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The latest updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS Sequoia are being called the biggest in years, and they are in terms of the AI features that Apple went all out with during its developer conference, but many of the novelties will have to wait quite some time, if we are to judge by the first developer beta.

It may also explain why the first betas are surprisingly stable. After all, the basic system has not been completely turned upside down, and at first glance users will hardly notice any difference from the previous software versions.

Many of the announcements are still missing from these first betas, for example, Apple Intelligence, or Apple's own AI, will not be added until later and then only for English-speaking users. It may take as long as 2025 before Dutch is supported.

As of yesterday, we know that Apple is also going to delay Apple Intelligence, iPhone Mirroring and SharePlay screen sharing in Europe because of the Digital Markets Act. First, Apple wants to investigate how the features can comply with European competition rules.

Another limitation is that Apple Intelligence requires the use of Apple Silicon, although that is already possible as of M1.

If you have an older iPhone, iPad or MacBook, however, you can still use a lot of new features.

Some of these, by the way, are purely visual: at last you can place apps on the iPhone and iPad anywhere on the screen, rather than on a grid, and you can also color them red, green or blue. Steve Jobs will turn over in his grave, because it's the way to make your iPhone or iPad spiteful.

Also handy: hide sneaky apps and unlock them only with FaceID or further shield apps that contain sensitive information with facial recognition. This will soon be possible on Android, by the way.

And finally, the Control Center has also been revamped, making it easier to move icons around there.

iMessage includes brand new (animated) text effects. If you don't have coverage or Wi-Fi available, the Messages app lets you send and receive messages via satellite connection. But RCS is not yet supported in this version, so you can't really communicate with your Android friends in iMessage yet.

In Mail, your emails will soon be automatically categorized using machine learning to make your inbox more organized, something you could do with the Gmail app for much longer. Confirmations and payment receipts will appear in the Transactions category, and marketing emails and coupons will be found under Promotions. The revamped Mail reportedly won't arrive until after version 18 is released in September.

The Photos app also now makes it easier to find and relive memories. You can pin collections and featured photos are now in a carousel, which is refreshed every day.

New is the password app, where you can retrieve all your passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords and verification codes. In itself not new, as you already had that overview in Settings. Still, this app doesn't look quite as slick as Microsoft Authenticator, for example.

Agenda now includes the activities and tasks you have set in the Reminders app. Furthermore, you can create, edit and mark a reminder as completed directly from Calendar, and the new monthly view shows all activities and tasks at a glance.

Much attention has been paid to the new Math Notes calculator, where you can draw mathematical formulas with the Apple Pencil in your own handwriting that are solved automatically. Apple Intelligence is not required for this. Beyond Math Notes, the calculator offers, for the first time on the iPad as well, scientific calculations and the conversion of length, weight and currencies. It undoubtedly means the end of dozens of calculator apps from developers full of ugly ads or even subscriptions.

These days, Apple is trying to equalize the experience on iPhone, iPad and Mac as much as possible, so you'll find many of the new features on all platforms. Then again, the iPad did get a revamped tab bar at the top of the screen that complements the navigation column. If you really want to focus on one app and use the entire screen space, the tab bar smoothly transforms into a navigation column.

Most striking about macOS is that you can control your iPhone from your Mac as well. You see your background and icons exactly as they appear on your iPhone, can swipe through the different pages of the home screen and also use your favorite apps. You control your iPhone with your Mac's keyboard, trackpad and mouse, and the audio also comes from the Mac speakers. Handy when the iPhone is still in the jacket pocket and you still want to make some adjustments. This feature will be added starting with the second developer beta (next Monday), but probably not in Europe.

Windows on the Mac can now be arranged in more ways. When you drag a window to the edge of the screen, macOS Sequoia automatically suggests a place on the desktop where you can then release the window. You can also very easily arrange multiple windows side by side, or just in the corners so that your apps stay better in view.

What should really take the Apple software to the next level is AI: designing your own emojis, generating images, creating summaries of Web pages, transcribing spoken text or brushing out elements from a photo, it's all possible.

Built into iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia soon, the all-new writing tool Writing Tools will help you rewrite, check and summarize text, and in addition to Mail, also in Notes, Pages or third-party apps.

Thanks to Apple Intelligence's capabilities, Siri is now more deeply integrated into the system. Siri has a richer understanding of language and responds more naturally, contextually relevant and personal. In addition, Siri can remember the context of one question for the next. And if desired, Siri can pass a question on to ChatGPT.

But again, the current beta does not yet include all that, and it remains to be seen whether it works as well as Apple has promised. Also in the fall, Apple Intelligence will launch first under the beta umbrella. In any case, keep in mind quite a few teething problems.

The above is just a small sample of the offerings. It makes you wonder whether Apple will be able to add anything new a year from now. Because by now everything has been invented. The only thing that comes to my mind is that the Shares app could be expanded to include real-time cryptocurrencies. And Wallet on the iPad as a backup to the iPhone for documents and access cards wouldn't be wrong either.

Previously, only paying developers could dispose of beta software, today anyone who signs up (for free) to the Developer Program can install the software right away. Still, we recommend waiting a while for the first public beta expected in a few weeks. The worst bugs should be gone by then.

© The Content Exchange, source News