iOS 15 features: innovations and compatible devices

With iOS 15, Apple has a big release with lots of exciting new features for iPhones. We show what the new iPhone operating system can do and on which devices the free update is available.

With Windows, updates tend to put users in a state of shock, Android fragments, only with iOS there is a huge hype and as soon as the latest version is out, the majority of iPhone users rush to it as if Christmas and Easter were suddenly on the same day. This is not quite the case with iOS 15, but there are other reasons. With iOS 15, Apple has distributed a great release with lots of new features, but you still have the option to stay with iOS 14. So Apple is taking a less offensive approach to the iOS update, which has slowed down the initial spread somewhat.

Apple officially started distributing iOS 15 to users on September 20, 2021. Pre-release versions have been available to developers and beta testers since June. The timing for the new operating system is always based on the launch of the new iPhone generation, which could be pre-ordered from September 17th this year. iPhone 13 and siblings are the first devices to be delivered preinstalled with iOS 15.

Devices supported by iOS 15

Especially the users of older iPhones tremble before updates and hope that their device will still be supported. Apple is quite generous with iOS 15. If you have iOS 14, you can also update to iOS 15, even if not all features work on all devices. In concrete terms, however, for the update this means that users from the iPhone 6S with iOS 15, but this year you can also choose to stay with iOS 14. Apple may charge a chunk of money for its smartphones, but they don’t give up on updates, after all, the 6S was launched in 2015. Android users have to be very strong on the subject.

Many new features in iOS 15

Apple continues to accelerate and has many innovations on board with iOS 15. You can get a very detailed view of the new features on this Apple website. The innovations of iOS 15 can be roughly divided into three categories: Main news, updates for built-in apps and new features in the core system.

TL; DR: The most important iOS 15 features

What are the big news in iOS 15? It cannot be overlooked new design of the notices. They are provided with photos of contacts or larger app icons, which creates a better overview. The notifications are collected in the notification overview and sorted according to priority. Important messages get through to you immediately, the rest can be called up at fixed times. In general, the new one should Focus function Avoid the constant distraction of notifications. Video chats with FaceTime opens Apple for Android and Windows, with SharePlay you should be able to watch movies or listen to music together on your iPhone, but unfortunately Apple will have to postpone this function, it will be delivered with a future update. Is there right from the start LiveText, the new feature recognizes text in images.

FaceTime for Android and Windows

This shows what FaceTime has to offer in iOS 15 Manufacturer video:

FaceTime is a popular video chat tool, but it has so far been limited to Apple devices. Android and Windows users therefore had to stay outside. That changes with iOS 15. You can create a link via FaceTime that enables video chat participation in the browser, for example in Chrome. You can do that too Windows and Android users with FaceTime chats to fetch. The bottom line is that it’s a good thing because you don’t have to deal with one problem that you have in the golden Apple cage.

Focus: Less distraction with iOS 15

Very few users can get by without a mobile phone and yes, you can now get a lot done with a smartphone. But it’s also a constant source of distraction. You can already turn off notifications or simply turn off the iPhone. With iOS 15, Apple is tackling the matter more cleverly: The new one Focus function automatically filters the appropriate messages for you. We took a closer look at the anti-stress function here.

Example: You are in the office, then the notifications relating to work are given priority. In the evening, private messages have priority and the boss notifications have a break. “On-Device Intelligence”, as Apple calls it, learns what fits in which context. You can also create home screen pages with apps or widgets for the respective focus. The apps that are relevant for work can then be seen in the job, and those for private use in the evening.

SharePlay comes later: Stay connected with iOS 15

For many months, Corona restrictions have resulted in many evenings being spent alone with various streaming providers. Maybe you already have Social streaming tried it out, where you can get together with friends via an app or browser extension and watch films or series “virtually” together. With SharePlay, iOS 15 gets such a function built in, but unfortunately it is not finished yet.

Granted, that would have been cool for iOS 14, but better late than never. FaceTime keeps the communication channel open in the background and you can listen to Apple Music together with friends or watch a series in sync. Disney +, TikTok, Twitch and other apps are already working on SharePlay integration, should be interesting. SharePlay is activated in the beta of iOS 15.1, so you need to be patient.

Updates for built-in apps

Finally Apple has it again Work in the weather app plugged. With iOS 15, she gets full-screen maps and more data is graphically nicer. Animated backgrounds, for example, show the position of the sun more precisely. FaceTime is also getting a few new features in addition to the opening for Android and Windows, for example 3D audio, clean separation of voices and background noise as well as one Portrait mode. You can update the Review function be happy. It looks more modern, is interactive and can be linked to Apple Music.

Browser Safari completely rebuilt

Most people on iPhone use Safari as their browser, and that’s a good choice. Safari gets a major update with iOS 15. For example, the migrates Url line down so you can surf with one hand more easily. With Tab groups you bring order to the browser faster if you have too many pages open again. Power users will be happy, they can now also use extensions with the mobile Safari. From iOS 15, there are also WebExtensions which the desktop browser Chrome or Firefox can also rely on. In this post we will explain to you how you use beautiful wallpapers with Safari.

News in the core system

LiveText is a new feature that one Text recognition in images offers. This is useful, for example, when you have to type in an eternally long WiFi key in a café. With iOS 15 you simply take a photo, the key is recognized as text and you can copy and paste it into the WLAN registration. Handwritten recipes or phone numbers from business cards can also be digitized in this way. Incidentally, the Spotlight search on the iPhone can now also track down the texts or handwriting in photos.

Mail and location better protected

Also the data protection drives Apple further. Siri is now trying to answer more queries purely locally. An Internet connection is then not always necessary. The two functions are also interesting Email privacy and the Hide IP addresses. As for mail, the new feature prevents senders from knowing whether a message has been opened.

iOS 15 also disguises IP addresses so that they cannot be used for location tracking in order to build up user profiles. Of the App Privacy Report summarizes in an overview how apps use the access that was granted to them in the last seven days for location, photos, camera, microphone and contacts. This gives you a good overview of what is going on in the background on your iPhone.

iOS 15: Not all functions for all devices

The device support for iOS 15 is great at first glance. From the iPhone 6S you can use iOS 15. But there is a catch: because older iPhones do not offer all hardware functions, some new iOS 15 products have to be compromised. A key point is that Neural Enginewhich must be available in a specific version. For example, FaceTime portrait mode is reserved for the iPhone XS and later.

Ours Review of the iPhone 12 you can see here in the video:

iPhone setup becomes easier

Very few users are likely to start completely from scratch with a new iPhone. If you switch from Android, you get it with the app Transferred to iOS a useful tool for migrating photos, files and folders. The easiest way to switch from an older iPhone is via iCloud backup. Since the free storage space is only 5 GB, this was previously only an option for paying iCloud customers. However, Apple allows the move from iOS 15 free of charge, i.e. you can save your data for a short time in iCloud and from there switch to a new iPhone for free.

Do I have to update to iOS 15?

Loyal Apple users don’t ask this question. If there is already an update for “the best smartphones in the world”, then they should be installed in good time. But something is actually changing here and that might also please some users. Up until now, you could either import the latest iOS version or you were left with an insecure device; after all, the security updates were only ever played in the latest iOS releases. But now you can at least do something stay with iOS 14 longer and still get security updates there. How long you can stay on iOS 14, Apple has not yet revealed.