Today is the day. Apple has released iOS 15, iPadOS 15, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15. Apple’s servers will probably be slammed with all the traffic, and there may be first-day bugs. If you’re the sort who installs new operating systems right away, go ahead—the betas have been pretty stable—but we recommend that most people wait at least a week or two. If you’re particularly upgrade-shy, Apple for the first time is allowing users to stick with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, which will continue to receive security updates. Nevertheless, we always recommend upgrading eventually, when it’s convenient and sensible for you.
So it is with iOS 15, a release that appears with at least one of its most touted features, SharePlay, delayed until later this year, and another impressive piece of functionality—Universal Control—demoed but never even present in the betas. What’s left is a hodgepodge of interesting ideas and occasionally misguided attempts to prescribe how people should use their mobile devices. It’s an update that’s got a lot to recommend it, but that’s simultaneously tough to recommend, if only because it’s difficult to point to a single big feature that will make a huge difference in the life of the average user.
As the saying goes, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it, and 15 versions in, there’s not a lot left in iOS that needs to be fixed. There’s almost certainly going to be bigger iOS updates in the future, massive platform changes like iOS 7 or macOS High Sierra that rethink what the iPhone looks like and works like.
But those inflection points are few and far between, and the future of iOS updates will probably look more like iOS 15: smaller and subtler.
I don’t begrudge Apple for shipping OS updates that are smaller in scope and focused on quality-of-life improvements.
The time for big, bold new versions of iOS and iPadOS will come again. Until then, let’s cherish what we have; iOS and iPadOS 15 are solid, stable updates I recommend installing today.
I’ll take my Quick Notes window, my Globe-key shortcuts, and my multitasking indicator, and I’ll like them. But I want more, and iPadOS is just not ready to deliver it.
Apple has released an update for Safari in Big Sur and Catalina, bringing it to version 15.0. This brings some of the new features coming in Monterey, including tab groups, redesigned tabs, a compact tab bar option, and automatic switching from HTTP connections to HTTPS where they’re available.
With today's update, iMovie nets support for importing and editing video captured in Cinematic mode on iPhone 13. Users can add, adjust and delete focus points in Cinematic mode footage to change the depth of field effect created by the feature.
With iOS and iPadOS 15, Apple allows Safari extensions developers to release their previously exclusive Safari for Mac extensions to the iPhone and iPad, allowing users to use extensions on all of their devices. 1Password was one of the first to tease support earlier in June, and with its latest App Store update today, it’s bringing it to all users.
Headlining the release are themes and SF icon sets to further customize your experience, XL iPad widgets including forecast and maps, time-sensitive and critical Notifications, and much more.
Once a song has been identified, djay instantly loads it onto the virtual decks and plays the audio in sync with the external music source. The app’s Automix feature can then create a mix with similar tracks. djay also saves previously identified songs to users’ Shazam history in Control Center on iOS 15.
I've installed iPadOS 15 on my iPad. The iPad is still working. No first-day bugs that bricked my device or anything. Everything is fine.
I was surprised to find the little "x" close button moved from the left to the right in Safari. Even though, yes, I've read about it already.
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Thanks for reading.