Apple has announced the forthcoming software upgrades to its four major operating systems – iOS, tvOS, watchOS and OS X, during the recently held Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2016 keynote at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
The tenth major iteration of iOS brings more than 30 new features apart from those announced by Apple at the WWDC keynote presentation.
30+ new features in iOS 10
In addition to the improved Messages app, a new Home kit app, News app and a redesigned Music app, Apple showcased a bunch of other enhancements and features in a slide without actually describing any of it. For the benefit of those who missed the live event in San Francisco, here is the complete list of those 30+ new features ported to iOS 10 (courtesy iDownloadblog):
- Read receipts by conversation in Messages
- Autocorrect improvements for Korean & Thai
- Definition dictionary in Danish
- Location suggestions in Calendar
- Discover in iBooks
- Bilingual dictionaries in Dutch & Italian
- Found in Messages
- Definition dictionary in Traditional Chinese
- Live Photos stabilisation
- New iPad Camera UI
- Improved Auto Enhance in Photos
- Rest & Type iPad keyboard
- Brilliance adjustment slider in Photos
- Mail filters
- CarPlay on ultra-wide screens
- Bedtime alarm
- Avoid tolls in Maps
- Mailbox column
- Mail suggested move folder
- Sort Favorites in News
- Faster FaceTime connectivity
- Markup in Messages
- Live Filters for Live Photos
- Faster attachment sending in Messages
- Siri for South Africa & Ireland
- Air quality in Maps for China
- iCloud Drive Documents folder
- Side-by-side Mail compose in iPad
- Male and female Siri voices for Russia, Spain & Italy
- iCloud Drive Desktop folder
- Air Quality Index for China
- Faster Camera launch
- CarPlay app reordering
iOS 10 Device Compatibility
For those who are wondering about the device compatibility, here is the official list of Apple devices that support iOS 10:
- iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus
- iPad 4, iPad Air and iPad Air 2
- 12.9 and 9.7-inch iPad Pro
- iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3 and iPad mini 4
- Sixth-generation iPod touch
It may be recalled that Apple had dropped support for iPhone 4 with the release iOS 8 and iOS 9, wherein iPhone 4s had become the bare minimum requirement to run the new software. Prior to that, iOS 7 had limited support to iPhone 4 and other iPhones that came after it.
Consequently, it makes perfect sense that iOS 10 has dropped support for the original iPad mini, the third-gen iPad and the iPhone 4s.
iDownloadBlog reported that the official device compatibility list for iOS 10 appeared to conflict with the compatibility list on Apple's iOS 10 preview web page. However, when we cross-checked the website, we found that Apple has already rectified the error by revising the compatibility list according to the official announcement.
iOS 10 will release as free upgrade in fall 2016
Apple recognised developers and members of the Apple Developer Program can now access the preview version of iOS 10 while public beta testers who are signed for Apple Beta Software Program can start downloading the same sometime in July.
The iPhone maker has also confirmed that the iOS 10 public release will come out in the fall as a free upgrade for supported iPhone and tablet users. In other words, any iPhone starting from iPhone 5 and upward along with iPod Touch sixth-gen, iPad 4 or later and iPad mini 2 and above will support the forthcoming iOS upgrade.
iOS 10 supports deletion of stock apps
iOS 10 will no longer restrict users from deleting unwanted stock apps and freeing up some invaluable disk space on their iOS devices as Apple has introduced the option of installing individual stock apps via the App Store.
Folks at Engadget have confirmed that many stock apps were deletable in iOS 10 beta via Wiggle mode. Some of the deletable apps include iTunes Store, FaceTime, Reminders, Stock, Home, Calendar, Maps, Weather, Notes, Videos and Calendar.
Note: Some basic apps like Phone and Messages can neither be deleted nor uninstalled from the device.
