Hands-On With Apple's New iOS 12 Update

by

Apple yesterday introduced the newest version of iOS, iOS 12, which is currently available to developers as part of a beta test.

We thought we'd take a closer look at iOS 12 to give MacRumors readers who aren't yet able to download the beta an idea of what to expect from the new software.

Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.

iOS 12 has some enticing new features that iOS users have been wanting for several years. Grouped notifications, for example, cleans up your notifications list, while new Do Not Disturb features give you more granular control over when it turns on and when it turns off.

Screen Time, a new feature, lets you know how much time you're spending on your iOS device with detailed statistics, including how much time you spend using each app and how many times you pick up your iPhone during the day.

Group FaceTime is here and supports calls with up to 32 people, and on the iPhone X, there are new Animoji and customizable Memoji. You can also use fun new camera effects in both Messages and FaceTime, and those aforementioned Animoji are also available in Messages and FaceTime on iPhone X.

Siri is much smarter in iOS 12 thanks to a new feature called Shortcuts, which has been built on the Workflow app. Shortcuts let you build automations with first and third-party apps that can be activated with Siri commands.

ARKit 2.0 brings improvements to augmented reality that include persistence, so AR environments will stay the same across multiple sessions, and multiplayer support, so two or more people can interact with the same augmented reality environment on separate devices.

Apple has also focused heavily on performance, working from top to bottom to make iPhones faster and more responsive, including older iPhones. Apple has introduced optimizations for all devices, and iOS 12 will work on all iPhones and iPads that are able to run iOS 11.

For more detail on iOS 12, make sure to check out our iOS 12 roundup, which is in development. We'll also be sharing additional videos covering iOS 12 features, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
Read Full Article • 60 comments
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Read Full Article • 36 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
Read Full Article • 46 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 79 comments
apple music chatgpt

ChatGPT's Apple Music Integration Is Now Live

Wednesday December 17, 2025 3:50 pm PST by
There's now a dedicated Apple Music app for ChatGPT, which allows ChatGPT to make music recommendations and build playlists. Apple Music can be added to ChatGPT through the Settings section in the Mac app, website, or iOS app. Apple Music is listed under the apps option, and connecting to it requires signing in with your Apple Account for authorization purposes. ChatGPT can be used to...
Read Full Article • 48 comments
apple iphone air battery pack

Apple Aims to Boost Popularity of iPhone Air 2 in Two Ways

Tuesday December 16, 2025 11:06 am PST by
We have been covering iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Fold details from The Information's report about future iPhone models, and next up is the iPhone Air 2. The report says that Apple aims to make the iPhone Air 2 more attractive in two ways. First, Apple is apparently considering adding a second rear camera to the device, which would resolve a key limitation. The current iPhone...
Read Full Article • 113 comments
maxresdefault

Apple Developing iMac Pro With M5 Max Chip

Tuesday December 16, 2025 7:30 am PST by
Apple is developing a high-end iMac featuring the M5 Max chip, according to information from leaked internal software. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The finding comes from leaked kernel debug kit files used by Apple engineers. These kernel debug kit files enumerate unreleased Apple hardware by internal identifiers, such as codenames and platform names, and they...
Read Full Article • 179 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 158 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple's 2026 and 2027 Product Roadmap: Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro, M5 Macs, and More

Tuesday December 16, 2025 4:42 pm PST by
There has been a whirlwind of rumors over the last few days, sourced from leaked internal software designed for the iPhone and the Mac, and news sites like The Information. Below, we have a quick recap of everything we've heard this week, which serves as a guide to Apple's product plans in 2026 and beyond. We've organized the info by likely release date, though there are some products that...
Read Full Article • 43 comments

Top Rated Comments

WannaGoMac Avatar
WannaGoMac
98 months ago
iOS 12 already? Can they fix all the issues of 11 first! What a mess.
They have, it's called iOS 12.

This is the first beta I am thinking of installing...
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JohnnyW2K1 Avatar
JohnnyW2K1
98 months ago
That’s great, but this release is really the opportunity to reduce some technical debt: More stable, solid, reliable code, with an overall better, smoother, faster user experience. That’s what’s important. I could care less about new features at this stage. I have everything I need, just tweak it so it’s a joy to use.

What’s considered the best version of OSX? It’s always Snow Leopard that tops the list. I’m sure people moaned about the lack of “new features” back then, too...

Apple should give us what we need, not what the vocal want. Finally with this round of updates they’re doing it. Praise be!
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sykeward Avatar
sykeward
98 months ago
I've been running the dev preview since late yesterday on an iPhone X, and I'm very impressed. Surprisingly stable, and Face ID is much faster (it genuinely feels close to twice as fast) and they will interrupt the spinning face animation if it authenticates me before it's done, which really helps. I haven't had any system-level instability, and the only app that's crashed is Safari which became unresponsive once. Good deal as far as I'm concerned.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0947347 Avatar
0947347
98 months ago
"... and iOS 12 will work on all iPhones and iPads that are able to run iOS 11." Is this true? I thought iOS 11 would be the end of the line for 5s and 5c.
I am surprised how fast the 5s feels now, really nice

5c is not supported
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
-BigMac- Avatar
-BigMac-
98 months ago
"... and iOS 12 will work on all iPhones and iPads that are able to run iOS 11." Is this true? I thought iOS 11 would be the end of the line for 5s and 5c.
?

Apple said it during the Keynote so yes its true..
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmarttu24 Avatar
jmarttu24
98 months ago
Did they finally fix the volume from taking over the whole screen?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments