Top 13 Un-Noticed iOS 13 Features Worth Knowing

Apple hints iOS 13.2 launching before Oct. 30 | Cult of Mac

Just like everyone out there right now, you must be all confused about what Apple is trying to pull off with launching various updates back-to-back. First, it was iOS 13.1 and just when we expected iOS 13.2, we unanticipatedly got iOS 13.1.2 instead and that too followed by iOS 1.1.3.But now, iOS13.2 has finally arrived. Phew! iOS 13.2 version has come with its own advantages, for example – added support for Deep Fusion camera stick in iPhone 11, new AirPods Pro, several new emojis, and last but not least, all the core features of iOS 13.

Now, let’s discuss the thing you came here for in the first place – Hidden (or sidelined) features that Apple did not officially announce but are really cool and much needed indeed. Because, isn’t it the small things that make a great experience?

Excited? We are too! So here are the best 13 features of iOS 13 and iOS 13.2 (Do you see the symmetry here? It’s uncanny or rather co-incidental.)

Top 13 Un-Noticed iOS 13 Features Worth Knowing

1. New Scroll Bar in Safari

Always Show Scroll Bars in Mac OS X | OSXDaily

If you always wished for scrolling in Safari to get easier and faster, then your wish has come true after all. You will now encounter a scroll bar in the Safari on the right side when scrolling a webpage. You can use it to scroll faster by long-pressing on it and drag it up or down, however you want to scroll.

2. Optimized Battery Charging Process

How to Enable or Disable Optimized Battery Charging on Your iPhone

One of the most challenging things so far with iPhones is to retain their battery efficiency. What damages the batteries most is the over-charging. Leaving your iPhone on charging overnight really aggravates this problem to which iOS 13.2 gives a simple solution.

Go to ‘Settings’, followed by ‘Battery’ and then ‘Battery Health’ and turn on the feature Optimized Battery Charging. This will keep your phone overnight to the level of 80% maximum and then complete the rest 20% charging when your alarm goes off. Apple evidently has really gone creative with this feature.

3. Search option in iMessage

How to Search for and Find Text Messages on an iPhone

The search functionality in the iMessage was ironically wasn’t functional enough. It was really trying to search for anything in the iMessage app and the results were just not satisfying. But thankfully, you do not have to bear that anymore.

It is easy now to search for any phrase or a single word and can get instant legitimate results. Just swipe down in the iMessage  app to reveal this search tab and you are good to go.

4. Scanning documents in Files app

How to Scan Documents with Files App on iPhone & iPad | OSXDaily

The Files app has been revamped for good. What is interesting is that it now allows the scanning of the documents within the app and instantly lets you save it on the cloud storage and device as well. You can scan multiple documents into one PDF and then save it or even import it to another application. Here is how you do it:

  • Go to the File app and open it
  • Choose the ‘Browse’ tab and click on the three-dot icon placed in the top right corner.
  • Scan the documents by placing your iPhone or iPad over the document and it would do everything on its own.

Quite effortless, right?

5. Revamped Volume Indicator

iOS 13 leak reveals Apple's plans for new volume indicator

iPhone users were pretty annoyed with the old volume indicator, especially when viewing videos as the indicator used to hog the screen whenever they adjusted the device’s volume. Well, guess what? Apple actually looked into it and resolved the issue. Yes! The new volume indicator is much more concise (turns into a thin line as you gradually adjust the volume) and appears in the top left corner on the device.

Would you want in on our little secret?- You can tap on the indicator and adjust the volume with your fingers! You didn’t see this coming, did you?

6. Voice Search

4 Reasons Why We Need Voice Search Analytics Now

Well, Siri has a lot more work to do now since searching iPhone with the voice is added to the features list, smooth right?

Wherever there was a search bar in Apple apps, now you would also see a microphone in the corner. So, simply speak your query and ‘thy will be done’.

You can use this feature in applications such as Mail, Messages, Settings, and  Today View.

