Ron Amadeo

Apple

Apple

Apple

Apple

Apple

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Apple executives took the stage today at the San Jose Convention Center to walk onlooking members of the press and developers—not to mention thousands of livestream viewers—through iOS 13, its new major software update for iPhones, iPads, and iPods.

iOS 13 will introduce Dark Mode to those devices for the first time. Apple brought Dark Mode to Macs via macOS Mojave last year, to much fanfare. As was the case there, Dark Mode doesn't actually change anything about the interface—just the aesthetics. Apple showed Dark Mode running on the company's first-party apps for news, calendar, messages, and more. Dark Mode may also save battery life on devices with emissive OLED displays—savings like that were discovered in our own tests comparing Android devices with LCD and OLED displays. But we'll have to test the new OS to be sure.

Every iOS update brings changes to key apps made by Apple itself, and most of the apps included with a new installation of iOS have seen some changes. Mail now allows you to mute certain conversations. Maps has a new, easier way of accessing saved locations. The upgrade to Apple Maps will bring far more detail to the overhead view of roads and landmarks, with this rolling out to the entire United States by the end of 2019 and "select countries" next year.

Reminders has seen a ground-up interface overhaul, with natural-language processing similar to what's seen in third-party apps—you'll be able to type the relevant details and Reminders will understand when and where the reminder should be set for.

Apple is also adding a swipe-typing ability to its iOS keyboard for the first time, replicating something that has been available in third-party keyboards for years. Notes will have a new gallery view and support for shared folders. Safari will have new options to change text sizing, with per-website settings.

Some of the biggest changes to iOS are iPad-specific. Last year, Apple said that iOS 12 postponed some major features to 2019 to focus on fixing bugs and improving performance. As promised, this year's release looks like it will give users some of the features they missed out on last year. The iPad multitasking experience has been completely replaced with a new window-based experience and an easier way to switch between apps in Slide Over mode. Among other things, Apple showed two notes side by side in Split View and two Microsoft Word documents in the same Split View.

You'll also be able to plug thumb drives into newer iPads with USB-C.

Apple

Apple

Apple

Homescreen and privacy

Additionally, Apple has made some notable changes to the homescreen on iPads, with a tighter grid of icons and the ability to pin widgets to the homescreen. Apple also demonstrated a new feature that allows developers and power users to easily cycle among different versions of the same app on the iPad. We'll have more details on iPad improvements in a separate article.

As was the case with iOS 12, iOS 13 emphasizes improved performance and stability. Apple said that unlocking devices with Face ID will be 30 percent faster and that launching apps will be "up to twice as fast." App Store downloads should happen quicker, too, as Apple said that app downloads will be 50% smaller and app updates will be 60% smaller.

Apple promised some new privacy protections. You'll be able to share your location with an app only one time, and you can require the app to ask you again the next time it wants your location. Apple also said it is "shutting the door on apps that use Bluetooth or Wi-Fi signals to circumvent your privacy settings to track your location."

Apple is introducing a new "Sign in with Apple" system, with an API that lets developers put a sign-in-with-Apple button in their apps. Users can tap the button and authenticate with Face ID to log in to an account without revealing personal information to the third-party app developer. Apple's sign-in system will also let you hide your email address—when you select this, Apple will create a unique random address that forwards to your real address. The system also gives each app a different random address, so you can easily turn off emails from any particular app developer.

Another privacy-related improvement will come to home-security cameras connected to Apple's HomeKit. Apple devices will analyze your security video locally so that you can be alerted of activity caught by the cameras and then encrypt that data and send it to iCloud where not even Apple can see it.

iOS 13 will be a free update for all supported devices. It will be available in beta today and for general release in the fall, but Apple hasn't provided a specific date yet.

Listing image by Ron Amadeo