Apple believes strongly in protecting our privacy, and that even extends to helping us use strong passwords. Rather than letting us put in weak ones, iOS 12 extends password suggestions to third-party applications.
The next version of Apple’s phone and tablet operating system also makes two-factor authentication easier, and will warn users about weak passwords.
Apple put on a good show for its WWDC keynote, but realistically it was a lot of hype without much substance. Dark Mode for macOS Mojave and Memojis for iOS 12 was about as exciting as it got. And you know what, that’s a good thing.
Both these operating systems have serious problems, and it’s far more important for Apple to spend a few months fixing them than adding new bells and whistles.
Didn’t have a chance to catch Apple’s WWDC 2018 keynote yet? Well, you could read our summary, or if you want to watch the entire thing, Apple just uploaded it to YouTube.
Tim Cook and the gang busted out a bunch of new software during the keynote. iOS 12, macOS Mojave, tvOS 12 and watchOS 5 all got their moment to shine with new features, UI changes and plenty of surprises.
iOS 12 is shaping up to be one biggest software updates Apple’s ever released and it’s so stuffed with major and minor new additions there wasn’t time to go over a lot of them at the WWDC 2018 keynote.
We’ve been combing through the first iOS 12 beta looking for all the new goodies and have found some underrated new features that will totally change how you use your iPhone and iPad this fall.
These are the little iOS 12 features you need to know:
Maybe the most important new feature of iOS 12 is something that helps you to do less with your iPhone, not more.
If any other company had introduced Screen Time, the new system-wide toolset for limiting phone distractions, then it would (rightly) be dismissed as a gimmick, a sop to the increasing worries about phone addiction. But as is typical of Apple, Screen Time looks like it took a lot of work to get just right.
Screen Time may seem to be about combatting app addiction, and reducing the amount of time “wasted” on your iPhone. However, taken together with the new Do Not Disturb settings in iOS 12, it’s more about putting users back in control of their iPhones.
These are the devices that can run iOS 12 and macOS Mojave
There’s good news and bad news for fans of keeping old hardware running. While iOS 12 will run fine on any device that currently runs iOS 11 — and may even make older hardware run faster — macOS 10.14 Mojave is dropping support for older Macs.
Let’s take a look at which machines will work with iOS 12 and macOS 10.14.
iOS 12 makes small but significant changes to the user interface on Apple tablets, paving the way for an edge-to-edge Super Retina HD display and Face ID.
The just-released beta of iOS 12 can be set to partially deactivate the Lightning port after an iPhone hasn’t been used for an hour. This is a clear attempt to make useless the unlocking tools employed by law enforcement.
Police across the country are purchasing a tool called GrayKey. When hooked to an iPhone’s Lightningport, this swiftly enters thousands of passcodes until the correct one is reached. Deactivating the Lightning port would block its use.
It is always exciting to capture the WWDC keynote in sketchnotes, and this year I filled up four pages of my notebook with drawings showcasing the biggest new features coming in iOS 12, macOS Mojave and watchOS 5.
As seen in my first sketchnote, above, iOS 12 makes performance on both old and new devices a priority. ARKit 2 brings more augmented reality goodness to Apple devices, including the ability for up to four people to share the same AR space at the same time.
For a quick and easy recap of the rest of the WWDC 2018 keynote highlights — plus a bonus sketchnote that proved kind of prescient — check out the rest below.
The first iOS 12 developer beta debuted after today’s WWDC keynote. Intrepid souls who’ve already installed this early version on their iPhone X noticed that Face ID can be trained to recognize more than one person.
This removes one of the significant limitations of Apple’s new biometric security system.
Apple kicked off WWDC 2018 with what was perhaps the best damn video the company ever created.
Taking a page out of David Attenborough’s playbook, Apple crafted a hilarious nature mockumentary all about one of the world’s most extraordinary species — developers — making their annual journey to the great plains of WWDC.
Prepare to laugh your ass off at The Developer Migration!
