i downloaded iOS 16 and macOS ventura on my phone and macbook respectively, so im here to share about some of the cool stuff!
the lockscreen is POGGERS, but i still have no idea how to put people in front of the font and stuff. i'll probably figure that out later, but i'm happy with this rn. the font options go from nice and aesthetic to slightly deranged, with weird numbers and all. the widgets were a good idea.
the music player has two modes. one more compressed and compact:
and one more bigger zoomed-in version of the album art!
this is a really nice touch for people who are into album art and like seeing them, and the compact method works with those who want to be a little more private about what theyre listening to. theres also a little equaliser on the top right of the progress bar right next to the song title, which i think is pretty neat!
overall, the animations seem a lot more natural, and i really like that. it makes me feel more comfortable using my phone, and it feels as if it's brand new. this just shows how much software affects the experience, and apple outdid themselves this time. although, there are a few slight animation errors that i've already informed them about, so hopefully they do something soon.
the scrolling on the home page is almost the same as iOS15, but instead the dots at the bottom have a search function when the phone is still. i think for small handed people like me would be okay to use it, but i'm not really sure this function is needed since all we can do is just swipe down for spotlight.
but when we DO swipe down, there's a new animation that makes the search button at the bottom of the screen come up to be the search bar itself. pretty cool ngl
the fixed app row at the bottom of the homescreen seems even closer to the edge, either that or my eyes are failing me. there's no battery percentage yet, but hopefully the actually update has it :')
the hold picture thing isn't working for me as for now, but that's maybe bc i'm on an older phone. can beta testers who use newer phones tell me if it works on yours?
the fitness app was a good thing i feel. im always super unmotivated to exercise, so i think seeing the rings themselves can help me force myself to exercise everyday :D
that's all for iOS! onto macOS!
ok first things first, ventura is BIG. like big BIG update. 12gb???? my computer was having a difficult time to download everything, but i eventually got it downloaded. and the biggest thing in this update:
(dont mind the ayato wallpaper thanks 💀)
stage manager actually boosted my productivity in class, a LOT. my moots know that we use our computers a lot in class, and stage manager helped me not only focus, but do my work more efficiently. i used to be a very everything-full-screen person. i would put all of my windows in full screen mode and travelling between them was a little bit torturous. but stage manager somewhat found a middleground for people who love full screen and minimised windows. they made it so that your current window was big enough to feel like it's full screen, but you still have the stage manager at the side for you to switch your windows whenever you want to.
however, it was a little difficult to navigate at first. i kept opening windows that i wasnt supposed to and i had no idea how to group tabs and separate them. hopefully the feedback i gave to apple will allow them to give more direct instructions on how to use the stage manager.
oh. that's pretty much everything. well for me at least, most of the update was an aesthetic upgrade, but self performance could also be boosted! i'm not sure about other features, but these few are the ones that really stuck with me!
