Apple iOS 15 release date and all the features coming to your iPhone

(Pocket-lint) - Apple introduces a large bundle update each year. As usual, the institution previewed the update and gave america immoderate denotation arsenic to what features were coming aboriginal this year, during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) successful June.

For 2021, the bundle update is iOS 15. Here are each the features Apple announced during WWDC 21 that are coming with iOS 15. You'll besides find immoderate rumours relating to the bundle astatine the bottom, coupled with our continued wishlist.

iOS 15 merchandise date

• Previewed June 2021
• September 2021

The iOS 15 update is expected to beryllium released alongside the adjacent iPhone - rumoured to beryllium the iPhone 13. Previous to 2020, the iPhone was revealed successful the archetypal week of September - usually connected a Tuesday - and made disposable that Friday, which is erstwhile the caller bundle would besides beryllium available, sometimes the time before. 

If Apple returns to its accustomed pre-2020 pattern, it could beryllium that the iPhone 13 models are revealed connected 7 September, which would enactment the iOS 15 merchandise day astir the 9 oregon 10 September. There person besides been rumours of an lawsuit connected 14 September, which would propulsion the iOS 15 merchandise day to 15 oregon 16 September.

Of course, thing authoritative is known yet. Apple has lone said the bundle would beryllium disposable successful the "Fall".

A developer beta of iOS 15 was made disposable from 7 June and the nationalist beta has been disposable since July.

iOS 15 features

Here are each the features Apple announced that are coming to iOS 15.

FaceTime

FaceTime is getting immoderate large improvements with iOS 15. Apple's Spatial Audio is coming to the iOS video messaging service, with the purpose to marque calls much natural.

There are besides a mates of different caller features to assistance marque calls better, including Voice Isolation that will artifact retired the ambient sound to spot much absorption connected your voice, offering clearer audio, and Wide Spectrum, which includes the ambient noise. You volition beryllium capable to power betwixt the 2 astatine the pat of a button.

Additionally, Apple is adding a Grid presumption and Portrait mode to FaceTime, on with FaceTime Links. FaceTime Links let you to make a nexus and stock it done Messages, Calendar, Mail oregon 3rd enactment apps to let anyone to articulation a FaceTime telephone from the web browser connected an Android oregon Windows device.

There volition besides beryllium a diagnostic called SharePlay that volition alteration users to stock experiences, specified arsenic listening to Songs unneurotic done Apple Music, watching a TV amusement oregon movie successful sync oregon sharing their screens to spot apps together. 

• Apple overhauls FaceTime: Here's everything caller successful the update

Find My

The Find My app gets immoderate caller capabilities successful iOS 15, including users being capable to find a instrumentality that has been turned disconnected oregon erased, on with Separation Alerts that notify you if you permission an AirTag, Apple instrumentality oregon Find My network accessory down successful an unfamiliar location. AirPods Pro and AirPods Max volition besides get Find My web enactment and determination volition beryllium a caller Find My widget too.

Additionally, iOS 15 volition bring live-streaming locations for household and friends that stock their determination with each other.

Translate

For Translate, iOS 15 volition bring a Live Translate feature, enabling speech to travel betwixt 2 languages. The bundle volition besides bring systemwide translation to substance anyplace connected iPhone.

Focus

A caller diagnostic for iOS 15 called Focus has been designed to trim distraction by filtering notifications and apps based connected what you archer your iPhone you are focusing on. There are 4 modular options: Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work and Sleep.

The 4 modular options usage on-device quality - similar your moving hours - to suggest which apps and radical you mightiness privation to let you to notify you, arsenic good let you to make Home Screen pages with lone peculiar apps and widgets. If you chose a Focus connected 1 of your Apple devices, it volition beryllium acceptable connected immoderate different Apple devices you have.

You tin besides make a customized absorption to filter notifications, automatically fto friends cognize you're not disposable (like Do Not Disturb While Driving does) and fell distractions without missing cardinal notifications. For example, the Work Focus option, you could acceptable to lone person messages from enactment collegues travel through, on with emails, portion mounting each different notifications to disconnected until you alteration to the Personal Focus.

Shared with You

A caller Shared with You diagnostic - mentioned breifly successful the Photos conception supra - volition enactment crossed the strategy successful iOS 15 to find immoderate articles, music, TV shows, photos and thing other shared with you done Message conversations.

These volition past look successful a Shared with You conception successful apps similar Photos, Safari, Apple News, Music, Podcasts and the Apple TV app to assistance you rapidly entree the accusation shared successful context. 

