The next update to the iOS operating system that runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is already in development at Apple's headquarters in California.
While know a limited amount about the new software at this point in time, we have heard some interesting rumors that shed light on some of the features and changes we can expect to see in the update, which, based on past updates, will be called "iOS 13."
iOS 12 marked a major shift in Apple's iOS development policy, and engineers now have more freedom to push back features that aren't ready when necessary. Apple is also now working on the next two years of updates at the same time, allowing under-developed features to be delayed while continuing to provide yearly updates.
For that reason, iOS 13 is potentially more developed already than prior updates, while at the same time, leaving open the possibility that any rumored feature could be postponed.
There are some details about iOS 13 that we already know because Apple delayed features in iOS 12 to iOS 13 to focus on bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements. Most of these
DARK MODE
iOS 13 will include a dark mode for the first time, a feature iOS users have desired for quite some time. The dark mode will match the dark mode that was first introduced on macOS Mojave and it will allow for "easier nighttime viewing." Apple's WWDC artwork this year has a darker theme, perhaps hinting at the upcoming dark mode that we can expect to see in iOS 13.
LIVE PHOTOS UPDATES
Apple plans to double the length of the video that's attached to a Live Photo, going from three seconds to six seconds.
REDESIGNED HOME SCREEN
Apple is said to be working on a new Home screen for the iPhone and the iPad, but we don't know what it will look like. CarPlay is also expected to get a new Home screen to match.
REVAMPED FILES APP
While there are few details on what a revamped Files app will look like, Apple is said to be working on new features for it.
IPAD TWEAKS
Several features in iOS 13 will be focused on the iPad. Apple is said to be introducing a feature for displaying multiple windows in a single iPad app using a tab view. A multitasking feature for displaying two windows of the same app side by side is also in the works.
New Mail features are expected, such as an option to mute incoming Mail notifications from specific email threads.
CROSS-PLATFORM IOS AND MAC APPS
With iOS 12 and macOS Mojave, Apple introduced a new framework for bringing iOS apps to the Mac, and as a test, several iOS-only Apple apps, such as Stocks, Home and Voice Memos, were ported to macOS. In iOS 13 and macOS 10.15, Apple is planning to expand this functionality to developers, which will make it easy for iOS apps to be tweaked for porting to the Mac.
NEW EMOJI
New emoji won't be available when iOS 13 is released, but in an iOS 13 update later in 2019, Apple will introduce new characters. The Unicode Consortium has finalized the characters that are being added to the emoji standard, and some of them include flamingo, otter, waffle, sloth, white heart, people holding hands, ice cube, snorkel, orangutan, juice box, falafel, and more.
