iOS 15, features and functionalities Subscribe to the Fastweb Digital Magazine newsletter Thank you for subscribing!

After the shock given to the market of smartphones with iOS 14, which has greatly modernized the iPhones making them competitive with Android again, now Apple continues its journey with iOS 15, presented in a preliminary beta version during the WWDC 2021 online event.

The new operating system will be available for download in the fall, for all iPhones starting with the iPhone 6s. Here are the main news.

iOS 15: FaceTime and SharePlay

With iOS 15, Apple greatly enhances the functions of its FaceTime video calling app. Aware of the fact that video calling has definitively left the niche with the boom in smart working, with DaD and with the increase in communications between distant friends and relatives due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apple has decided after 11 years to open the platform also to Windows and Android users.

While FaceTime video calls today were reserved only for Apple users, in fact, in the future even those who use Windows or even Android will be able to join a video call: just send them an invitation, then they can connect with others via a browser. However, video calls, even via the Web, will remain encrypted with end-to-end encryption.

Thanks to SharePlay, however, multiple FaceTime users will be able to do things together remotely. For example, listen to music on Apple Music, or watch a movie or episode of a TV series broadcast on Apple TV +, Disney +, ESPN +, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount +, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch. The playback will be synchronized for all users, who will be able to watch the film together and comment on it live exactly as it is already possible for users of the Netflix, Facebook and other apps.

iOS 15: the functions for concentration

With iOS 15, Apple introduces new features dedicated to users who need to focus on work or on a particular activity. For example, the Concentration function filters notifications based on the content the user has decided to focus on, blocking those that could distract him.

The user is finely studied by the operating system, which sends him Concentration suggestions based on his habits (for example the hours of work or the time he generally goes to sleep). It is also possible to create customized Home screens with specific apps and widgets for concentration.

iOS 15: how notifications change

The new Concentration function is coupled with the new management of notifications, which have also been redesigned from a graphic point of view. Notifications are now grouped into more urgent and less urgent, with the intelligence of the operating system that (again based on the study of user behavior) is able to understand which are priority and which are not.

The notifications deemed most important are shown immediately, as well as the messages that really interest the user.

iOS 15: Live text and new Spotlight

The Live Text feature recognizes handwriting, as well as a phone number on a shop sign. This is a very similar function, to make a comparison with Android, to what Google Lens has already been doing for some years with great effectiveness. Similarly, with Visual Look Up, it is possible to frame a work of art and receive information about it.

All this is connected with the new search functions of Spotlight, which can for example search within the iPhone for a photo based on location, people, objects just like you can do on Google Photos for Android.

iOS 15: the iPhone as a document holder

With iOS 15 a renewed Wallet app also debuts, which now supports more types of keys but also allows (in the United States) the storage of personal documents such as an identity card or driving license.

The use of digital keys instead of physical ones, on the other hand, is now more powerful thanks to the implementation of Ultra Wide Band technology (the same used by the new Apple AirTags).

iOS 15: the new initial setup

Along with iOS 15 comes a new setup service for the initial configuration of the iPhone. Already today it is possible to use iCloud to make a temporary backup in order to switch devices, even if you are not subscribed to a paid iCloud plan.

Those coming from a non-Apple device, on the other hand, can take advantage of a better Switch to iOS function: photos, files, folders, settings will be migrated automatically and at the end of the procedure the user will find himself with an iPhone already largely set .

iOS 15: what changes for privacy

Starting from iOS 14.5, Apple has greatly restricted the possibility, previously granted to iPhone app developers, to collect useful data to uniquely profile the user. iOS 15 does even more, especially with Apple's proprietary apps: for example, all voice recognition and interaction with Siri are now processed directly on the device, without going through the cloud.

The Privacy Report provides an accurate summary of the data that installed apps have access to and allows users to revoke permissions for each individual app. The operating system, on the other hand, to offer the new functions already described collects more data on user behavior.