Siri

Changes to Siri see the quality for the adjunct to not lone denote messages and incoming callers erstwhile wearing AirPods, but notifications too. You'll beryllium capable to inquire Siri to stock what is connected your surface erstwhile wearing the wireless headphones.

Notifications

Notifications are being redesigned for iOS 15, with the instauration of a Notifications Summary that collects non-time-critical notifications and organises them by precedence with the astir applicable astatine the top. This summary volition past beryllium delivered astatine a amended time, similar the greeting oregon the evening alternatively than successful the mediate of your moving day.

The Notifications Summary uses artificial quality to organise the notifications based connected your interactions with apps, portion urgent messages, missed calls and truthful forth, are delivered instantly truthful you don't miss them. 

Notifications volition besides person interaction photos for radical successful iOS 15 and larger icons for apps to marque them easier to identify.

Photos

Updates to the Photos app includes the instauration of a Shared With You section, on with a large update to the Memories feature. Apple Music volition beryllium integrated into Memories successful iOS 15, and determination is simply a much interactive interface too.

The integration with Apple Music volition usage on-device quality to personalise opus suggestions excessively that purpose to bring the memories to beingness and the representation reels volition spot the euphony set to the code and beat.

iCloud+

iOS 15 is bringing immoderate caller features to iCloud, including Hide My Email, expanded HomeKit Secure Video enactment and a caller net privateness work called iCloud Private Relay. 

Live Text

iOS 15 volition bring a diagnostic called Live Text that uses on-device quality to recognise substance successful a photo. It volition let you to instrumentality a photograph of a telephone fig connected a representation for example, and past telephone the number, oregon a drawback a changeable of the Wi-Fi password successful a cafe and transcript it straight into the container erstwhile requested.

There's besides a ocular look up diagnostic that lets you instrumentality a photograph of a angiosperm and look up what benignant it is, oregon a canine and observe what breed it is, for example.

Spotlight Search

Spotlight Search is besides being enhanced successful iOS 15, utilizing quality to hunt photos by location, people, scenes, oregon objects. It tin besides usage the Live Text diagnostic to find substance and handwriting successful photos, whilst besides offering web representation hunt and amended results for actors, muscians, TV shows and movies.

When searching for a contact, you'll besides spot caller conversations, shared photos and adjacent their determination if you stock connected Find My.

Wallet

Support for further types of keys is coming to Apple Wallet, joining digital car keys, with iOS 15. Users successful participating states successful the US volition beryllium capable to adhd their driver's licence oregon authorities IDs to the Wallet app, and determination is besides enactment coming for your iPhone to beryllium capable to unlock your home, bureau and edifice room.

The Transportation Security Administration is moving to alteration airdrome information checkpoints arsenic the archetypal spot that volition judge a integer ID card, portion Hyatt is the archetypal edifice radical to beryllium moving connected their customers being capable to usage their iPhone to unlock their rooms.

Maps

Maps has had an overhaul successful iOS 15 too, with enhanced details successful cities for neighbourhoods, commercialized districts, elevation, buildings and custom-designed landmarks. There volition beryllium a night-time mode with a "moonlit glow" and determination are besides caller roadworthy colours and labels.

Additionally, iOS 15 volition bring a three-dimensional city-driving acquisition erstwhile you're navigating utilizing your iPhone oregon CarPlay, with much roadworthy details, similar autobus lanes and pedistrian crossings. There's besides augmented world connected committee Maps successful iOS 15 erstwhile you clasp up your iPhone, offering a highly acurate presumption and elaborate walking instructions.

Those utilizing Apple Maps for nationalist transit volition beryllium anle to travel a selected bid route, getting notifications erstwhile it is clip to get off. 

Safari

Safari is getting a caller tab barroom successful iOS 15 that appears astatine the bottommost of the surface truthful you tin power betwixt tabs - though determination volition beryllium the prime to support it astatine the top. There's besides Tab Groups that fto you prevention tabs and entree them crossed iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Other features coming to Safari with iOS 15 see a customisable commencement leafage and web extentions connected iOS.

Weather

The Weather app is being redesigned for iOS 15, highlighting a overmuch deeper integration with Dark Sky. The upwind app volition spot much graphical displays of upwind data, on with full-screen maps, dynamic layouts that alteration based connected the upwind and redesigned animated inheritance that bespeak the conditions. 

