Larry Magid: New iPhone operating system arrives on Monday

This past Tuesday Apple reported several new iPhones along with new versions of the Apple Watch and AirPods earbuds Largest part of the new iPhone models look pretty similar to existing ones but there is a new iPhone Air Less than a quarter-inch thick it s the thinnest iPhone ever Even though it has a fairly big -inch screen it has a smaller battery than the thicker and heavier iPhones Related Articles Magid Roblox to estimate age of all users Magid What I learned from wearing a glucose monitor and a smart ring together Magid Back to school tech tips Magid Turning an old house into a smart home Magid UK Online Safety Act tougher than proposed U S law The iPhone Pro has a couple of thought-provoking attributes including what Apple calls a heat-forged aluminum unibody enclosure that maximizes performance battery ceiling and durability It also bumps the zoom from X to what Apple is claiming to be X optical quality zoom without defining exactly what that means I m assuming they re saying that they can zoom in using digital instrument with virtually no degradation but we ll have to wait for reviews to find out how true that is The new phone comes in two sizes a inch with a -hour video playback battery starting at and a inch with a -hour video playback battery starting at Aside from size and battery life the two models are otherwise identical iOS for existing iPhones Although the new hardware that you can order starting Sept gets greater part of the attention for greater part people the essential news is that will also be the day you can download a free copy of Apple s new iOS operating system assuming you have an iPhone or later which was distributed in With iOS your compatible iPhone gets majority of of the features of the new iPhones I ve been testing a beta version of iOS and so far I find it relatively similar to its predecessor although there are a insufficient very useful new features and a shiny new addition to the way its screens look The bulk noticeable change is what Apple calls Liquid Glass which makes icons search bars and other elements translucent It s mostly a minor aesthetic improvement but it does make it easier to see what s underneath buttons and other screen elements It s an improvement but unlike chosen enthusiasts who marvel at almost anything Apple announces I don t think it s much to get excited about Live translation Apple Intelligence What is exciting at least for certain is the ability to do live translation on phone calls I tried it with a Spanish-speaking friend and it worked well There are delays just like with a human translator but we were able to understand each other Live Translation also works with iPhone Messages and Facetime and it s coming to Apple s AirPods for in-person translation Another useful update is the phone app s Screen Unknown Callers which asks people calling from unsaved numbers for more information before ringing your iPhone Unlike several people I usually answer calls from unknown callers because I don t want to miss calls from journalists doctors and others outside of my contact list so I m excited about this new feature Apple is also making it easier to use ChatGPT to analyze what s on your iPhone screen For example it s pretty hard to interpret the sleep chart the Apple Soundness app displays if you wear an Apple Watch to bed but I was able to take a screen shot of that display press the Ask button that came up and get an easy to understand explanation from ChatGPT In addition to adding translation the Messages app now allows you to create polls in group chats which is perfect for coordinating with friends or colleagues But this only works if everyone in the group is using a device with iOS so people with earlier versions or Android will not see the same thing as iOS users Apple has also enhanced what it calls Visual Intelligence On iPhones with the Camera Control button you can press and hold it to pull up details about a restaurant or business translate or summarize text have it read aloud identify plants and animals and more You can even create a calendar entry based on figures in screenshots I tried this and identified it to accurately recognize the time and date in the image but not enter the name of the event You can also add that function to the Action Button which is on the top right side of particular of the more newest models When you invoke this feature in the camera you can either click Ask to get information about the image from ChatGPT or do a Google image search When it comes to AI so-called Apple Intelligence isn t nearly as intelligent as tools from Google OpenAI and other companies but I do give Apple a lot of credit for using other companies tools until its own AI services are competitive The new operating system will be available Monday as a free update You might get a prompt to install it automatically but if you don t you can manually check by going to Settings General Solution Update Keep in mind that although iOS runs on iPhone and newer certain of the advanced features including Visual Intelligence require the latest hardware such as the iPhone Pro or later Whether you re upgrading to the iPhone or sticking with the one you have Monday s release of iOS is a reminder that Apple s ecosystem evolves over time Whether it s an iPhone an Android device a PC a Mac or even modern cars like Teslas with over-the-air updates new solution can make devices we already own improve over time Related Articles Last-minute bill aimed at boosting California oil production introduced California to boost utility wildfire fund by billion Burden on NBA to find wrongdoing by Clippers Kawhi Leonard Walters Political friction percolates over housing protocol workers comp payouts Milpitas jewelry store owner fires gun during attempted robbery Larry Magid is a tech journalist and internet safety activist Contact him at larry larrymagid com