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iOS 10 and Watch OS 3 Preview: Version Is Just A Number, Features Are What Matter

There comes a time in the lifecycle of a product which I jokingly like to call the “floodgate”. It is when the pearly gates open, when the public can finally enter a new realm of unity with their parent company, and find new features galore. Oh, the dream of every and any testing enthusiast, provided they like Apple. Whether you’re a hard-core programmer, someone that likes risk and adventure and might tinker a bit on the hardware side, or just in general have above-average technical knowledge, these gates are yours to enter. If you are the type who enjoys stability, reliable functions, non-crashing apps, don’t you worry. Your time comes in September.

iOS 10 and Watch OS 3 are significant updates, and yet both are nearly opposite in version number. The “10” in iOS’ version probably carries a lot of weight for Apple. Next year comes the big 10 for the iPhone, so it’s crucial that there’s a big software push before the “hardware” comes next year. This is probably a safe and clear strategy for them.

Since this is a public beta, things will change over time. This comprehensive overview is meant to showcase some of the lesser and more well-known features of both iOS 10 and Watch OS 3, and also demonstrate the ways in which interaction has changed on both. If you want to test, I recommend doing so on a non-primary device, especially early on in the cycle, where we are at present.

How do I grab it?

To get the public release, simply head to Apple’s beta site and download the configuration profile, after signing in. If you are new to the program, you might have to wait – but once the profile is installed, it will show up under Software Updates in Settings.

A big red warning about Watch OS downgrades

Apple Watch owners face a tough problem when they test out upcoming releases. While some might prefer to have a secondary watch just for testing which could perhaps be hooked up to another iPhone, I feel as though this does not provide a real-world use case testing environment for the watch, something which is crucial as it is a device which is worn and checked all day, perhaps even more than a phone.

However, if running Watch OS 3, please note that downgrading is not possible without taking your Watch in to a store and having it serviced. This is rather unfortunate because Watch OS 3 would not work with iOS 9, as they require matching versions. Although, Watch OS 2.x based devices will work with iOS 10 betas. So you can stay safe if you don’t touch your watch. But why would you do that when you have taptic time?

A quick no-nonsense rundown of major features, grouped by category and device

Since this is not a full review which places any judgment on features, the goal is to provide a no-nonsense list of features and upcoming changes. Here’s a list of each of them, categorized by device and type.

Apple Watch

Accessibility

Activity and health changes

Some of this directly ties into the iPhone section of highlights here, as the health app itself is going through another major revamp. As you may recall, in iOS 9.x, it went through a redesign as well, where activity information became part of health. In iOS 10 and Watch OS 3, these two are integrated together to provide a seamless overview of activity; the only difference being the way in which both present data to you.

Breathe

Breathe is a simple app on the watch which allows you to turn the digital crown to your desired amount of relaxation time. After configuring your settings, you pres start. Visually, an animation is shown – but rapidly increasing vibrations indicate when you should begin inhaling, and they stop as you breathe out. This allows you to focus just on your wrist and breathe to a pattern of vibrations, which does help with focus.

Complications, faces, and the removal of glances

In Watch OS 2 and below, watch faces allowed different information to be displayed, and you could delete or add the ones you wanted. To change a face, you firmly pressed the display and chose one of them from the resulting faces list, or customized them. This changes with OS 3 a bit.

Control Center

Since there is no more “settings” glance, things had to be shaken up for the new paradigm to work well. A control center, accessible with a swipe down for VoiceOver users, allows you to access the exact interface as the settings glance. It includes a new “lock” toggle switch, so you can now lock your watch even if it is on your wrist.

The Dock

When the Apple watch was introduced, the so-called “side button” was used to open a view of all friends, which could be grouped into categories in Watch OS 2. This is now gone, to be replaced with a new dock. The dock houses apps, similar to the dock on an iPhone – although it also saves you from scrolling through a giant home screen of 50 different ones. This is a great change for those who wish to focus on having easy to access apps.

Emergency SOS

The watch could always have a practical use in an emergency situation, as it is on-person and if done right, could provide a safe way for someone to call emergency services without being detected as doing so. Provided the person can spare 6 seconds to hold down the power button, a “calling” screen pops up which will start dialing emergency services right away, taking into account the number it would use when doing so.

Home kit control

This goes along with the iOS 10 feature changes: The home app is present on the watch when it is also present on the device it is paired to. If you remove it from your phone, it will also be removed from the watch.

The watch version is a bit simple: It allows you to toggle switches or change temperatures. However, it does the job well, providing a quick overview of all rooms in a home that can be controlled.

Messaging behavior and changes

Misc. changes.

These are changes which I did not want to place into a category, because they are random and perhaps would waste having their own sections. Let’s dive in.

