Top iOS 15 Features and Devices Supported

 

Which iPhones get iOS 15?

Here are all the devices that can install iOS 15:

• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 6s Plus
• iPhone SE (2016)
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone X
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone SE (2020)
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• All iPhone 13 models
• Also the current iPod touch and the new iPod touch if and when it eventually launches.

New iPhone features in iOS 15

The iOS 15 segment of the WWDC presentation earlier this year was phenomenally dense, with dozens of upgrades and new features to cover. Here are the highlights.

FaceTime

Lots of changes are coming to FaceTime, Apple's video-calling service.

Apple is adding Spatial Audio to FaceTime, which will make each participant's audio contributions appear to come from the appropriate location on the screen. It's also working to improve audio clarity with Voice Isolation, a mode which will use machine learning to identify and remove ambient noise - although you will also have the option to instead activate Wide Spectrum audio, to deliberately include background noise.

You get some new interface options, too. You can opt for Portrait mode, which as on stills photography will blur the background and draw attention to the subject. Or use the new grid view, for a better way of seeing all the participants in a group chat rather than foregrounding the speaker.

Apple is also responding, perhaps a little belatedly, to the world's increasing reliance on video calling for work meetings. The company is letting iPhone users create FaceTime 'meetings' by generating a link that can be shared via email, iMessage and so on, or entering it as a Calendar entry.

SharePlay

SharePlay is a fascinating new feature that's connected to FaceTime but deserves its own section. It's essentially designed to let you flip out of a FaceTime chat using picture-in-picture, activate another app, and then have that app effect everyone on the call.

The most obvious application is music. You hop into the Music app without actually leaving the chat, pick a song, and then have that song plays for everyone. You can create a shared playlist and have everyone contribute tracks.

This also works for video - Apple said HBO Max, Disney+, Hulu, Twitch and TikTok are all on board - and extend the video you're watching to your Apple TV for a larger screen. And SharePlay can be used for screen-sharing, for troubleshooting or showing off gameplay.

There's a SharePlay API, so we're fascinated to see what third-party app developers come up with for this intriguing feature.

Focus

We knew a little about this feature before the event, although we didn't know it was going to be called Focus.

This allows you to create multiple bundles of settings for segments of your life. So you can create a work Focus status, and your availability, notification settings, and arrangement of apps and widgets on your Home screen will all be tailored to suit your work life. You can create another for when you're sleeping, or for your recreational time. It's the same sort of idea as Do Not Disturb While Driving, but extended to more contexts.

Another feature that could help you focus is Background Noise. This feature will deliberately generate background noise, including Ocean, Rain and River sounds. Read how to use Background Noise and play these sounds on your iPhone here: How to play Background Noise in iOS 15.

Photos

Photo search continues to improve. Spotlight search will pop up photos now, including searching for text displayed in the images.

This is connected to a feature called Live Text. If you look at a photo - either through the viewfinder, live, or in your photo library - a button will appear at the bottom right allowing your to activate Live Text. This will search for and highlight text in the image, allowing you to select, copy or interact with it - if it's a phone number, for example, you can tap and then choose to call it.

Live Text will understand seven languages at launch.

The expanded intelligence of Photos is not limited to text, however. There will also be non-textual Visual Look Up, allowing you to query the breed of a pictured dog, for example, or the identity of a work of art or landmark.

None of this is new to the tech industry, of course, and Google Photos has proved itself adept at such computational feats in the past. But it's a step forward for iOS.

Wallet

Wallet is expanding its scope to include keys - this seems particularly handy for hotel keys and workplaces - and a general-use identity card which Apple says will be accepted in airports.

Weather

Weather gets a new design, lots of attractive new animations, and new climate maps.

Maps

Talking of maps, Apple's Maps app is looking extremely appealing. It's getting lots of additional road details in cities, such as turn lanes, bus, taxi and bike lanes, and pedestrian crossings. There's an attractive nighttime view, too.

Transit directions will be more helpful, with notifications telling you when it's time to disembark and an AR feature that reorients you when you come out of a station and don't know which direction to walk.

AirPods features

Last but not least, iOS 15 brings a few features for AirPods owners, such as improved performance in the Find My app, a separation alert and the ability to read out high-priority notifications that are applicable to the context.