Apple’s WWDC 2018 keynote lasted nearly 130 minutes and was jam-packed with new software goodies for developers and regular old Apple fanboys.
But if you were hoping to see some shiny new hardware unveiled at today’s event, you were in for some big disappointments. Apple is doubling down on its software game. And even though they didn’t have any new physical toys to show off, Tim Cook and company still managed to pull out some big surprises.
Tim Cook finally got his way — the Stocks app will appear on iPad in iOS 12. And the app also gets a bunch of improvements, so that Stocks might no longer be the first app you hide away in a “junk” folder when you get a new iPhone.
ARKit was last year’s big WWDC announcement. This year Apple introduced ARKit 2.0 and, if we weren’t convinced before about the potential of augmented reality, Apple’s presentation went a long way to changing our minds!
The update to the world’s largest AR platform introduces a new more easily sharable file system, improved face tracking, more realistic rendering, 3D object detection, and — most exciting of all — shared experiences.
The new update, which will be available for free this fall, includes ARKit 2.0 with new experiences and support for multiplayer games, grouped notifications, group FaceTime calls, and new apps.
iOS 12 also promises huge performance improvements across all compatible devices — especially older models that have struggled with previous releases.
Apple hasn’t even previewed iOS 12 yet and we’re already talking about iOS 13, thanks to a bunch of new emoji. Emojipedia has revealed the list of character candidates for 2019, which includes a bunch of new expressions, animals, and more.
It’s been a tight ship over there at Apple, so for the first time in a long time, we know almost nothing about what will be announced at an Apple Keynote. But we think there’s a good case for new hardware come Monday, and on this week’s CultCast, we’ll tell you why. Plus, we’ll tell you everything we think we know about iOS 12, and stick around for our ears-on, gaping-jaw review of stereo HomePods.
Our thanks to Udemy for supporting this episode. Whether you’re looking to learn something new or just sharpen your skills, Udemy has over 65,000 courses starting at just 11.99.
Visit Ude.my/CULTCAST or download the Udemy app to learn anytime, anywhere.
Apple still has a bunch of new devices up its sleeve for 2018 — not including the new iPhone lineup — but we won’t see any of it at WWDC.
A new report claims we can expect refreshed MacBook and MacBook Pro models, a more affordable machine to replace the MacBook Air, a new iPad Pro with Face ID, and a new Apple Watch. However, we’ll have to wait until later in the year to get our hands on them.
It’s only been a day since Apple released iOS 11.4 to the public, but the first beta for its successor is already here.
No, we’re not talking about iOS 12 beta 1 — which should come out next week. Apple dropped a surprise batch of beta builds today in the form of iOS 11.4.1, macOS 10.13.6, tvOS 11.4.1 and watchOS 4.3.1. The updates bring a bunch of bug fixes to all of Apple’s platform ahead of the grand unveiling of iOS 12 and macOS 10.14 at WWDC 2018.
We’ve seen some incredibly sketchy Apple “leaks” over the years. This one, a photo that purportedly shows an iOS 12 upgrade ready to be installed on an iPhone, is up there with the most ludicrous.
Here’s what the image claims we’ll get when Apple’s big update rolls out this fall.
WWDC 2018 is less than a week away and to prepare developers for the big event, Apple just updated its WWDC app for iPhone and iPad.
Developers and regular iOS users alike can all download the app to access information about sessions and other events that will be going down this week. The app comes with a new look too that makes videos more prominent than ever.
In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: We’re expecting big things from iOS 12, including a whole host of improvements that will make our devices more stable, and plenty of welcome bug fixes. Apple will surely surprise us with some nice new features, too at WWDC 2018.
Here’s our lengthy wish list for this update, which includes a Home screen overhaul, a more powerful FaceTime, better multitasking, and more!
You’ll find that story and more in this issue. Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend with three days of great savings on Apple Watch bands and accessories in Cult of Mac’sWatch Store. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.