The annual date has come for Apple and Google to announce updates to their operating systems for iPhone and Android phones. So soon, the software that activates the hardware will see design changes and new features, and of course we’ll have new things to learn, according to the New York Times .
Operating Systems
On June 6, Apple announced the release of iOS 16, the next version of the iPhone operating system, which includes new features such as a new lock screen design and a feature to modify text messages. In turn, Google also unveiled last month the Android version 13, which includes an easy-to-use wallet application for storing bank cards and important documents such as vaccination records. The two companies also said that they worked on improving their text messaging apps.
The new iPhone and Android platforms are scheduled to arrive on phones as free updates this fall.
Apple and Google often support these software updates with a lot of promise, but the truth is that many of the changes, especially the ability to modify text in retrospect, are a major improvement that should have happened a long time ago.
Most notable updates
iPhone lock screen update. Apple has revealed that it is tweaking the first thing its customers see when they use their iPhone: the lock screen.
In the past, the user could only change the photos on the lock screen, but with the release of iOS 16, iPhone users will be able to customize the lock screen by choosing from several fonts and colors for the watch, as well as viewing and pinning app shortcuts such as the calendar and fitness tracker on it.
These customizations help users arrange their phones to suit their lifestyle. The new version of the “Apple” operating program allows iPhone users to develop a special design for more than one lock screen to suit different scenarios.
For example, you could make a work lock screen with a background showing a picture of the building you work in and install a calendar shortcut to remind you when the next meeting is.
The Private Time screen can display a picture of your pet and a shortcut to the exercise app. The main idea of this mod is to give people the opportunity to switch between several lock screens that meet their different needs during the day.
Google copies the Wallet app from Apple. Apple has been offering robust online payments for more than five years through the Wallet program on iPhones, which allows people to make purchases with their bank cards and upload important documents such as airline tickets and health data.
For its part, Google, which has struggled to promote its mobile payment technology in the market, seized the opportunity last month to improve the payment features of Android 13. Google Pay has suffered for years from outperforming Apple’s system. Because only a few Android users have been able to understand how to use it.
But last month, the company changed the name of its digital payment application to Google Wallet, and simplified the technology it uses by preparing a shortcut for the Wallet application and displaying it on the lock screen in Android devices. It also plans to expand the program that supports bank cards to also include documents such as travel cards, cinema cards and certificates of vaccination against Covid-19.
Privacy Enhancement
Both companies enhance user privacy. Software updates today are not complete without the big tech companies claiming that they care about user privacy because they want people to feel safe to share their personal data, especially after being pursued by European law enforcement. So, it is natural for Apple and Google to introduce more security features for user data in their upcoming operating systems.
And Apple, which has not always allowed the user to provide family members and a romantic partner with permanent access to location data, it will provide stronger controls for this type of data sharing with close ones. Its new Safety Check software feature will allow people to review and deny anyone access to this type of data so that they can protect their data from any offending party.
In turn, Google said it would give its users more control over the data it shares with third parties. In the next version of Android, users will be able to give apps access to some photos but not to the entire camera storage — that is, providing a way to protect against malicious apps masquerading as photo-synthesis software.
So if it seems to you that these improvements should have happened a long time ago, you are right. Just as the need to update the device itself increases periodically, the operational software also needs more improvement, but the process of improving it is slow and ineffective.