7. Location optional in Photos sharing

10 best location sharing apps for Android - Android Authority

If you were finding out ways around stripping your photos from its location information before sharing it, then just stop right there; Apple has done it for you. You can erase geolocation and other information related to photos. Here is how you do it:

  • Select a Photo/Photos in the Photos app
  • Click in the ‘options’ at the top and choose the option ‘Location’ and turn it off in the section ‘Include’.

8. Deleting apps directly from the update screen

iOS 14: How to make sense of the new way to delete apps - CNET

We all are guilty of being lazy in deleting applications we no longer use and then cry about the storage problem. Well, this can’t go on any longer because Apple is practically serving this process on a plate.

It is possible now to delete any application from the update screen. All you need to do is just swipe left and then select the ‘Delete’ option twice and Voila! You now have more space in your device.

9. Dual-SIM support for iMessage and FaceTime

Using Dual SIM with an eSIM - Apple Support

After hard cries of Apple users to have the Dual-SIM functionality, they finally got it in iPhone XS and XS Max. But, the problem was that only one SIM card could be used with the iMessage and FaceTime app, which was not acceptable to the users when they are paying big bucks (sounds fair).

However, with the introduction of iOS 13, it is possible to use both SIM cards in both applications.

10. Eliminate apps size restrictions from Cellular Data

How To Stop Using Up All of Your Mobile Data Each Month | WIRED

It was not possible before to download any application that exceeds the Cellular Data limit, which was not a pretty situation to be in. But now, with the iOS 13.2 update, you can download even the applications that are as heavy as a gigabyte.

To enable this feature:

  • Navigate to the ‘Settings’ option
  • Then, go to ‘iTunes & App Store’ followed by ‘App Downloads’ and turn off that limitation.

11. Mouse support to control the iPhone or iPad

Here's how mouse support could change the way you use your iPad - The Verge

It is now possible to use a mouse for using your iPhone or iPad (you will need a getting used to it because there is no typical mouse pointer). It has a cursor that kind of imitates the touch of your fingers. You can also assign shortcuts for some functions like going back to the home screen.

To use this feature, do the following:

  •  Go to Settings followed by Accessibility
  • Then select Touch and then Assistive Touch and turn it on
  • After that select Pointing Devices and customize it according to you.

12. Long screenshots (Finally!)

Google will finally be launching the overdue scrolling screenshot feature in Android 12 / Digital Information World

This is something that was really in demand by the users or hoped for. Well, better late than never, right?

You can now easily take screenshots of the whole web pages or any other documents that you had to divide into parts before and then take a screenshot.

All you have to do is open the Safari app and then take a screenshot of any website and select the ‘Full Page’ option. It will turn the screenshot into a PDF file which can be edited later.

Besides safari, this feature works in applications like Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Apple Maps, and Mail.

13. Safari Download Manager

How to use the Safari Download Manager on iOS

It is now possible to download files when you are using the Safari app on an iPhone and iPad device. The icon of the ‘Download manager’ will not show up until you have a download in progress, or recently downloaded something. The download will automatically get saved into the Downloads folder in the iCloud, that can be accessed in the Files application.

Looking at this long list, we have a feeling that iOS 13 is becoming a huge hit among Apple users. What is more, it is impossible for the app development companies not to see the opportunities in these improvements and create applications that enhance the overall user experience.

Here Is How You Can Prepare Your App for iOS 14 Update

All About Apple iOS 14 Update - Overview and Features

Set to release in the fall of 2020, iOS 14 was announced in the June of 2020 with a slew of changes and a series of groundbreaking announcements. Like clockwork, Apple comes with a multitude of industry transforming OS additions devised to make app experiences immersive, secure, and easy. But this time around, Apple has taken it up a notch with changes that would affect how advertisers target users.

While there are significant changes you’ll have to do to make the app UI ready like implement dark mode along with taking care of how to apply scene delegate, and modal presentation; in this article, we are going to look into how to get an app ready for iOS 14, especially in a way that it won’t gravely affect the app marketing efforts.

But before we head on to the part, let us recap the iOS 14 features.

