Are iOS 12 apps and services, keeping up with competitors?

Published Jun 7, 2018

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INTERNATIONAL - Apple on Monday unveiled software upgrades to the new iOS 12 at their at its WWDC 2018 conference in San Jose, California.

The company stated that 81% of active iOS devices are currently running the latest version of iOS, and it expects this trend to continue. It stated that iOS 12 will double down on performance, making devices faster and more responsive in iOS 12.

However, some of the features introduced on the iOS 12 may be new to the Apple platform but are not so new to Android. 

This found by a study done by the Verge.

According to the Verge, here are some of these features:

1.  Memoji 

Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi displays a sampling of new Memoji avatars at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference WWDC in San Jose

Apple’s new Memoji feature lets you design a cartoon avatar of your face for messaging and video calls. This is very similar to Snapchat’s Bitmoji, Samsung’s AR Emoji, and the gaming avatars of consoles like the Xbox and Wii.

2. ScreenTime 

Tech companies are now addressing how much time we spend on our phones. 

In iOS 12, Apple is introducing Screen Time, a new feature that will let users quantify their phone and tablet usages and identify which apps consume most of their time.

A number of third-party apps have been offering a similar service for a while such as Moment, which launched back in 2014. Amazon also offers something similar with its FreeTime app.

Moment is free to download, but some features — like setting limits on individual app usage — require you to pay a small, one-off fee. Unfortunately for Moment, Apple’s Screen Time offers some of those same features for free.

3. Siri Shortcuts 

 Apple is incorporating the features of an app it bought last year, Workflow.

This tool for is used for automating tasks on iOS, letting you execute a bunch of commands with a single button tap. IFTTT (If This Then That) is another service that offers similar functionality, although it’s web-based, multiplatform, and will definitely continue to thrive.

With iOS 12, Apple is making these sorts of automation features part of the operating system with a new app called Siri Shortcuts. 

As with Workflow and IFTTT, it lets you execute complex tasks using a single voice command or button press.

The app has a near-identical UI to Workflow, and it’s also supposed to predict tasks you do regularly, like buying coffee at the same shop each morning.

4. Apple Photos, For you 

Apple Photos, For you is very similar to Google Photos. 

Google Photos discovering old images through features like “Rediscover This Day.” This is also just as web-based Timehop, this is a simple tool that just chucks digital memories at you every now and again. 

Apple has introduced something similar with a “Memories” section in the new “For You” tab in the updated iOS 12 Photos app. 

The new “For You” tab in the Photos app.

5. Group FaceTime 

Apple senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi introduces group Facetime at the Apple Worldwide Developer conference in San Jose

Apple has added group video calls to FaceTime with a new interface can support for up to 32 users seems. 

However, this new feature will be going head-to-head with a bunch of group video chat apps, the most prominent of which is probably Houseparty that is available on iOS and Android. This app launched back in 2016. 

Additionally, Houseparty even announced new Mac functionality in the middle of Apple’s WWDC 2018 keynote. 

READ ALSO: WATCH: 10 things you need to know from Apple's conference

READ ALSO: WATCH: See what's new on iOS 12 

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- BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE

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