2 weeks with iOS 12

It has been 2 weeks since Apple released iOS12 to the public. I downloaded it, a day later on 18th September. Here is my take on the OS after 2 weeks usage

iOS12

This was my first major OS update. I was worried a little, but the update turned out to be rather smooth.

Speed

My iPhone 8 is 6 months old.  The 11.4 version, which was running in my phone, did not give me any troubles. Yet, I notice that the iOS12 seemed to have made my phone faster. Instances where I notice the speed bump are scrolling through Twitter feeds & browsing in Safari.

Shortcuts

This is the best feature in iOS12. The ability to combine actions that one does frequently and creating a short cut take iOS experience to a whole new level. However, the full potential of this feature can be realized only when the App developers embrace it completely. For instance, one cannot send a group message in Whatsapp using a shortcut. (The message is sent to the first contact in the group)

Not just App developers, even Apple must allow users to create shortcut, such as controlling notifications on App level, allowing users to join Wi-Fi network, and how about the ability to schedule a shortcut? This will definitely help users get more from their iOS devices. There are already quite a few You Tube videos on shortcuts & even a reddit forum. Check out this interesting shortcut Police.

Screen Time

This is Apple’s attempt to help users moderate their iOS device usage. I wonder how many people reduced their phone usage because of this information. It didn’t help me reduce the phone usage, in fact, I have started using my iPhone more after the OS upgrade. May be the fact that parents can control their kids screen time by setting a time limit, gives validity to this feature.

Measure App

This AR app, helps users measure objects. I tried it a couple of times, that’s it. This is not something one will use on a day-to-day basis.

Stability

I haven’t had any major issues after the OS upgrade. Shortcuts App crashes once a while, when I try to add new short cuts.

Memojis

Another new feature in iOS12. Since I am not using an iPhone X, I cannot comment on this feature.

Battery

I don’t see any drastic changes in Battery usage after OS upgrade. I get more or less the same time (4-4.5 hrs of screen time) on a single charge. I had always wanted detailed battery usage info, which I have got now thanks to this update.

Photos

Apple mentioned the photos App has been improved. I don’t see anything significantly new. For instance, when I search in Photos for tree (I take quite a few Tree pics), the Photos App shows only 3 or 4 photos, when in fact there are more than 20 tree photos in my gallery. For you tab is cool addition, where we can see photos, which the app think are for us 🙂

Notifications

Apple touted the changes in Notification as a big deal during iOS 12 event.  The notifications are grouped (can be done based on App/content) or you can turn off group notifications altogether. We can also manage how notifications be delivered. I don’t get multitude of notifications, so whatever I get looks cool in iOS12.

The auto drive deduction is a cool feature. However, if we notify that “I am not driving” notifications are allowed 🙂

Do Not Disturb is a great new feature. Once it is on, we don’t see notifications in the lock screen. I have found this to be useful, as I used to see my phone whenever I wake up at night and when notifications are there, I invariably scroll through the list at least. With iOS12, I am not seeing my notifications in the middle of the night.

On a whole, this iOS12 is a worthy update. And from what I have learnt, the benefits (stability & Speed) are more pronounced in older iOS devices. With iOS 12.1 beta already out, the iPhone experience could only get better with the Group Face time & the ability to adjust background blur while taking photo.