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iOS 13

212 'iOS 13' stories December 2018 - January 2020
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iOS 13 public beta

iOS 13 Features

During its WWDC 2019 keynote, Apple officially unveiled iOS 13 for iPhone. While we had a good idea of what to expect, Apple still offered some surprises. There’s a new swipe-style keyboard called QuickPath, the Photos app has received notable new features and changes with smart clutter reduction software, a new editing experience, and a new “Photos” tab, while Siri Shortcuts has become more capable with new multi-step and suggested automations. The update also brings a new Siri feature that allows users to instantly reply to messages.

As for one of the most anticipated features, the system-wide Dark Mode has officially arrived on iOS. Apple showed off the new dark theme with the tagline “iOS now lives in the dark.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Jg4Wm9b7o

Many other improvements and changes coming this fall include a redesigned share sheet, app downloads are 50% smaller, 2x faster app launch speed, Memoji Stickers and Memoji Makeup, HomeKit-enabled routers and HomeKit Secure Video, a new “Sign in with Apple” option for logging into third-party services, all-new Apple Maps, and much more.

If you want to go in depth on some of the minor changes, check out 65+ features that Apple didn’t announce during its Keynote.

iOS 13 Release Date

iOS 13 was released on September 19th, 2019 for all comaptible devices.

iOS 13 Device Support

These are the devices that will be supported:

  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone SE
  • iPod touch (7th generation)

Top Stories

iOS 13 privacy focus has seen background location tracking fall 68%

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jan 24 2020 - 4:04 am PT
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iOS 13 sees 68% drop in background location tracking

Apple’s decision to be much more proactive in alerting users to background location tracking in iOS 13 has resulted in a 68% drop in the location data collected by apps. The issue has also seen greater media attention, with many people now learning about the existence of commercial location-tracking databases.

iOS has long offered users control over whether and when an app can track your location, but iOS 13 introduced two changes that have made users much more aware of the issue…


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Apple releases second developer and public betas of iOS 13.3.1, more

Avatar for Filipe Espósito Jan 14 2020 - 9:57 am PT
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Update: iOS 13.3.1 beta 2, iPadOS 13.3.1 beta 2, macOS Catalina 10.15.3 beta 2, watchOS 6.1.2 beta 2, and tvOS 13.3.1 beta 2 now available for developers. Apple is also releasing the second public beta versions today as well.

Apple today is releasing the second developer beta of iOS 13.3.1 and iPadOS 13.3.1. This comes after a month without any new beta releases due to the holiday recesses. iOS 13.3.1 focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements.


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Five iOS 13 sleeper features that everyone should know [Video]

Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Dec 27 2019 - 9:11 pm PT
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iOS 13 comes bundled with many new standout features, including Dark Mode, a wildly-enhanced Photos app with impressive video editing features, a huge update to Apple Maps, and much, much more.

Yet, amidst all of these standout features, some new iOS 13 enhancements are bound to fly under the radar. One such example, the ability to quickly switch between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi networks on the fly via Control Center, are among several noteworthy, but low-key enhancements found in iOS 13.

In this brief hands-on video, we’ll explore five iOS 13 features that deserve increased exposure. If you’re not already, be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more handy videos like this.
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Bloomberg: Apple is changing the way it tests software following iOS 13’s buggy debut, new process starts with iOS 14

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Nov 21 2019 - 3:39 am PT
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iOS 13, especially the first couple of versions, quickly gained a reputation for being riddled with bugs and issues.

Bloomberg reports that Apple is changing the way it develops internal builds of operating systems in an attempt to stop history from repeating itself, with work on iOS 14 already using the new approach.


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Apple releasing third developer beta of iOS 13.3 today [U]

Avatar for Filipe Espósito Nov 20 2019 - 9:59 am PT
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Apple today is releasing the third developer beta of iOS 13.3 and iPadOS 13.3, following last week’s release of the second beta. The company is also running tests with macOS Catalina 10.15.2, watchOS 6.1.1, and tvOS 13.3.

Update: Apple has also released the third beta version of macOS Catalina 10.15.2, watchOS 6.1.1, and tvOS 13.3 for developers. iOS 13.3 public beta 3 is also being released today.


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Just how secure is the iPhone on iOS 13? Apple’s newest privacy site is a deep dive explainer

Avatar for Zac Hall Nov 6 2019 - 6:00 am PT
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Apple privacy Safari tracking prevention

Apple doesn’t just vaguely tout privacy as a feature in its products. It also has a dedicated website at apple.com/privacy that explains exactly how privacy features work in detail. Apple is updating its user-friendly privacy site today for the fourth year in a row with a focus on new benefits in iOS 13, iPadOS 13, watchOS 6, and more.


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Deep Fusion differences sometimes subtle, but really show up in pet photos

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 1 2019 - 6:31 am PT
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Deep Fusion comparison

iOS 13.2 landed earlier this week, bringing with it Deep Fusion, the feature Apple’s marketing chief described in the iPhone 11 keynote as ‘computational photography mad science.’ (Less happily, it also seemed to introduce problems with background apps.)

Like Smart HDR, Deep Fusion blends multiple frames to create the best possible composite image. But while Smart HDR is limited to blending different exposures, some designed to capture shadow areas, others to pull in highlights, Deep Fusion also aims to bring out more detail…


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Complaints of iOS 13.2 killing background apps, ‘doesn’t multitask any more’

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Nov 1 2019 - 4:24 am PT
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iOS 13.2 killing background apps overly aggressively

There are multiple complaints of iOS 13.2 killing background apps ‘so aggressively that iOS effectively doesn’t offer multitasking anymore.’ The latest iOS update was released on Monday, adding Deep Fusion, new emoji, Siri privacy settings and more.

Overcast developer Marco Arment made the complaint on Twitter, with many others echoing his experience …


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Apple releasing fourth developer beta of iOS 13.2 today [U]

Avatar for Chance Miller Oct 23 2019 - 9:55 am PT
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Update: iOS 13.2 beta 4, iPadOS 13.2 beta 4, watchOS 6.1 beta 5, and tvOS 13.2 beta 4 are now available. iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 public beta 4 also now available.

Apple today is releasing the fourth developer beta of iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2. Today’s release comes exactly one week after the release of the third iOS 13.2 beta with Deep Fusion camera technology, Siri changes, and more.


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Reminders iPhone iOS 13

How to make subtasks and sublists with Reminders in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina

Avatar for Michael Potuck Oct 16 2019 - 10:31 am PT
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The Reminders app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac got a big upgrade with iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina. One of the handy new features is the option to create nested to-dos (and lists, too). Follow along for how to make subtasks and sublists with Reminders on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with the latest software.


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