In September during the live press conference when Apple announced the new iPhone 7 they also revealed the new long awaited iOS 10. Although Apple releases minor updates for its operating system through the year, the major changes happen when Apple release a new phone. This time was no exception, Apple have finally hit double digits with their iOS and have included plenty of cool new features that will help make your life easier.
And the best part is:
You don’t need an iPhone 7 to get the latest version of iOS. The update is available for plenty of older devices such as the iPad Air, iPad Mini and iPhone 5. Here are the best iOS 10 features available.
How to Get the Update
If you haven’t got the iOS 10 update yet then it’s fairly easy to get. If you Apple device hasn’t asked you to update yet then you can manually update it. Simply go to the settings menu, tap general and then software update. This will start the whole process of downloading and installing the new update, make sure you’re connected to WiFi though! For a useful guide on how to install the new iOS 10 be sure to read this helpful guide by Apple.
Cool New Features
Now you’re probably thinking what’s new in iOS 10 and why should I care? Well you should care because there are some major changes to all aspects of the software that will make you more productive and your life easier. Let’s take a look at some of the best new iOS 10 features.
Invisible Ink
This new feature is for sending “hidden” pictures and messages to people that “reveal” themselves when the other person clicks or swipes on it. Now you might be thinking when would I ever use that? But it actually adds a factor of surprise to conversations. In the example above the user has sent a picture of her new engagement ring but has blurred it on purpose so when the recipient opens it, surprise! Bet you didn’t see that coming!
Chat Bubble Animations
Texting is still bigger than ever and is now the number 1 way to communicate to other people. Apple has obviously noticed this and his introduced plenty of new messaging features to enhance your texting experience. One of the new features is chat bubble animations and instead of just sending a normal message it allows you to add some “character” to it. With chat bubble animations you can select the way your message will display to the other person.
For example you can have the text bursting onto the screen for exciting messages or you can have slow messages that slowly fade it. Whichever animation you choose it will surely make receiving messages more interesting!
New Emoticons
Everybody loves emoticons! Without emoticons in a conversation it can feel like you’re talking to a robot. That’s why Apple has included 72 brand new emojis as part of the iOS 10 update, including things such as new hand gestures, faces animals and food. To have a look at a full list of new 72 emojis be sure to check this out extensive list for all your emoji needs.
In addition to the new emojis the update also increases the size of them making them 3 times larger than they were before. If you couldn’t tell the difference between the crying with laughter or crying emoji then hopefully you’ll be able to see them clearer after this update!
Tap Back
To further enhance your messaging experience with friends, iOS introduces a new quick response feature to let people know what you are thinking. Similar to Facebook reactions where you can react to other people's statuses Apple have introduced a similar feature in the new iOS 10.
When you receive a message from someone simply tap the message and it will give you the ability to send 1 of 6 responses from a like to a question mark. This is great if you’re in a rush or can’t really be bothered to actually type a message, oh the effort!
Stickers
If you’ve been using Facebook messenger for a while then you’ll know how popular stickers and animated emojis have become. Apple has implemented their own stickers feature with the latest iOS 10 update, allowing users to send these stickers with messages to help get points across. If emojis weren’t enough already then stickers are taking it to the next level. With new collections of stickers being constantly added it’s likely they will become as popular as the ones used on Facebook messenger.
Raise to Wake
Pressing the home button to wake up your phone was so last year! A cool new feature with iOS 10 is the ability to wake your phone up without actually pressing anything. Simply pick your iPhone up and it will automatically detect the action and display the latest notifications for you. Although it might not be the most mind blowing feature it definitely makes checking your phone and notifications a lot easier.
More Detailed Lock Screen Notifications
If you’ve been using iOS for a while then you might know how annoying it is to receive a message and then have to unlock your phone to answer. Well with iOS 10 one of the new features is more detailed lock screen notifications. This means you can read full messages and see pictures in just the notification tab. No longer are you required to unlock your phone and go to your messages to see what someone has just sent you. Just think about all that time saved!
In iOS 10 you can now actually reply to messages by simply clicking on the notification while the phone is still locked saving you all that effort of having to unlock your phone. Simply swipe the message notification and a new screen will pop up giving you the ability to type your message. Don't worry though, if you’ve rather not have this feature enabled it is possible to disable it in the lock screen settings.
Apple Maps Update
Ever since Apple maps was originally released it hasn’t been perfect to say the least. With a few annoying features such as snapping back to your current location many users have simply opted to use Google maps instead. One of the new iOS 10 features is a new and improved Apple maps. The app now allows you to freely pan wherever you want so you can check your route ahead or see where you’ve come from.
In addition to this further changes include a new route calculator that can take traffic and other information into consideration before giving you the fastest route. There is also a lot planned in the pipeline for Apple maps as many 3rd party developers are collaborating with Apple to produce new exciting apps that are soon to be released.
Voicemail Transcripts
Now you might say we’ve saved the best feature till last and you’re right we have! This iOS 10 feature is so useful it’s one of the top reasons to update. The voicemail transcripts feature actually turns your voice mails into readable messages that can be saved. If you hate listening to voicemails then you’ll love this feature. No more listening to garbled messages about things you don’t understand. The clever iOS 10 feature will save you a lot of time and stress by easily giving you your voicemails in text format.
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