List of iOS 14 Features 

1.  Home screen with an app library

How to use the iPhone App Library in iOS 14 - 9to5Mac

Apple is changing the home screen with iOS 14. Users will be able to remove the applications from the screen or even remove the screens. The apps also stay in the App Library which is one swipe away from the final home screen.

App library groups all the apps in big folders which shows the recently used apps. It even enables the users to search for apps in the search box placed at the top of the screen. The folders are also automatically organized according to Health and Fitness, Social, etc.

2.  Overhauled widget experience

How to Use iOS 14 Widgets | Add Widgets to iPhone Home Screen

Widgets have been an integral part of the iOS ecosystem for a very long time but only at the backdrop as a vertical list of full-width boxes.

With iOS 14 the tech giant is changing the widgets experience. They are now designed to have a bunch of new sizes and with more information. Above all, they can be dragged to the home screen.

3.  Picture-in picture mode

How to use Picture-in-Picture Mode in Android 8.0 Oreo | Digital Trends

PIP mode is finally coming to the iPhone with the iOS 14 version. When making a FaceTime call or watching a video, you can easily swipe back to the home screen while the video or call screen will continue to appear on the screen.

The users can even move the box around the screen or simply swipe it aside to make the tab little.

4.  App clips

Configure and link your app clips | WWDC Notes

Taking inspiration from Google yet again, especially after Tim Cook agreed to relying on Google Search, Apple has launched App Clips with iOS 14. These are micro parts of the applications that enable users to use parts of apps without downloading, installing or signing up to the app to perform the tasks.

iPhone app developers create App Clips ensuring that the experience is under 10 MB. They are also encouraged by Apple to use the Apple Pay and Sign In with Apple facility to prevent users from creating or logging in the application. With the ability of getting triggered through maps, web, messages, QR codes, and NFC tags App clips can help businesses acquire new customers.

5.  Substantial privacy tweaks

The Complete Guide to Facebook Privacy Settings - Techlicious

Apple has always maintained a leg up in the Android vs iOS security faceoff and with iOS 14, the list of privacy features have been expanded.

Users can give the apps details of their approximate location instead of exact location. Additionally, when an application asks for photos, you can select to share specific photos instead of the complete library.

Taking privacy up a notch, iOS 14 update will show a green dot in the status when an application is accessing your camera and an amber dot when an application is accessing your microphone.

6.  Apple Arcade updations

Apple Arcade just got a huge update of new games, including some mobile classics - The Verge

It was only a while back when Apple Arcade was launched as a means to transform the gaming industry. With iOS 14, Apple is showing users games their Game Center friends are playing, accessing the recent games played, and making it easy to find and sort the Arcade games.

7.  Expansive ARKit 4 tools

Explore ARKit 4 - WWDC 2020 - Videos - Apple Developer

Apple is expanding AR tools for every iphone app development company with ARKit 4. Launched with iOS 11, the tools now enable developers to place Location Anchors to make AR objects occupy a place in the real world. Additionally, a device with A12 Bionic chip can perform facial tracking with a front camera even when it’s not a TrueDepth module.

They have also introduced a Depth API for iOS app developers to develop 3D mesh environments on iPad Pro having a LiDAR scanner.

Along with the above mentioned list of features, the process of getting an app ready for iOS 14 calls for an ios app development company to notify the users if the application is collecting a unique device code known as IDFA. The IDFA is a randomly generated code which Apple assigns to every device. The applications then use the codes for tying together the user activity.

Here’s an example of this in works: Through Facebook, a shopping app and weather app might access the identifier. The platform then uses the cross-app data for placing targeted ads for the advertisers in the app.

Facebook warned against the impact that the update would carry on how businesses promote themselves and monetize their advertisements. Facebook added, saying, “Because of advertisers’ reduced ability to accurately target and measure their campaigns, app developers and publishers should expect lower CPMs [i.e., views of their ads] on Audience Network and likely other ad networks on iOS.”

Let us dissect how iOS 14 would affect ad targeting in greater details.

How Will iOS 14 Changes Affect Mobile Marketing & What Can You Do About It?

