iOS 12 is designed to make your iPhone and iPad experience even faster, more responsive, and more delightful. Here are some exciting new features and improvements coming to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system.
Coming this fallFaceTime now supports video and audio with up to 32 people at once. The tile of the person speaking will get larger automatically, so you’ll never lose track of the conversation. You can start Group FaceTime right from a group thread in Messages or join an active one at any time.
A new type of customizable Animoji is coming to iPhone X. Now you can easily create a Memoji to match your personality and mood. You can make as many alter egos as you want to use in Messages and FaceTime.
Choose from four new Animoji — koala, tiger, ghost, or T. rex — to inject some fun into your next Messages thread or FaceTime call on iPhone X. Go ahead and wink or even stick out your tongue, because Animoji are also more expressive than ever.
Now there’s a new way to add personality to Messages and FaceTime right from the in-app camera. Quickly create and share a photo or video with Animoji, Memoji, cool filters, animated text effects, fun stickers, and more.
EVE: Project Galaxy
ARKit 2 makes it possible for developers to create more immersive augmented reality experiences — even ones that multiple people can experience simultaneously. AR objects can now be sent with Messages and Mail, then viewed in the real world. And a new AR app in iOS called Measure helps you measure real-world objects just by pointing your camera at them.
Apps help us do so many extraordinary things that we can sometimes lose track of how much we use them. Screen Time is a new feature that helps give you a better understanding of the time you and your kids spend using apps, visiting websites, and on your devices overall. So you can make the most of how you choose to spend time on your iPhone or iPad.
Just as Screen Time gives you more insight into how you use your devices, notification management in iOS 12 gives you new ways to reduce interruptions throughout your day. You can now manage your notifications in real time from the Lock screen, sending notifications from a specific app to Notification Center or turning them off altogether. Siri also makes intelligent suggestions about your alerts based on how you interact with them. And message threads and notification topics are grouped together, so it’s easier to see what’s important at a glance.
iOS 12 gives you more ways to manage your notifications than ever, but there are times when you don’t want to be disrupted by any alerts, messages, or calls at all. So now you can set Do Not Disturb just for a meeting or while you’re at a location, and it will automatically turn off as soon as your event ends or you leave that place.
The new For You tab shows you great moments from your photo library and intelligently suggests sharing photos with the people in them. And if the recipients are using iOS 12, they’ll be prompted to share their photos from the event with you, too.
Search suggestions are a new way to help you find the exact photo you’re looking for, or rediscover a great one you forgot about. Even before you start typing, you’ll see suggestions for recent events, people, and places. And as you type, the results are smarter and more powerful, and you can refine them by adding multiple keywords.
Siri can now intelligently pair your daily routines with third-party apps to suggest convenient shortcuts right when you need them. So if you typically pick up a coffee on the way to work, Siri will learn your routine and suggest when to place your order from the Lock screen. You can also run shortcuts with your voice or create your own with the new Shortcuts app.
Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right, which is why iOS has always been designed with built-in encryption, on-device intelligence, and other tools that let you share what you want on your terms. And with iOS 12, we’re taking privacy even further. Safari now prevents Share buttons and comment widgets on web pages from tracking you without your permission. Safari also prevents advertisers from collecting your device’s unique characteristics, so they can’t identify your device or retarget ads to you across the web.
The new Apple Books. Apple Books has an all-new design that makes it easier for you to discover, read, and listen to your favorite books and audiobooks.
The redesigned Stocks app. The new Stocks app helps you keep track of the market with live stock quotes, charts, and the best financial reporting from Apple News. And for the first time ever, it’s available on iPad as well as iPhone.
Voice Memos comes to iPad. The most popular iPhone audio recording app comes to iPad with iCloud, so you can access your voice memos from anywhere.
The best journalism all in one place. Redesigned navigation in Apple News makes it simple to jump straight to your favorite channels and topics or discover new ones.
Automatic strong passwords. Unique, complex passwords for all of your apps and websites are automatically created and saved in Safari and in apps — so you can use more secure passwords without having to remember a thing.
Security code AutoFill. SMS one-time passcodes will appear automatically as AutoFill suggestions, so you never have to worry about memorizing them or typing them again.
Third-party navigation apps in CarPlay. CarPlay now supports third-party navigation apps, giving drivers even more choices for a familiar experience on the dash while they drive.
Siri does even more. Get race stats for motorsports, find answers to food and celebrity questions, quickly look up a password, or search for your favorite memories.
Contactless student ID cards. With contactless student ID cards in Wallet, you can use your iPhone all over campus to access places like your dorm, the library, and events; or pay for laundry, snacks, and dinners.
More battery information. The battery usage chart in Settings now shows your usage for the last 24 hours or 10 days. Tap a bar to see your app use for that period of time.
Help make the next release of iOS our best yet. As a member of the Apple Beta Software Program, you can take part in shaping Apple software by test-driving prerelease versions and letting us know what you think.
iOS 12 contains enormous possibilities for developers. With ARKit 2, SiriKit, HealthKit, and more, apps will be more powerful, let you get more done, and be more integrated into your everyday experiences.