Top 7: New iPhone Features For iOS 13

5 min readFeb 2, 2020

WHEN CAN I GET IOS 13?

Apple is scheduled to release its new update to iPhones in the fall but there have been leaks of the new features like dark mode and also some other useful features you might have not heard about yet! There is a beta version already available to the public and below I will go through each feature that I found really interesting.

1. SWIPE-TO-TYPE

Many other companies like Samsung and Google have had this feature for many years and now Apple is making texting that much easier for iOS 13. Instead of tapping each letter, you can swipe your finger across the keyboard to each letter until you form a word. It does take some getting used to but can make one-handed texting a breeze. It will also be enabled by default when you buy a new iPhone.

Source: Micheal Billig Youtube

2. CONNECT IPHONE TO XBOX ONE CONTROLLER

Apple Arcade is coming this fall with over 100 new games to play on all your devices that you have access to on or offline. They have teamed up with some of the world’s best game developers to give you the best experience possible. To top it off, Apple has added support for gaming controllers (PS4 and Xbox) to be connected via Bluetooth. This enhances the entire experience by taking the hassle of tapping and swiping on your screen, to making it feel like an actual gaming console.

Instructions on how to connect:

Turn on your controller and put it into pairing mode
Go into settings on your iPhone
Turn on Bluetooth on iPhone
Select your controller
Let it connect
Launch a game that is supported by the controller
Check out the list of games that are compatible

Source: Value Walk

3. KARAOKE-STYLE LYRICS IN APPLE MUSIC

Now this is a good one for people who never know the lyrics until they look them up. Save the embarrassment in the car ride with all your friends and use this new feature! They scroll just like you are doing karaoke and are accessible right in the app as the song is playing.

Instructions on how to access lyrics:

Open Apple Music
Choose your favourite tune
Tap the song playing at the bottom of the screen
Tap on the lyrics button located on the far-left
To get rid of the scrolling lyrics, simply swipe down

Source: Yahoo Finance

4. SHARE YOUR ETA IN APPLE MAPS

Do you ever have the one friend that is always fashionably late? Maybe if you can convince them to use this feature, you could plan weekends with your friends better. You can use this feature in the actual app and through Apple CarPlay. The app can even send messages automatically to update people who you’ve shared your ETA with, if you all of sudden get stuck in traffic.

Instructions on how to share your ETA:

Open Apple Maps
Get directions to your destination
Tap “Go”
Tap the bottom of the maps screen
Tap on “Share ETA”
Select the contact you want to share with
Your contact will receive a message with your ETA

Source: 9to5mac

5. REVAMPED PHOTOS APP

The worst feeling is when you are dying to show a friend a photo or video from your party or vacation but you took so many photos that it is lost in the shuffle. Well, for iOS 13, Apple has made it easier to search for your photos based on keywords and also filters out screenshot, duplicate images and photos of receipts. This keeps your most important photos at the forefront. It is also categorized by years, months and days and highlights specific information such as location, an artist at a concert and what holiday it was. And to bring your photo library to life, it now plays a portion of the videos and live photos as you scroll past them.

Source: MacRumours

6. REMINDERS APP OVERHAUL

Do you have a tendency to forget that mandatory meeting once a month at work? Well, this new Reminder app overhaul will surely help you start organizing your life. There will be four new sections you can add reminders to: Today, Scheduled, All and Flagged. You can make colour coded lists under different category such as groceries, work and travel to organize each type of reminder and multiple lists can be grouped together. The scheduled posts will pop up on your phone like a notification at the time it was designated to do so. The flagged reminders are arranged by setting a reminder when you are at a specific location such in your car, at the grocery store and even while you are chatting with someone on your phone.

Source: MacRumours

7. NEW LOOK TO THE HEALTH APP

This update saves you time from having to navigate through the Health app to find the information you are looking for. For iOS 13, there will only be two tabs “Summary” and “Search” and this will streamline the information you frequently look at and also allow you to look for other health stats through search. If you are obsessed with how many steps you’ve taken today then you will be happy it takes less steps to get there in the app! Great joke, I know! There is also your profile picture at the top of the Health app, it brings up a personal profile that displays your Medical ID and health records.