By giving users the choice to opt-in IDFA, Apple has made it extremely difficult for businesses to make personalized advertisements. The event is even giving brands second thoughts on whether or not to migrate apps to iOS 14.

For the users who don’t opt for tracking, IDFA will return 0s, making the process useless. Ona  default mode, a user will be opted out right when they launch the app. Once they get the notification, they can decide to either opt-in or confirm opt-out on an app to app basis.

Several advertisement types like exclusion targeting, retargeting, segmentation, and lookalike audiences presently depend on the IDFA so this change will carry a deep impact on user acquisition and ad monetization.

Here’s how businesses can get their app ready for iOS 14 to take control of the opt-in IDFA update situation.

1.  Review present IDFA use

It is important for the advertisers to do a complete internal review of the present IDFA usage. There are a few things that you should ask your iOS application development agency to look at:

  • Look into the SDKs which are calling the IDFA, ensuring that you talk to the SDK providers if they have a solution for the IDFA requests.
  • Prepare and plan version release with updated SDKs.

2.  Prepare for consent

Gaining user content should be your next priority task. If the users opt-in, you would be able to return to the pre-iOS 14 stage with a greater competitive advantage of high consent rates. In fact, now would be the best time to get on the activity. You can:

  • Run test on user consent mechanic for existing and new users across apps. By getting on the task before the iOS 14 launch will allow you the space to run multiple design and content iteration of the pop-up.
  • You can do A/B testing on when to trigger the pop-up. The best bet would be to trigger it when the users have finished a specific activity in the app.
  • You can use an internal prompt in place of Apple’s pop-up. When a user says “yes” to the application’s internal prompt, the app can still prompt the users and then deep link them in the settings menu of the device to enable tracking in the app.

3.  Relook your BI stack

Your BI stack should be prepared for both consent and no consent situations. You should look into:

  • Which data sets are linked together for analytics and figure out a way to stitch them together once iOS 14 is released. We suggest our partners focus on the ADID, IDFV, and UserID.
  • While the apps working minus IDFA would be able to place the contextual ads, they will not be able to use personalized ads. Knowing their worth, we would recommend brands to run multiple scenario analysis of Plan Bs and Plan Cs if the ad revenue drops.

Besides these three preparatory steps, you should also consult with your app marketing partner about the updated ways on how to perform user acquisition and revisit the ways that can be adopted to increase the numeric value of the answer to how much money you can earn through an app.

Apple Benefitting Small Businesses-How?

Apple could release the Apple Card during the first half of August | TechCrunch

From barter systems and centralized banks to digital banking institutions; there are still many marvels of technology the Fintech domain is yet to behold. Since the inception of digital wallets and digital transactions in general, many curious startups and companies have come forward to contribute their innovative share of amazingness, including the financial domain. And Apple, being a pioneer and the epitome of inventions, has yet again swept the world off its feet.

From the first touchscreen iPhones to Macs, they have been killing every game it enters. And to the dismay of traditional financial providers, it has now unleashed its financial products “Apple Pay” and “Apple Card” to capture this market as well.

It seems like they had it planned long ago – to offer all the services to the users at one place – their iPhone.

Apple Pay released back in 2014, is now followed by Apple Card that was released only in August 2019.

So, while the debate of how these products benefit users has been doing the rounds, it will be interesting to speculate its positive effects on businesses around the world. More specifically, what will businesses gain by integrating Apple Card and Apple Pay into their mobility solutions?

The fact that experts believe 90% of the smartphone users will land on mobile payment method by the end of this year, is enough for startups and businesses that have invested in mobile app development to rethink about more payment gateways, Apple Credit Card integrated into Apple Pay being one of them.

Since they have not officially shared its views in this direction, we take it upon ourselves to unravel the truth.

Let’s cover the whole ground starting from the basics and then work our way up to the crux of the discussion – How is Apple Credit Card/Apple Pay for small businesses an asset to cherish. After all, one must have crucial information about the product before taking dynamic decisions.

What is an Apple Card and how it works?