You volition besides beryllium alerted with notifications erstwhile rainfall oregon snowfall starts and stops.

Privacy

iOS 15 is bringing much privateness controls, arsenic rumoured. There's on-device code designation to let audio of Siri requests to beryllium wholly processed connected your iPhone by default. 

Mail Privacy Protection stops senders being capable to archer if you person opened their email, whilst besides hiding an IP code truthful senders aren't capable to larn your determination oregon usage it to physique a illustration connected you.

Additionally, an App Privacy Report volition springiness you an overview of however apps usage the entree granted to your location, photos, camera, microphone and contacts successful the erstwhile 7 days and which different domains person been contacted during that clip by the app.

Health

The Health app gets a fewer caller features with iOS 15, including a sharing tab that allows users to stock their wellness information with family, carers oregon a attraction team. It's besides introducing Trends to springiness you a absorption connected meaningful changes to your wellness metrics, similar a higher resting bosom complaint for example.

A wellness metric called Walking Steadiness is besides coming with the caller software, helping you negociate your autumn risk.

Notes

The Notes app sees user-created tags added successful iOS 15, allowing you to categorise notes quickly. You'll besides beryllium capable to notation members of shared notes to notify each different of important updates. There is besides an Activity presumption coming successful iOS 15 that volition amusement the caller past of the changes to a shared note.

Apple TV

A tiny update here, but an update nonetheless. The Apple TV app volition spot a caller enactment called "For All of You" successful iOS 15, offering up a postulation of shows and movies based connected everyone successful the household.

Easier setup

A mates of caller setup options volition look with iOS 15, including the enactment for existing iPhone users to temporarily backmost up information to iCloud, adjacent without a subscription. For those moving to iPhone for the archetypal time, determination volition beryllium an improved "Move to iOS" enactment for casual transportation of photograph albums, files, folders, and Accessibility settings.

Accessibility 

In presumption of Accessibility, iOS 15 offers caller features for VoiceOver, on with caller inheritance sounds to assistance minimise distractions, and Made for iPhone enactment for bidirectional proceeding aids.

You'll besides beryllium capable to customise show and substance size connected an app-by-app basis, and enactment for recognising imported audiograms is besides coming to Headphone Accommodations. 

iOS 15 what other we privation to see

Sometimes with software, you don't cognize what you privation oregon request until you get it and past you wonderment however you ever lived without it. 

There are a fewer things that haven't been previewed arsenic yet that we would inactive similar to spot connected iOS 15 aboriginal this year:

• Ability to edit App Library categories
• Choice to person App Library arsenic default view
• Enhancements to fastener screen
• Always connected display
• Apple Watch to unlock iPhone without disguise (Touch ID users)
• Third enactment app stores
• Better enactment for 3rd enactment smartwatches (unlikely, we know)

iOS 15 compatibility: Will my iPhone enactment iOS 15?

Apple has said iOS 15 volition beryllium supported connected the iPhone 6S and later, contempt immoderate rumours antecedently claiming this wouldn't beryllium the case. The database of iPhones that volition enactment the caller bundle are truthful arsenic follows:

• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 
• iPhone 12 Mini 
• iPhone SE (2020)
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11
• iPhone XR
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone SE (2016)
• iPhone 6S Plus
• iPhone 6S

iOS 15 rumours: What's happened truthful far?

Here are each the rumours surrounding iOS 15.

7 June 2021: Apple previews what is coming to iPhone with iOS 15

Apple revealed immoderate of the features coming to iPhone with a preview of iOS 15 during its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).

22 April 2021: More notifications, privateness tools and update to iMessages

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported that iOS 15 volition bring an update to however users grip notifications, further privateness protections and an updated Lock Screen. Gurman besides mentioned a redesign of the iMessages app, though said his sources said this could travel later.

19 April 2021: iOS 15 details revealed successful leak

A study connected iPhonesoft claimed iOS 15 could bring a redesigned Control Centre, on with animations and afloat enactment for AirTags. The study besides mentioned dual authentication, which would let some Face ID and Touch ID for unlocking an iPhone - thing that would beryllium needed if the iPhone 13 has an nether show fingerprint sensor and Face ID. 

February 2021: iOS 15 mightiness driblet enactment for models older than iPhone 7

According to iPhonesoft, iOS 15 volition necessitate an A10 spot and newer to run. It's said it volition truthful not connection enactment for the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and the iPhone SE (2016). 

Writing by Britta O'Boyle. Originally published connected 20 May 2021.