9 iOS 15 Features Every iPhone User Must Know!

Apple continues to improve its services and features year after year, from releasing new products to new software, iOS 15 this time. Moreover, with every product they release to the market, you can ensure that each device has a further improvement that can provide convenience and happiness to each user, enhancing their Apple experience. 

Software updates are critical as they can affect how a user interacts with a device. If you’ve tried mobile app development, you probably know how it works and how much effort you need to put in to ensure that your app or feature works perfectly. You can click here to explore your options for creating mobile apps for iOS users. However, you need to ensure that it’s iOS-compatible to allow access to everyone who updates to the new software.

With new devices coming in every year, Apple has finally revealed an update for iOS software, the iOS 15. With the announcement of a new release, you might be wondering about what’s new and what new features you should be excited about.  

What is iOS 15?  

iOS 15 is a new software update that intends to improve the experience of iPhone and iPod users. While there is no specific date, you can expect iOS 15 to be released to the public in the fall of 2021, most probably by September.  

With the new iOS 15, you can expect that there’ll be more things you can do with your iPhone apart from the existing features from the previous version. In this way, you can make the most out of your iPhone and iPod capabilities, allowing you to be more efficient and effective with your daily routines and tasks.  

iOS 15 Features

With the announcement of having iOS 15 in the works, you might be too excited to know what you should look out for. But don’t worry. Listed below are the features and improvements you should look out for:  

1. SharePlay  

Since more people are getting more involved in their FaceTime to catch up with people they couldn’t see face to face, Apple has released a new feature called SharePlay.  

SharePlay allows you and your friend to continue talking on FaceTime while you watch and listen to music apps together on your iPhone or iPod. Along with this, you can also share your screen right within FaceTime. In this way, you no longer have to switch and download external applications when the feature is readily available in your FaceTime App.  

As you choose to stream movies or TV series with your friends, you can hear their exact reactions right at the time when it happens. It’ll be like you’re sitting together and not miles away from each other at all.  

By sharing your screen, you can freely plan your next vacation with them by browsing any hotels and resorts together. You can also plan for the next birthday surprise you want to do for your best friend. In this way, you no longer have to constantly fill your chats with screenshots about a certain listing when you can allow other people to see your screen in real-time. It’ll be a total time savings for everyone.  

2. Invite Everyone To FaceTime 

FaceTime is popular among Apple users only. It’s challenging to get in touch with your non-Apple friends. But fear not, as Apple finally allows non-Apple users to connect on FaceTime.  

With the new iOS 15 update, you can now send your family and friends a link that allows them to join your FaceTime call, even when they’re using a different phone operating system.  In this way, you no longer have to worry about your non-Apple friends, and they can quickly join in your FaceTime calls. Most importantly, this new feature still offers end-to-end encryption to allow your calls to be private and secured.  

3. Spatial Audio 

If you’re a fan of using FaceTime for group calls, you probably have trouble identifying where a voice comes from, especially for those people who have similar tones. To allow for easier identification, Apple has added a spatial audio feature that will enable you to know faster who’s the one talking. Here’s how you can enable Spatial Audio in iOS 15 on your iPhone. 

Spatial audio works by releasing sounds on your iPhone from where the speaker is on your screen. This should help your conversations flow better without constantly thinking about who spoke.  

4. Notifications Redesign  

To improve the appearance of your notifications menu, Apple has designed the whole page by displaying the contact photo of the people’s text or missed calls. This should allow for better personalization and quick identification of your contacts without reading their full names. Moreover, for your app notifications, you can now see larger icons for faster identification.  

With the new update, you can now enjoy a notification summary in which your iPhone will arrange your notifications for the day according to priority. You can schedule the notification on your iPhone according to which time of the day you’d like it to appear. Don’t worry, as urgent ones will still arrive on your iPhone immediately.  

5. Focus 

More people are getting more distracted with plenty of things they need to accomplish within a day. To allow yourself to direct your attention to a particular task, Apple will be introducing Focus, which will enable you to be in the moment with what you need to do.  

With Focus, you can block out any notifications and only allow specific application notifications related to the activity you’re focusing on. But, don’t worry, as urgent notifications will still go through, so you don’t miss out on essential things.  

6. Shared With You 

When using iMessage, you can expect that your family and friends will be sharing content with you that you can choose to view, read, listen to, or watch. 

To keep yourself organized and on track, the new iOS 15 now features a ‘Shared with you’ folder in which it’ll appear on certain Apple apps like Apple Music and allows you to view all of the content your family and friends shared with you. This should help you save time in browsing messages looking for the things people share with you.  

7. Updated Memoji 

With the new iOS update, you can fully customize the appearance of your Memoji by allowing them to wear different clothing that better fits your style and personality. You no longer have to deal with floating heads when you can now make them wear any dress you’d like.  

Apart from dressing up your Memoji, the iOS 15 features multicolor headwear along with accessibility customization, which includes a soft helmet, oxygen tube, and cochlear implants. This should allow for wider diversity and inclusion for everyone.  

8. Optimized Safari 

Using Safari to browse through different websites has been a standard activity for most Apple users. With the new iOS 15 features, you can now fully enjoy the optimized Safari, which allows you to have a complete view of the website without the hard tab bar at the bottom that used to limit your total picture of a page.  

If you need to use the tab bar, you can easily reach it at the bottom part of your screen, allowing you to switch tabs with just a swipe of your thumb. Moreover, you can skip the folder type view of the tabs so you can enjoy the preview of each page, allowing you to navigate and browse through them faster.  

9. Improved Maps

Using Maps is essential, especially when traveling to a new place you’ve never been to. It’s also an excellent app to use to ‘walk through’ an area you’re planning to go to, allowing for a more organized and planned family trip.  

With the iOS 15 update, you can now enjoy a more detailed map that includes roads, maps, bridges, buildings, trees, and more. In addition, to improve your experience, you can have a 3D view of landmarks, allowing you to have a clearer picture of what you’re supposed to see when you get there.  

Moreover, the driving feature of the app gives a 3D view of the road for more accessible and more realistic navigation. Additionally, you’d benefit from the road colors and labels that makes street identification easier.

iOS 15 Compatible Devices

Unfortunately, not every device can enjoy the new iOS 15 features due to a lack of hardware support. Before getting too excited about the latest iOS update, listed below are the devices that are iOS 15 compatible:  

• iPod touch (seventh generation)
• iPhone SE (second generation)
• iPhone SE (first generation)
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone X
• iPhone XR
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12

If your device is not on the list but you’d want to enjoy the fantastic features of iOS 15, it may be time for you to upgrade your device. 

Conclusion  

The new iOS 15 is yet another awaited launch from Apple and many users are looking forward to updating their software to enjoy what the Cupertino-based giant has to offer. With the fantastic iOS 15 features, you’ll surely browse through your iPhone a lot faster and enjoy the convenience and improvement that is anticipated in the new release.

You can easily connect with your family and friends and enjoy watching and listening to anything together. It’ll bring people closer together no matter how far apart they are. Don’t forget to check the iOS 15 compatibility and check if your iPhone model makes the cut. Keep an eye on our tech blog for further iOS 15 updates!