[the-facts-machine] IOS 10 Beta Released
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <the-facts-machine@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2016 18:06:13 -0400
BlankApple iOS 10 beta ready for test run by consumers By Ed Baig,
ebaig@xxxxxxxxxxxx, USA TODAY
Apple isn't expected to bring out a new iPhone until September
at the earliest, with the next iPad presumed to follow sometime after. But
Apple
has already unveiled the iOS 10 software that will be at the core of its
latest devices, and as of Thursday has started making a public beta available
for current handsets. Doing so carries the usual risks of any prerelease
software: Your device may run cranky, and certain apps might misbehave. If
you're brave enough to proceed now, back up your current device through iTunes
and then head to https://beta.apple.com/. That's also incidentally where you'll
find the beta for macOS Sierra for Mac computers, which I got a chance
to preview a couple of weeks ago and which Apple is also releasing to the
public
today. The same risks apply. I've been trying out the iOS 10 beta for
a few days on a loaner iPhone from Apple, and as to be expected not all the
promised features -- and there are several -- work properly yet. Some depend
on updates to third party apps that haven't been made available. For example,
Siri might help you get a lift through Lyft, but it requires an upcoming
refresh of the Lyft app. Apple has for the first time opened up Siri to app
developers. Speaking of Siri, when I made a request that it send a message
to myself, it asked me to train it on how to pronounce the "Edward" and the
"Baig. Although some of the latest features, including those in the Messages
and Photos apps, has Apple playing catch-up to rivals, they collectively add a
bunch of enhancements that I think most iPhone and iPad users will like.
Among the highlights: Overall experience. I'll start with the generally more
useful and redesigned lock screen. Swipe to the left and you can summon your
Today view, revealing widgets for such things as the weather, your calendar,
stocks, Siri app suggestions and news headlines. Swipe down and Spotlight
search is also available from here, though you may have to unlock the device to
see the result. For that matter, Spotlight is now available from every
other screen, including from inside apps. You can also wake up an iPhone 6s, 6s
Plus or SE just by picking it up, which is pretty handy. But this raise-to-wake
feature doesn't work, however, on older iPhones or the iPad. (iOS 10
compatibility itself dates to the iPhone 5, sixth generation iPod, and iPad
mini
2,
iPad Air or fourth generation iPad.) Photos. The Photos app can scan your phone
for pictures and videos from an event, say, or trip and automatically place
them into collections called Memories. From my Photos library, the software
automatically generated Memories of a 2011 business trip I took to Japan, and
a 2014 family weekend up in Maine, among others. The software is supposed to
automatically create movies made from one of these Memories, complete with
theme music and transitions, but in beta, I couldn't get such movies to play.
Meanwhile, if you swipe up on a photo, you can see related info for that
image: where it was shot plotted on a map, for example, plus shortcuts to other
photos taken that day or of people and places that somehow relate to the
shot. Apple can also scan your library to recognize people and objects in a
scene, making it easier in theory to search for them later. Maps. Apple has
refined the Maps with such soft touches as displaying the temperature of your
location in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Perhaps more useful
are the quick controls that are a swipe away that make it simpler to search for
gas stations, or places to eat along your route, or that let you adjust
the volume of the voice helping you navigate. If you take advantage of Apple
CarPlay or Bluetooth in your vehicle, the Maps app can now automatically show
your parked location. The real test of Maps will come when I spend more time
seeing how well it does in getting me from place to place. Messages. Here's
where you'll find a lot of the fun stuff coming with the new operating system.
You can draw or mark up photos before you whisk them off, or send messages
with stickers, including some from third-party apps that will be sold through a
dedicated App Store for the iMessages app. You can take advantage of the
Digital Touch feature introduced on Apple Watch, which among other things lets
you share hearts or sketch something in your own handwriting. You can send
messages with bubble effects or make messages disappear entirely until the
recipient (who needs a compatible device) swipes to reveal the underlying
content.
One of my favorite features is the ability to tap certain highlighted words in
a
message you're about to send to replace them with an appropriate emoji,
perhaps a picture of the fruit substituting for the word "banana. There is a
bit
of a learning curve figuring out how to find and exploit all these Messages
features. I'll mention that with iOS 10, Apple has provided fresh designs for
its News and Music apps. In the latter, there's now a "downloads" section
in your library that makes it easier to find the songs that already reside on
your device, useful if you want to listen to something without an Internet
connection. New to iOS 10 is a Home app for controlling lights, locks,
thermostats and other accessories around your house that are compatible with
Apple's
HomeKit technology.
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