One Week with Apple iOS 12 – The Better Beta!

Like many Apple enthusiasts (aka Apple geeks), I'm enrolled in the beta program for pre-flights of the new iOS iterations before they land on the devices of general users. Think of it as being a test dummy.

It's been almost a full week since Apple released the public beta of iOS 12, but developers have had it in their orange-dusted, Cheetos-stained hands for a bit longer, so what we have now is a bit more refined and stable.

Downloading and installing a beta iOS to your phone can be scary.  

Beta versions are infamous for being awkward and unpredictable—recall Phoebe Buffay jogging through Central Park.  

Therefore, if you use your iPhone extensively for business (or if it's owned by your company), I highly discourage against installing a beta.  But if you have a secondary phone, I say go for it, Oliver Warbucks!

(following observations of iOS 12.0 beta running on an iPhone X)

STABILITY

The first beta version of iOS 12 is incredibly stable and bug-free.  In my first week of testing, I've experienced very few glitches—not too much different than I would experience from a non-beta iOS version.  This iOS gets a firm A+ for stability as a beta version.

RESPONSIVE

The new iOS 12 is noticeably more responsive, agile and sprightly. I was already impressed with the speed of the iPhone X compared to my old iPhone 6, but iOS 12 certainly pushes it to a whole "nother level".

I'm confident that new benchmark tests will show that it's the zippiest OS on the market. Android, prepare to take a bow to your Apple overlords. 

FACIAL RECOGNITION

Speaking of speed and responsiveness, the facial recognition system also improved impressively. I will admit that the iPhone X experienced some lagging with facial recognition, initially. But now, it's blazingly quick and accurate, to the point that I rarely realize it's happening anymore—it just works, like witchcraft (Glinda the Good Witch kind of witchcraft).

With so many apps gearing their logins toward facial recognition, this has become a huge time saver. My attempt to snap a screenshot of my TD Ameritrade login via facial recognition proved tricky because it was quicker than my trigger finger.

SIRI IMPROVEMENTS

Siri has improved in functionality too.  You can now assign certain tasks to Siri by just setting up a recorded phrase, such as "Take me to the gym", to bring up the quickest path to your gym from your current location. Of course, you could also shorten that phrase to just "gym" or "tidally winks"...

…it's all up to you and your imaginaiton.

Currently, you can assign Siri tasks only that are native to iOS, which are the Apple apps for Maps, Notes, Mail, Calendar, etc.… I expect that third-party app developers will be encouraged to include this functionality once the official iOS rolls out.

Siri also has more functionality from the search menu on your home screen. She will now also show tasks that you might want to accomplish based upon your recent actions. Such as, if you just copied a phone number, she might suggest calling the number or to add it to your contacts. 

She might also suggest opening a note that you most recently viewed, or even remind you to return a phone call or a text message.  Siri has upped her game!

MESSAGING

The world seems to revolve around instant messaging nowadays.  That fact has not been lost on Apple, as they continue to refine Messages. One noticeable new improvement is the inclusion of the Photos button as a widget/app at the bottom of your messaging screen.  No longer do you have to select the camera button, then scroll to find your Photo tabs. Thank you, Apple!

Now, when you click on the camera button from within Messages, in addition, to be taken to your camera, you'll have access to a selection of widgets/apps for adding animojis, stickers text, and special effects to your photos, and God knows what else.  This only happens when you use the camera within Messages, and not when you use the camera from the home screen. 

Of course, there are more animoji's included in iOS 12.  You can even create your own face as an animoji, although I found that the facial traits needed more variety—perhaps in the final version.   

GROUPED NOTIFICATIONS

Apple has direly needed grouped notifications for a long while.  The new iOS 12 finally brings this time-saver to the iPhone.  No longer will your lock screen be littered with various notifications scattered about like the cluttered floor of a teenage boy's bedroom. 

All of your email notifications will be grouped together and then expandable and viewable, one by one. The same goes for messages, Facebook, Twitter and all those darn CNN alerts (and everything else on your phone).  It's like the Container Store came to help tidy up, and put everything in it's place, and place for everything!

OTHER COOL BEANS!

When the iPhone X was first released, we had to acclimate to new gestures (sans home button), but one of the most problematic gestures was having to press-hold on an app in the app-switcher to evoke the mode to close apps (swiping up to close).  Well, Apple has heard our plight.  

You can now simply swipe up on an app in the app-switcher to close it. Hallelujah!  

Now, let's figure out how to improve access to the control center—still not changed in iOS.

The Photos app gets a makeover and has become easier to navigate, with more left to right movements, instead of up and down.  A new Sharing Suggestion will be sure to catch the eye of all the socialites.  

Photos are also arranged, secondarily, at the bottom of the Photos app within familiar categories, such as Selfies, Portrait, and Screenshots.

A new VR (Virtual Reality) measuring app is included— called Measure. Simply point and tap on nearby objects to get dimensions or tap on certain points to measure specific lengths. A handy leveler is also part of the Measure app. I even tried measuring people at Starbucks—followed by odd glances.   

You can now wake up with a greeting and weather forecast on your lock screen.  Some people feel that this weather widget would be great to have all the time, but it's currently evoked only when coming out of "do not disturb" mode with "bedtime" activated and with Weather activated for background refresh, and with a unicorn farting rainbow Skittles. 

{ See the top of page for a rare and unusual siting of the lock screen greeting weather }

Wow!  So many steps for a simple "Good Morning, It's Freakin' Hot Outside!", which you'll see only once a day. 

There's also the much-touted Screen Time setting, in which you can limit, or at least view your usage of the iPhone.  You can schedule a certain time to be downtime or add time limits for using certain apps. 

I prefer to live like a rascal, with no limits, but I understand that many people feel compelled to quantify everything—if you must.

I suspect that most people will find it useful for limiting the time that their children spend on social media, or whatever the cool kids are doing nowadays—Let's go with Fortnite.

TAKEAWAYS

My "takeaway" is that iOS 12 is a substantial improvement in speed, agility, and usability.

The cosmetic improvements take backseat to the re-tooled, and well-oiled engine behind the new OS.

If you have an iPhone on which you're comfortable testing a beta version, I can assure you that it's completely safe and stable—at least 95% stable (my opinion).  

Otherwise, you'll have something to look forward to in September, when the final version is released. Either way you choose, you can't lose!

Note: No unicorns or witches were harmed in writing this article, but Glinda is a freak for rainbow Skittles.