While iOS 11 reinvented the Apple mobile operating system with a major refresh, we are not expecting anything quite as dramatic with the release of iOS 12. This iOS 12 concept video suggests otherwise, however, and is chock full of ideas for new features that could improve the operating system.
It’s important to note that the video below is simply an iOS 12 concept video from creative designers rather than any sort of media from Apple themselves, but it’s still an interesting exercise and gives us a sense of the massive potential the next major upgrade could possess.
The iOS 12 concept video was put together by the team at iupdateos, and demonstrates a number of new features that the iPhone community has been asking for for years. If the true release of iOS 12 features even a fraction of the changes and updates we see in the iOS 12 concept videos, it could shape up to be one of the best operating system updates yet.
The first new feature introduced by the iOS 12 concept video is the always-on display – a feature which many Android phones already utilize. While the modern iPhone can be awoken just by lifting the phone, the addition of an always-on display would mean that it’s possible to do things like check the time without having to touch the phone. While this wouldn’t revolutionize the iPhone by any means, it’s still a cool perk that would add some additional functionality to an already-robust operating system.
Other highlights touched upon in the iOS 12 concept video include group notifications, lock screen improvements, Group FaceTime with up to four different people, a widget for Siri that wouldn’t take up the entire display and a volume indicator that doesn’t cover the middle of the screen. The biggest change, if it happens to make it into the official iOS 12 release, is the Group FaceTime feature, which would allow the stock iOS video calling feature to catch up to other services like SnapChat, who have already introduced a cross-platform video calling feature that millions of people use at least somewhat regularly.
Also included in the iOS 12 concept video is the introduction of a system-wide Dark Mode – a feature that many people have been clamoring for for quite some time. Out of all of the features that could potentially be introduced, a system-wide dark mode would probably be the best-received – offering battery life improvements as well as reducing eye strain for many users. While many apps already include some version of a dark mode, having the option to extend it across the operating system should make for a more cohesive experience that would add some much-needed customization to the iOS environment.
We’ve included the iOS 12 concept video below so that you can see what the operating system might look like in action. The likelihood of all of these features making it into an actual release is pretty low, but it would certainly make for an operating system update robust enough to warrant the jump from iOS 11 to iOS 12.