Apple Card rollout starts today, first invites being sent out to users - 9to5Mac

“There’s never been a credit card this smart” – Apple

Apple Credit Card, or simply Apple Card is like any other credit card (digital and physical) only better. This product is a result of the collaboration between Apple and Goldman Sachs.

For users, they first need to apply for an Apple Credit Card via the Wallet app. It only takes a few days in approval. This digital card can be used to make payments across multiple platforms. To apply for this Credit Card’s physical version, the process remains the same.

Apple Card “practically lives on your iPhone” and “lets you do things you simply couldn’t do before” – What does this mean? You must be wondering.

Well, the reason why this product has bagged such hype in many such Credit Card reviews, is all due to its brilliant money management feature of the whole experience. Although most of the credit cards now show transactions and other important numbers, Apple Cards exceeds those common expectations.

The card can be managed with the help of the Wallet app, which is also used for applying for the card. It gives users updated data on their spending patterns and helps them track. The Apple team yet again did it differently. The app color-codes recurring items you spend on and can track your weekly or monthly transactions with respect to locations they were transacted at.

What are Apple Credit Card benefits?

These benefits will give a clear idea of why users are using Apple Cards to such a great extent and why many small businesses are integrating it into their products.

Security

Security Policy

If there is one thing that they hailed for is, you know, security. Be it the security of its hardware devices or software. This is something that also stands true for the Apple Card and Pay. Apple Pay purchases are highly secure.

When signing up for an Apple Credit Card for your small business, you will be provided with a unique number in real-time which gets stored in the secure element of your iPhone. So, that code is needed whenever a purchase takes place along with a dynamically generated transaction ID. Further things that may require are Face ID.

Moreover, one of the best Apple Credit Card benefits is that the company keeps all the data private by prohibiting Goldman Sachs from sharing or selling the data.

Apple says “No fees”

Apple Card: All the Details on Apple's Credit Card - MacRumors

The reason why Apple Card poses as an ideal choice for small business financing and personal use, of course, is it’s free. Yes, there are no Apple credit card fees whatsoever. No foreign transaction, annual, late, etc. charges are imposed on cardholders – something that your business can benefit from since users would be more inclined to use this option.

And one more fact that may skyrocket the popularity of their card after the COVID-19 pandemic is that the company had offered temporary relief for payments for March and April to its users.

Apple Card Cash-back rewards

5 Best WooCommerce Points and Rewards Plugins

It is not a new concept. Nevertheless, Apple has still managed to leave its watermark. Their Card rewards users 1% cashback on everything to users on Apple Card payment and 2% if they use Apple Pay.

Maps of purchased made

Apple Maps turn-by-turn directions now available in India - 9to5Mac

Pretty much the most interesting Apple Credit Card benefit is it allows users to see on the map where they made the purchase, no merchant codes, only the store name on the map. This eliminates the problem that credit cards often showed minimal location information, up until now. Something that banks can learn a lot from.

How does Apple Card help businesses?

Online transaction is the new black

Black Woman Making Online Transaction On Sofa by azhorov | VideoHive

If you own an E-commerce/M-Commerce business, then your business model relies on online sales. Here, Apple Pay for small businesses is a must-grab deal. Users can easily pay for their purchases with their Apple Card using Apple Pay -something that can help avoid the abandoned cart situation.

Without restricting to the commerce domain, thier card as a payment option will work wonders for gaming applications, subscription-based applications such as entertainment and music, and of course on-demand mobility solutions, just to name a few.

Security that sprouts user trust 

Line art,Font,Coloring book,Icon,Symbol,Smile #150615 - Free Icon Library

As we have discussed above, Apple Pay is a trusted and highly secure medium to perform online transactions. Allowing users to use Apple Card for your business will terminate any trust issues or any unfavorable preconceived notions they might have.

And to be forward, this is not just a one-time thing, rather it has the potential to turn your one-time user/customer into a loyal one. The security promise is not just a point of relief to users but also the businesses, imparting assurance of protected transactions.

