iOS 15 & iPad OS 15: What's New and How to Download
At the 2021 WWDC event, Apple unveiled iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 with many new features that help you keep in touch with others, work wonders with ease on iPhone and iPad. Now let's come to an overview of what’s new in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. This guide includes three parts:
- iOS 15 Features
- iPadOS 15 Features
- How to Install the iOS 15 Developer Beta
iOS 15 Features
SharePlay
Real-time connection with your friends and family. SharePlay allows you to enjoy movies & music and chat with others on your FaceTime calls at the same time.
Spatial audio
Create a sound field in which conversations are delivered as naturally as face-to-face ones.
Mic modes
The voice isolation mode blocks out background noises and spotlights your voice. When the ambient sound is as important as what you say, Wide Spectrum mode helps you keep it available.
Grid view
Grid view shows people in your Group FaceTime calls in the same-size tiles and automatically highlights who is talking.
Invite anyone to your FaceTime
For the connection with your friends and family on FaceTime, now you can send them a web link. They can join you for FaceTime calls even if they're using Windows or Android.
Focus
Focus helps you stay in the moment when you need it.
You can choose from a list of Focus options available or create a custom Focus, then start your own distraction-free journey.
Notification design
Notifications have a fresh new look to make it easier to be identified, for example, contact photos and larger app icons.
Notification summary
You're kept informed of helpful notifications delivered daily based on the schedule you set. The summary is intelligently shown, with the most relevant ones appearing at the top.
Live Text
Live Text unlocks information in photos, so you can make a call, send messages or translate it with just a tap on the text in an image.
Visual Look Up
With Visual Look Up, you can learn more about the objects like art, literature works, animals, or plants shown in a photo. Just tap the button in an image and you will make it.
Interactive and immersive Memories
Swipe through Memory mixes and create a fun movie clip by adding a song to match. You can change the song or add or reduce photos, creating something different.
New driving experience
Maps offer rich road information, such as turn lanes, crosswalks, and so on; street-level perspectives are available as you near complex interchanges, and its new dedicated design allows you to see current traffic conditions at a glance.
Immersive walking instructions
Display the scene in augmented reality and offer step-by-step instructions.
Weather
Full-screen weather maps offer graphical displays of weather data including precipitation, air quality and temperature along with beautifully animated backgrounds, making it more useful than ever.
Health
The updated Health app lets you share any health information with a family member, a new way to stay connected to your family; you can see your loved ones' health metrics like activity, heart rate, and trends in the Sharing tab.
Your sharing with the healthcare team helps them have a more holistic view of your health.
App Privacy Report
It lets you see how apps are using the permissions you've granted them and their contact with the third party in using your information.
Mail Privacy Protection
Help you prevent email senders from knowing your IP address and seeing if you've opened their email.
Wallet
Add your driver's license and state ID to Wallet for TSA checkpoints.
Add keys for your everyday use to Wallet, and your iPhone can unlock your home, your car (for supported car manufacturers), your workplace (for supported corporate offices), your hotel room (at participating hotels).
Notes
Updates in Notes allow you to categorize your notes with tags and work more efficiently with mentions and an Activity view.
Translate
Translation updates enable you to translate text anywhere on your device. Auto Translate and face-to-face view help you follow the conversation.
iCloud Private Relay
Encrypt the traffic leaving your device and ensure all your requests are protected by two separate internet relays, enabling you to browse the web in a private way.
Hide My Email
Allow you to create random email addresses that forward to your personal inbox, so you don't have to use your real email address in filling an online form or registration.
Find My
Find My allows you to see your family and friends' locations with continuous streaming updates. Locate a missing device when powered off itself or by a thief.
iPadOS 15 Features
iPadOS 15 nets almost all the same new features in iOS 15, but it still has some tricks of its own.
Widgets
iPadOS 15 allows you to place widgets among apps on Home Screen; with a new larger widget size, you can see information at a glance. And many widgets are introduced for Find My, Contacts, Game Center, App Store, and Mail.
App Library
The App Library in the Dock can automatically sort your apps into helpful categories like Productivity and Recently Added, keeping your apps organized and saving your time for a certain app.
Multitasking
You can choose a full screen, Slide Over, or Split View with just a tap to help you work on multiple apps at the same time. And the new shelf enables you to switch among all the open windows for an app.
Quick Note
With updates in Quick Note, you can take notes anywhere across the system; tags make it easy to organize notes and find them quickly; mentions can help notify others in your shared notes and a new Activity view manifests updates in the note.
Release Date
According to Apple, iOS 15 will arrive as a public beta in July. Its official release will be in the fall, likely in September. And iPadOS 15 will be rolling out in Fall 2021, probably in September or October.
Compatible with These Devices
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
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 (1st generation)
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPod touch (7th generation)
iPadOS 15
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation)
iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation)
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation)
iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation)
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation)
iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation)
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation)
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation)
iPad Pro 10.5-inch
iPad Pro 9.7-inch
iPad (8th generation)
iPad (7th generation)
iPad (6th generation)
iPad (5th generation)
iPad mini (5th generation)
iPad mini 4
iPad Air (4th generation)
iPad Air (3rd generation)
iPad Air 2
How to Install the iOS 15 Developer Beta
The iOS 15 developer beta has rolled out in Apple's Developers Website. Two things you need to do before the installation:
- Back up your iPhone to iCloud.
- Create a developer's account ($100 fees) if you don't have one.
- How to Install:
1. Log in to the account, go to the "Downloads" page for the targeted beta and then tap the "Allow" button to download the file.
2. Move to the "Setting" on your iPhone, and tap on "Profile Downloaded".
3. Click on the "Install" button.
4. Give your consent to the agreement in the popup and then tap on the "Install" button.
5. Restart your iPhone.
6. Head to Settings> General> Software update, and tap on the "Download and Install" button to download and install the iOS 15 beta to your iPhone.
7. The install is done, and you can go explore the iOS 15 beta.
