Apple releases new products such as phones, tablets, watches and software every year. Here are the 10 best upgrades to your current devices you can get for free today through iOS 13:
Battery Improvements
Battery has always been finicky in terms of performance. In recent years, Apple has recognized that. With iOS 13, iPhones were introduced to Optimized Charging, a system of throttling charging speeds in order to better preserve the integrity of the lithium-ion batteries that all iPhones have. The phone will now charge to 80% and only charge the rest when you need it. To enable this, go to “Settings,” select “Battery” and then “Battery Health.” There will be a toggle for “Optimized Battery Charging.”
Swipe Keyboard
A feature that Android phones have had for years is now available on all iPhones generations after the iPhone 6. This feature allows a user to simply swipe to different letters with few mistakes without lifting a finger. This feature is also available on iPads that support iPadOS as long as the keyboard is in the minimized position. No need to go to settings for this one; it’s enabled once you download the new software.
Silence Unknown Callers
The average phone user gets an obscene number of telemarketer calls and robocalls a week. Thanks to a handy new feature, you can say goodbye to scam calls for the most part. Enabling the toggle under “Call Silencing and Blocked Contacts” will send all unknown callers to voicemail automatically while keeping all your incoming calls to those within your contacts. Yes, you may have dozens of one-second voicemails in your phone, but that’s certainly better than your phone ringing in the middle of class.
Video Cropping
Whether it’s a funny Vine you screen-recorded from Twitter or just video you don't like the frame of, iOS 13 now allows users to crop their videos. Just like cropping any other photo, click the “Edit” option in the top right, and press the iconic “Crop” logo. With this new option, you can now share content without the annoying background from basic screen recording.
Hide My Email
While this feature is lesser known than most, it’s important for those worried about security and tired of spam emails clogging in their inbox. With iOS 13, users now have the option to remove their email addresses from certain apps or even have Apple generate a unique email address for all that spam to go to.
Announce Messages with Siri
For those with the second generation of AirPods, Siri is now embracing the role of “personal assistant” even more. With iOS 13, incoming text messages will now be read to you through your AirPods if you’re unable to reach your phone. Feel free to respond, as Siri will now ask for your response and confirm back before sending.
Automatic Language Detection
Many people in today’s society are multilingual. Up until recently, phones hadn’t been updated to accommodate them. If you regularly use English to text your parents and Spanish or French to talk to your grandparents, your phone will now be able to transcribe accordingly. Make sure you have the language preference enabled in your keyboard settings.
Faster System Speeds
In an effort to keep more devices supported and up-to-date, Apple has streamlined its recent software updates to boost speeds of both current and past iPhones. iOS 13 brings two times faster app launch speeds and 30% faster Face ID recognition. Apple also revamped the packaging of apps from the App Store, and downloads will be 50% smaller to free up more system storage.
Improved Health Tracking
With recent products that have heart rate monitors and fall detection, companies have been putting consumer health at the forefront of their developments. Apple has now included women’s menstrual cycle tracking, period prediction and cycle visualization programs. Improvements such as these will help educate the general public on basic health practices.
Dark Mode
Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated features of all time, Dark Mode turns all the lighter system aesthetics black and gray. No more staring at bright screens when you wake up. With Dark Mode, eye strain will be less common with this system wide feature unlike the iOS 11 predecessor, Smart Invert.
Digital Director