The iPhone and iOS

We have finally come to the exciting part of this review, for some anyway. iOS 10 brings with it a major overhaul of functionality, and it shows just how much the entire platform has matured in the last ten years. For some, it’s a sign that the smartphone has permeated into our lives, through features such as messaging apps and an emoji-centric prediction engine. For others, it shows that Apple’s stance on many things has shifted, as they have now opened up Siri to developers and allow for the removal of applications. This one is going to be a long list, so get ready – there are probably hundreds of features if we were to drill to the minor ones as well. However, it’s not a complete list, so do not under any circumstance consider this a final review, as these will no doubt be extended as more changes are added.

3D Touch

Finally, we see 3D touch having more of a use-case, for those devices that are fortunate enough to use the technology. This means that most of iOS’ users will not benefit from them, however it will become more integrated and useful as time passes. We see the first steps of this in 10.

Accessibility

Accessibility has taken a more serious turn with iOS 10. Many designs and elements come from the Mac OS side of town, and some will allow users to ditch third-party apps for their solutions.

Activity

The activity app is redesigned also, allowing for the tracking of workouts (previously this was more hidden under each date), as well as a sharing tab where you add friends you wish to share progress with.

Bedtime with your clock app

A new tab in the clock app (which now has 5 total) includes a great feature. With bedtime, you are guided through a wizard-style experience for telling it when you sleep, and when you wish to wake up.

It’s clear that Apple is taking a dive at focusing on Health, especially when non-health apps get health-related features.

The Control center, with music playback and news?

The Control center has a new redesign, though the options themselves have not changed. You will still see the familiar view, with 2 pages at the bottom this time. The second will contain album and playback information for music, which was previously just part of the main interface.

More interestingly, if you have home-kit devices configured, a third page will also be present, which will contain a simple list of every device in your home, along with controls to them.

Health app, redesigned

The Health app no longer focuses on averages that you have done, but rather on goals and how well you are meeting them. This puts your data up front and center, rather than graphs which only show you how you have done over time (or if you’ve walked less, how you are spiraling down.) A goal-centric approach focuses more on the present moment as well, allowing you to see snapshots of each day’s health records.

A new Home app, which is not your home screen

When I first saw that there exists a new “Home” app, I was instantly brought back to the app switcher, where the item which is spoken as “running” used to be “home.” Now you can hear the word twice in the list, if you’re so inclined!

Lock screen changes

Just as the dust settles around Apple’s patent wars with other companies, the lock screen behavior changes. Gone is the iconic unlock slider, and gone are the days of a camera button on the bottom corner.

Mail

The redesigns to mail are not that drastic, they are there for convenience. Folders are no longer levels deep in the app – you can go back to the list of mailboxes and expand or collapse all folders in that mailbox, rather than entering it and browsing through only its folders.

A new threaded view for messages places all of the conversation as though it were one long message. This adds a new rotor option: Message. When it is selected, swiping down with VoiceOver will move you to the next message in the mail document. You can turn off threading, but not the behavior, or having them be organized in one giant e-mail message rather than individual ones in a conversation list within the subject. This might change, as sometimes in-line message replies are not detected by the app — so you have to scroll through older messages with greater than signs. In other cases, a button allows you to expand the older messages. In my experience, this is hit or miss, though with Gmail it recognized that the quoted thread messages should be hidden most of the time.

One of my favourite features is a new “filter by” button, just before compose. It allows you to filter messages by mailbox, whether it was sent to you, unread, or other criteria. You can add and remove as many filters as you wish. Many mail clients have had this, so it’s good to see Apple’s also finally getting this in the iOS line.

Maps

Maps was first updated in a major way back in iOS 7. We know how much of a disaster this was, leading to people being in deserts and strange places. This was rectified in iOS 8 or so, but Apple Maps has struggled to keep up with rival platforms.

Messages

The messages app has received some significant changes. Gone is the familiar “one text box” interface that it used to be. It is now replaced with three tabs at the bottom for replying: Attach Media, Digital Touch, Messaging apps, and the text field. This places the text field on the bottom right part of the screen.

Misc. Features

These are, again, those one or two minor changes which would be pointless to place in their own category – having them in one list of a few misc changes is easier.

Conclusions and the road ahead

5000 words later, I still have not covered everything in iOS 10. What we have today is a slow build-up to the general release, expected to happen in early September. Some of these features might not work as you expect today, especially with VoiceOver. A prime example is the “Messaging effects” – it doesn’t mean that Apple will never fix it and have it be read, but this will come in a later beta. I place a warning once more here: be sure to backup your device on iTunes, not iCloud, should you wish to venture out and try this early pre-release.

There is a lot to look forward to with the way Apple’s platforms are converging. iOS 10 appears to be as major of a release as 7 was, and through testing, it will also be a lot more ready when the new iPhone comes out. With feedback, anything is possible.

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