Must-have to target younger demographics

Best Ways to Target Your Audience Online by Age | Informatics Inc.

As we are rolling towards the concept of a cashless economy, a majority of the participants in this notion are believed to be the millennials and younger demographic.

Since the iPhone is indisputably the most popular smartphone among younger audiences, integrating Apple Card via Apple Pay into your mobile app might just be the push towards the success you were lacking. Moreover, offering multiple online payment gateway options will only add to your benefit. If you skip on this opportunity, there is a high probability of your probable customers going to your alternatives.

Cashback rewards = increased sales

One of the benefits of Apple Card for businesses (indirectly) is the cashback rewards to the users. Since it offers a fair percentage of cashback on transactions made through Apple Card (via Apple Pay), this will encourage users to purchase from your mobile application or business if you have this option to offer.

Conversion boost

The advantages of streamlined and easy transactions ripple down to many deeper levels. One of them being increased conversion rates. Consequently, as your sales graphs rise upwards, your short and long-term profits will definitely take off too.

After all, the mantra for businesses is to offer what’s in demand, and this is, without a doubt,  something of a need of the hour. In fact, according to a few industry experts, we might move on from cash and physical cards completely by 2030. Better start catching up, right?

Mobile applications using Apple Card via Apple pay

I have figured that having examples always helps in making an informed decision. So, here are a few renowned companies that identified the opportunities Apple Card has to offer and integrated it into their mobile applications.

Nike

Nike. Just Do It. Nike.com

The company has integrated the Apple Card as a payment method in its Nike app, Nike.com, SNKRS, Nike Training Club, and so on. The move is the brand’s another step towards bettering customer experience – one that was strengthened with Nike’s acquisition of Celect for predicting users’ shopping behaviour.

T-mobile

T-Mobile Review | Pricing, Deals, Network Coverage & Speeds

T-mobile is a mobile communication subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG. The company has enabled Apple Pay and payment through their card on its mobile app as well as website.

Uber 

Why Is My Uber Account Disabled? What You Need to Know

Uber is a company that placed the on-demand model on the map. From ride-sharing to rental helicopter services to establishing JUMP, a rental e-scooter service, Uber has captured various domains. It has also incorporated Apple Card into its Uber mobile application and web apps

UberEats

Top 5 Uber Eats alternatives | The JotForm Blog

Another extended effort of Uber to capture the on-demand food delivery market, UberEats was invented. And guess what? This application is also using an Apply Card as a medium of payments.

{Also read: How Much Does it Cost to Build a Food-Delivery App like UberEats or GrubHub?}

Walgreens

JPM21: Walgreens announces creation of new tech startup aimed at developing comprehensive patient platform | FierceHealthcare

Walgreens is one of the largest US-based pharmacy chains. To cater better services to its users via its mobile app and website, the company offers the option to pay via their card using the their Pay app.

Let us  help you integrate Apple Card into your app

This section is creative to give you a brief overview of Anteelo’s process for integrating payment gateways like Apple Pay and Card into existing applications.

To offer excellent mobile payment experience in iOS apps, we use Stripe iOS SDK. It is a great tool known for its impeccable features like rich UI elements, powerful, protected interface, and customization.

The process is as follows –

  1. We start by installing and configuring the SDK. The tools that we employ and are supported by Stripe are CocoaPods, Carthage, Fabric, Dynamic Framework, and Static Framework.
  2. The next step involves configuring Stripe integration in the App Delegate. To configure our Stripe API keys, we use programming languages like Swift (which is the official language for iOS) and Objective, which is considered the next best.

Although this was just a sneak peek into the diligent efforts our team invests in the process. We test rigorously to make sure the application is performing its best with the new integrations.

If you want to know the cost of integrating this Card into your app, I suggest you browse through our detailed article – Payment Gateway Integration: The Process and What’s Next.

After discussing everything, it is pretty clear to see the opportunities that any business can grab for the long term just by adding this simple service into their business model. As we are leaning towards a cashless world, it’s better to at least keep up with the pace, if not staying ahead of the curve.

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