iOS 15: 5 interesting new features to expect from Apple’s latest operating system

IOS 15 is the latest operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone and iPad touch products. But this software upgrade provides more than just a sleeker display. Apple is well-known for producing some of the highest-quality smartphones in the market, but it also never sacrifices convenience.

Apple first unveiled its plans to move on to iOS 15 earlier this year at its Worldwide Developers conference before officially announcing it this month.

At first glance, the Apple iOS 15 doesn’t look much different from the iOS 14.5 released by the company some few months back. But a much closer look shows this upgrade definitely has some amazing features users are bound to love. The company continues to look for innovative ways to retain users’ interest.

In the previous iOS 14 series, Apple introduced features like the smart widgets that pop up at different times and the picture-in-picture display which allows users to facetime without having to leave the apps they are using. It also has a functionality that allows users to determine Siri’s voice.

Unveiling iOS 15

In the new iOS 15, Apple introduced some huge upgrades to its FaceTime. It also introduced preconfigured modes that allow users to instantly change the home screen setup as well as an easier way to use the Safari browser, amongst many others.

Here are five of some of the most interesting updates. 

The scan text feature

One innovation proudly touted by Apple in its new iOS 15 release is the feature that allows users to recognize and scan text in just about any object. This live text feature uses on-device intelligence to identify text in a photo and allows users to take instant actions that they choose. 

According to Apple, users can now easily place a call to a store owner by capturing the phone number from the storefront. Searching for objects from handwritten text is also easier. Apple achieves this feat through the power of its Ural Engine. The camera app can also help users quickly recognize and copy text in the moment. 

Shared With You

In this new iOS upgrade, Apple adds a new ‘shared with you‘ feature. This functionality will allow specific items shared with you to sit in a separate folder in some specific apps. If someone shares several photos from a trip with you, these images will instantly reside in the ‘shared with you’ folder on the photo app.

The same applies to news articles shared with you, as they will be available in a separate folder on Apple News. This functionality allows users to easily identify items shared by friends or family. 

Track your iPhone when it is turned off

Apple’s ‘Find my iPhone” feature is an amazing way to keep track of a lost iPhone device. However, this feature has its downside. If an iPhone gets stolen, all that has to be done to disable the tracking is to power it down. The ‘find my iPhone’ may show the last location, if enabled, but provides little help beyond that.

Apple has found a way to address this with the new iOS 15. An iPhone turned off will automatically enter an ultra-low state that keeps the Bluetooth active and the iPhone trackable and findable.

Configure your recovery and legacy contacts

One of the few notable additions to iOS 15 is the feature that allows you to set recovery and legacy contacts. This feature is especially important as Apple ID and iCloud accounts get more important every year. 

With this feature, Apple allows its users to set recovery contacts whom they can call on to help reset passcodes. These contacts can’t access one’s data, but they will receive reset codes if, peradventure, you’re locked out of your devices and want a password reset. 

Customize the text size for each app

Apple now allows users to change its text size for ages, but with iOS 15, the company now gives users the ability to change the text size on a per-app basis. Users have to first enable this feature in the control centre.

iPhones compatible with the new iOS 15

iOS 15 is here, but unfortunately, it doesn’t support all iPhones, especially if you’re using a much older version. The new iOS 15 operating system functionality supports the iPhone 6S (2015) and many newer devices, but functionality differs between devices.

Features like Live Text, Portrait mode on FaceTime, spatial audio, and augmented reality direction in Maps, amongst others, will only work on devices powered by the A12 Bionic Chip or newer. That means if you have a pretty older iPhone device, you can’t make the most out of the update. 

Installing iOS 15 is straightforward, just like every other Apple upgrade. To install this software on your mobile phone, open the Settings app, then go to General. Tap on Software Update and wait while your device connects to Apple servers and prompts you to download and install the update. 

Downloading usually takes up to a few minutes to complete, depending on the strength of the connection. Once the download is completed, a prompt will appear asking if you want to immediately install it or defer it to later. Once you allow installation, the device reboots and it will be running on iOS 15.