WWDC 2021: everything new Apple announced

And while many were expecting a brand new homeOS, that did not actually happen with Apple only announcing a few new features for the Home app instead.

iOS 15: new features

Notification Summary | Focus Modes | App Privacy Report | Updated Weather, Maps, Wallet | Complete overhaul of Safari | Spotlight Search improvements | Facetime gets Portrait mode and link sharing

After last year's big iOS 14 reveal with widgets and the App Library, iOS 15 did not quite feel like an overhaul, but with a big redesign to the way iOS handles notifications, it will be something that will surely affect millions and help users see their important notifications first and filter out less important notifications easier. Plus, Apple being Apple, we now get further improvements and privacy guarantees.

Here is everything new in iOS 15:

Notification settings and Notification Summary

The big change in notification settings in iOS 15 starts from the way notifications look: you will now see a small photo to each notification from a contact plus you get larger icons for apps, so you can easily tell which one is important with just a glance.

Apple also introduces a new feature called Notification Summary, where it groups all your non-essential notifications and instead of seeing them appear in real time and constantly keep you distracted, you will be able to set times when they will appear grouped in this summary.

It's important to know that messages and other important notifications won't be part of that, so you won't miss out on the important stuff. You will be then able to set a time to receive that Notification Summary, you can see it early in the morning or in the evening, whatever you prefer.

The other big change related to notifications is something Apple calls "Focus". This is basically a custom mode with custom settings that will further filter out notifications. You can set a Work Focus when you're at work, or furthermore, you can tell your iPhone to automatically switch to a Fitness Focus when you arrive at your gym location.

Apple showed four pre-set Focus modes as a suggestion: you can have the regular Do Not Disturb mode, a Personal focus mode, a Work focus, and a Sleep focus. And in a typical Apple fashion, all of those Focus modes are supported across devices, so if you set one device, it will sync with all other Apple devices automatically. You will be able to see your current focus icon right on your lockscreen, and it will also appear in the Control Center with more detailed options available in the Settings app.

Last but not least, focus modes will conveniently appear in other apps, so for example if you are in a DND focus, someone writing you in Messages will see that you have notifications silenced currently, so they will know you may not be able to respond immediately. If they have something important, however, there will be a way to ping you that something urgent has come in.

Apple continues the work on privacy that it begun in iOS 14.5 with the new App Privacy Report. This is a one-stop shop where you can see how often apps use the permission you’ve granted them and what external services are these apps communicating with. This way, you can see if a certain app is actually checking your location too often and sending it to other services, and it is a big step towards better transparency of how your personal data is getting used.

Three of the signature iOS apps are getting a big redesign in iOS 15.

The Weather app in iOS 15 is getting more powerful with new and prettier layouts that change depending on conditions and come with improved graphics. These completely redesigned gorgeous backgrounds will now more accurately represent sun position and precipitation. Plus, you get a hourly updates on precipitation and current conditions, as well as a new, full screen maps and radar view with air quality information.

The Maps app is getting another big update with more details for many major cities in the US, but probably even more importantly with a closer look while driving with a 3D visualization of complex intersection and information for drivers that can now see and understand lanes, and see bus and taxi lanes as well right on their screen. You also get big improvements for transit riders that make it easier to find nearby stations, and also keep track of your journey on your Apple Watch, plus reminders to disembark when you get close to your destination. This update is also coming to CarPlay later this year.

Finally, the Wallet app is getting a cool new feature: you will be able to use to unlock your home and this will work with major brands of smart locks. Neat!

Apple is leveraging the power of machine learning to give you a way more detailed spotlight search.

Now, contacts are getting a much more detailed view where you can see recent messages, shared files and photos, and other information.

Apple is improving the Health app with new features and you can now see the health data of a kid or an aging parent, and get a notification if a dangerous condition like an elevated heart rate appears, so you can give them a call right away.

Also, a new Walking Steadiness feature uses the data from sensors on an iPhone to determine whether the gate of an elderly person is worsening. This data could be essential in starting an exercise program and prevent a fall in the future.

FaceTime is getting a big overhaul in iOS 15 with a bunch of new features.

First, in calls Apple brings a feature called Spatial Audio that makes voices sound more natural and spread out as if coming from a real room. Another new features Voice Isolation blocks out ambient noise and prioritizes your voice for those noisy environments, and if you want all sound to come you can enable another mode called Wide Spectrum, where it picks up your voice AND everything around you.

You get a new Grid View in video, where people appear in a same size tile, so you can view everyone easily.

Our personal favorite however has got to be portrait mode in calls, where your background gets blurred much like in the Portrait Mode in the camera app.

Also, you can now schedule your FaceTime calls: you can generate a link and then send the link via message, WhatsApp, or even make an event so everyone know where and when. And yes, users with Windows and Android can also join in calls via a web interface.

Finally, you can also now share music or videos via FaceTime with SharePlay. For example, as you talk about a new album, while you are on a call, you can open Apple Music and play the music and everyone on the call will start hearing high-quality music from their app. You can do the same with a streaming app, and you also get a picture-in-picture mode and screen sharing so you can play tech support for your parents for example.

iMessage

Is iMessage coming to Android? Nope, not really. But you probably shouldn't have hoped for that in the first place.