk.

You can store your Covid-19 test results and vaccination records in the app, too.

The Weather App also comes with a fresh design, as does Siri and iCloud Backup.

Future iOS 15 updates will have the long-awaited SharePlay (“you’ll be able to share movies, music, and your screen with anyone you’re FaceTiming with”), App Privacy Report (showing what apps have accessed your camera, microphone, location, and photos over a seven-day period), and more.

If you’re using an outdated iPhone, you may need to upgrade to get the most out of the new features:

…if it’s an iPhone 6S (2015) or newer, then your device has made the cut.

But you should also know that features like Portrait mode on FaceTime, Live Text, augmented reality directions in Maps, and spatial audio, among others, will only work on iPhones powered by an A12 Bionic Chip or newer.

That means you’ll need an iPhone XS or newer to make the most out of the update.

For those keen to upgrade now or in the near future, Digicape offers great trade-in options.

They accept most brands of smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches, as well as Apple TVs, laptops, and desktop computers, which can be used for store credit or to save money on upgrading.

You can also make use of their great ‘Virtual Shopping Assistant’, with free 30-minute consultations with an Apple Expert from Digicape who can guide you through the trade-in process, or offer advice on Apple products and accessories.

That way, you’re totally up to speed when the time comes to get stuck into those new features.

[source:wired]