iOS 13: everything you need to know

Announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference – WWDC in San Jose, California on 3 June 2019, we got the first, tantalising glimpse of what iOS 13 has in store for Apple fans. And trust us, you don’t want to miss out on this update.

You can check out the full keynote here.

So, what’s new?

iOS 13 will be available from 19 September 2019.

If you’re hanging on to an older iPhone, this update will be available on all phones from iPhone 6s onwards so, you’re not going to miss out.

iOS 13 is going to up your iPhone performance. Apps will launch twice as fast, thanks to download sizes being reduced by 50% and app updates being up to 60% smaller. Face ID has had some updates too – unlocking your phone will be 30% faster than on iOS 12.

Portrait Lighting’s getting an upgrade. You can adjust the light, virtually moving it closer – smoothing skin and brightening eyes or move it further away if you want a more subtle look. There’s also a High-Key Mono effect – a new take on black and white Portrait Mode pics.

There’s new editing tools to make it quicker and easier to perfect all of your shots – including video. That’s right, you can now add filters and effects to video.

That brings us nicely on to the photo app. Using machine learning, it hides away the clutter of duplicates, screenshots, and random pictures of receipts, and lets you focus on your favourite shots.

Your whole library will be organised into days, months, and years – highlighting the best bits, playing your videos and live photos automatically so you can immerse yourself in your favourite moments.

There are updates and new features coming for Reminders, Messages, and Notes too.

With a new look and quick toolbar, it’s easier to keep track of your reminders. You can attach stuff like photos, and if you tag someone, your reminder will pop up the next time you’re texting them.

QuickPath typing is here. This new keyboard feature lets you slide your thumb around the keyboard to type – perfect for one-handed texting.

And the new profile feature gives you control over how you appear when texting. You can share profile info like your name, photo or Memoji automatically with everyone, just your contacts or you can opt to share it once.

And there’s new features for Memoji too – they’re automatically made into sticker packs for you to use in Messages, Mail and third-party apps. You can personalise them even more now too, with hairstyles, accessories, piercings, and make up.

CarPlay lets you make calls, get directions, and listen to music safely in your car. And it’s getting the biggest update ever according to Apple.

It’s got a new look with an updated dashboard where you can see stuff like Music, Maps and upcoming appointments at a glance.

You’ve now got a choice between a light or dark interface too. And you can set it automatically, so it’s light during the day and dark at night.

The Do Not Disturb While Driving mode has been added to CarPlay too, stopping distracting notifications. Siri doesn’t take up the whole screen anymore either, just a small portion at the bottom.

Apple have used neural text to speech technology to make Siri sound more natural than ever before.

It can now play live radio from over 100,000 radio streams from third-party apps too. If you’re listening with AirPods, Siri will read any incoming messages and you can reply too, without needing to pick up your phone.

The security of the personal info stored on your phone is a hot topic and Apple have really focused on this with iOS 13.

Don’t want to share your personal info with new apps or websites? Now you don’t have to. Sign in with Apple authenticates you with Face ID, letting you log in easily and securely without needing to enter in your details.

You can choose to share your real email address or hide it. If you decide to hide it, Apple can generate a random, unique email address that will forward any emails to your genuine email inbox. This feature got a huge cheer at WWDC and we can see why – who doesn’t want more control over their personal info?

Locations services have been improved too and you’ve now got more control over how you share your location with apps. You’ll get more information on when apps are using locations services and Bluetooth data in the background too.

Need to shade your eyes to check your phone at night? Not anymore. iOS 13 is bringing Dark Mode into our lives. This new colour scheme makes everything darker and way easier to see at night.

Fancy a new iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro or iPhone 14 Pro Max to go with that shiny new iOS update? They’re available to buy now on Three.