9 influences of iOS 12 on my existing/new app

This week, Apple announced iOS 12, the new operating system for iPhone. Like every year, Apple has another one big event made with a slick presentation. In this article, we look at how iOS 12 affects existing and new apps.

This year there have been no major design changes to iOS, but there has been a lot of focus on speed. Even older devices running iOS 11 will get significantly faster with iOS 12. This could impact your app if it means you have to support older devices for longer than expected.

It is now possible to link Siri actions to non-Apple apps and even set up entire routines. For example, your favorite coffee is ordered in the morning and the heating/lights are switched on with one command. This functionality will offer great opportunities, especially for travel and IoT apps.

One of the biggest new features that Apple didn't address during its keynote announcement is that iOS 12 will allow you to turn your AirPods into a hearing aid. Your iPhone will then serve as a microphone. It is of course not yet a real hearing aid, but it certainly offers support for people who have difficulty understanding a colleague in a busy restaurant. Unless you have an app or want to write for the hearing impaired, this will not affect your app much. Moreover, the question is whether Apple will also open these possibilities to developers.

To prevent hacking tools from accessing your data via the USB port, Apple has developed the stricter security requirements. For example, you now first have to enter a PIN code before a device can be connected. In this way, one of the biggest leaks of the iPhone has been closed. Again, this feature is not very exciting for developers, but be aware that connecting via USB becomes a bigger obstacle for users.

Unlocking your smartphone with your face was great. But it was secretly also inconvenient that only the owner could unlock the device. That is why Apple now makes it possible to set up a second Face ID or fingerprint. This can affect your app when you use Apple authentication.

Favicons are the little icons of websites in the tabs of a browser. Until now, Safari users did not have favicons in the tabs, which meant that there was less overview. Apple has now added that. If you have a web app, it has probably been set up for other browsers for a long time and you don't have to change anything.

Although developers do nothing else, it is usually not healthy to be distracted from your life by your smartphone all day long. For that reason, Apple now makes it possible to set goals for your smartphone use and your iPhone actively reminds you of this. Presumably this functionality will not affect your app unless your app has many daily users who use the app for hours.

De measure app shows that Apple is busy exploring the AR possibilities. With this app you can measure objects with your smartphone. It is not yet super accurate, or one of our employees is above three meters, but the app certainly has a future. Measure probably won't affect your app, but the focus on AR is growing.

Since iOS 12, a universal standard has been announced for it ARcontent. This is important because with the standard built-in AR viewer, AR content can be viewed by every iOS user. For example, you can have a USDZ file (the extension of the AR files) from a bank you sell. When someone opens this file type with the new iOS, he can use AR kit to see what the sofa will look like in his living room. The downside, of course, is that this file type hasn't been accepted on other platforms yet, and until it does, it will remain an iOS-only thing. The influence of USDZ on your app is probably not great, but if you have a AR app are considering or have it, it may be interesting to have your 3d models developed in a program that can export USDZ files.

The Apple Keynote was mainly software-based and has no major influences on your app. Nevertheless, your app must of course be ready and tested for iOS 12. If you are looking for a party for this, or are you curious how we improve your app innovatively? Please contact us or view our work.