Whereas September does imply colder days are on the best way, for a lot of, it is at all times been synonymous with the annual Apple occasion. Alongside the most recent iterations of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, Apple additionally lastly launched the general public variations of macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18, after initially saying them throughout the 2024 Apple Worldwide Builders Convention (WWDC) in June.
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2024 has been all about AI. Finally, meaning Apple Intelligence, which is basically Apple’s first step towards generative AI, has stolen a lot of the highlight. Not saying it does not deserve the eye, but when you do not have an iPad with Apple’s silicon chips, one of many iPhone 15 Professional fashions, or aren’t planning to upgrade to the shiny new iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Intelligence is one thing you may sadly not have the ability to make the most of.
Plus, even when your iPhone or iPad is appropriate with Apple Intelligence, you may nonetheless have to attend for iOS and iPadOS 18.1 for these AI options to roll out (except you determine to download the iOS 18.1 developer beta). Luckily, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 supply rather more than simply AI options, and a few options deserve rather more consideration than they have been getting.
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Message Scheduling
I’ve at all times liked wishing folks I care a couple of blissful birthday proper because the clock strikes 12. Nevertheless, staying up till midnight when I’ve an 8 a.m. class the subsequent day is not at all times the most effective thought. In these conditions, I’ve typically wished Apple would introduce a characteristic that lets me get pleasure from my magnificence sleep whereas nonetheless serving to make a liked one’s day particular. With iOS and iPadOS 18, Apple lastly determined to convey a couple of long-awaited features to the Messages app, together with the power to ship a message to a contact of your selection at a specified time and date.
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Scheduling a textual content is very simple. All that you must do is open an present Messages thread or begin a brand new one. As soon as you’ve got typed your message, faucet the Plus icon on the left-hand facet of the textual content field, and faucet Extra. Lastly, choose Ship Later and use the sliders to decide on the precise date and time you’d prefer to ship your message. When you’re completed, faucet the Upward arrow to schedule your message. Remember that Ship Later presently solely works for iMessage, and never SMS texts.
Car Movement Cues
One of the best ways to get via a protracted street journey is by studying a superb eBook in your iPad or catching up on that one Netflix present you’ve got been which means to look at for ages. Nevertheless, being caught in a car for hours can turn into insufferable if in case you have movement illness. In case you fall into that class and a wave of nausea hits you each time you are in a shifting car, you may be glad to know that Apple is searching for you.
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In response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), movement illness happens “when the motion you see is totally different from what your interior ear senses.” With iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, Apple introduced ahead a singular resolution, Car Movement Cues. You possibly can allow the characteristic by heading to Settings > Accessibility > Movement and toggling on the change subsequent to Present Car Movement Cues. When you toggle on the change, you may instantly discover animated dots seem on the perimeters of your show.
These dots will keep nonetheless while you’re not in a car, however as quickly as your iPhone or iPad’s sensors detect movement, the dots will begin mimicking your car’s motion. Since the whole lot round you is shifting besides the machine in your hand, the hot button is to trick your mind by visually mimicking the movement your physique feels. These visible cues assist your mind sync what you see with the motion your physique senses, lowering the sensation of nausea. As somebody who spends a superb chunk of my day commuting, I am thrilled Apple has launched such a singular characteristic.
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Unit Conversions Inside the Calculator App
After I up to date my iPhone to iOS 18, the very first thing I seen was the fully redesigned Photos app. Apparently, the refreshed Images app was removed from the one app that acquired a brand new look. With iOS and iPadOS 18, Apple determined to refresh lots of the native apps that come pre-installed in your units, together with an app you in all probability use no less than as soon as a day –- Calculator. Though the Calculator app did not get a wholly new interface just like the Images app, it acquired fairly a couple of neat options.
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One of the best half is that the Calculator app is now not restricted to Macs and iPhones. Roughly 14 years after the iPad’s debut, Apple lastly launched a Calculator app for iPads with the discharge of iPadOS 18. The Calculator app is in contrast to any third-party calculator app you’ve got used earlier than. It brings ahead features that even TikTok has been obsessed with, like Math Notes, which solves advanced equations for you and solutions them in your personal handwriting.
Whereas many people might now not want to unravel quadratic equations, changing models like Fahrenheit to Celsius or miles to kilometers is one thing we nonetheless typically search for. Fortunately, you now not want to succeed in for third-party apps or Google for fast conversions — simply launch the Calculator app in your iPhone or iPad. To make use of your Calculator app to rapidly convert from one amount to a different, merely faucet the Calculator icon within the bottom-left nook of your display screen. Then, toggle on the change subsequent to Convert, and faucet the arrow icon within the high or backside to select the conversion models.
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Audio Transcriptions
I would discover it arduous to consider if you have not discovered your self wishing there was a solution to get a typed copy of a piece assembly or school lecture you are attending. In any case, maintaining with the whole lot somebody’s saying after they’re speaking rapidly is a problem. At instances like these, if you happen to begin jotting down notes, you may doubtless miss the subsequent factor they are saying, and, nicely, you possibly can see how that might flip into an infinite cycle, proper? By the point the assembly or lecture ends, you are left with a half-empty notepad and missed half of the dialogue since you have been too busy writing.
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The Notes app now has a built-in audio recording instrument that not solely data so that you can reference later, but additionally transcribes it in real-time. To make use of it, head to the Notes app and create a brand new word or open an present one. Faucet the paperclip icon, and choose Report Audio from the pop-up menu. Merely faucet the crimson button to start recording. If you would like to see the transcription in actual time, faucet the quote icon.
When you’re completed recording, faucet Performed and the recording and transcription will likely be pasted into your word. One of the best half, for my part, is that the transcription syncs with the audio — so if you happen to’re ever not sure, you possibly can merely faucet on the textual content to play the corresponding a part of the recording.