Apple Officially Unveils iOS 12 With a Focus on AR Technology and Shortcuts

One of the biggest focuses of the new software is performance.

Compatible with all devices capable of using iOS 11, Apple has particularly focused on making apps and other parts of the software faster.

With iOS 12, the Camera can launch up to 70 percent faster while the keyboard will appear up to 50 percent faster with more responsive typing.

Apps can also launch up to 50 percent faster.

AR technology is taking a big step in iOS 12. ARKit 2 will allow apps to design shared experiences for more than one users along with object detection and image tracking.

Along with Pixar, Apple announced a new file format, usdz, that will allow AR in other apps like Messages, Safari, Mail, Files, and News.

One part of that iOS is a new measure app that will use AR to determine the size of objects. Basically, it’s a digital tape measure on an iPhone or iPad.

A big new addition to Siri in iOS 12 is Shortcuts along with a new app.

As you could probably guess by the name, it allows users to group a number of actions from apps into a single command. Using the Shortcuts app, you can further customize shortcuts and create a specific name.

Users can activate a Shortcut through Siri or the app.

As previously rumored, Apple unveiled a number of different ways for users to manage and better understand their time on iOS devices.

Screen Time will allow users to view detailed daily and weekly Activity Reports that shows how much time is spent on apps, usage across categories of apps, how many notifications were received, and how many times an iPhone or iPad was picked up.

You can also limit the amount of time spent on apps. A notification will let you know when a time limit is close to expiration. Parents can also view an Activity Report for their children.

Do Not Disturb is improving and can end at a specific time, location, or action. The bedtime Do Not Disturb will dim the display and hide all notifications on the lock screen until a prompt in the morning.

Notifications can now also be grouped and managed by app.

And the popular iPhone X Animoji are getting even better. Along with adding ghost, koala, tiger, and T. rex to the lineup, get ready for Memoji. Those are customized characters based on you with tons of other options to add.

Both Animoji and Memoji can detect winks and your tongue.

• Group FaceTime can have 32 different speakers.
• CarPlay will support third-party navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps.
• iBooks has now be renamed Apple Books and is sporting a redesigned app.
• Photos features a new For You Tab that combines Memories and iCloud Shared Albums. It also offers new sharing and search suggestions.

The software will go through beta testing this summer and arrive to the general public sometime this fall.