Apple ’s overture to major software update has change a bit over the past duo of year . Once upon a time , the society would roll up out one handsome update then do small degree vent over the next year or two to fix bugs and occasionally total minor features , followed by a long life of security updates . Over the last 10 , those major releases have become yearly , but Apple still tended to deliver most of the promise feature in one go .
now , with several major computer software platforms to keep up to particular date , the company has step by step shifted to a strategy of major software package release which includemostof the feature the society announces at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference . But invariably , a smattering of those headline feature do n’t make it into the initial adaptation and rather filter out in a variety of updates over the subsequent months .
So it ’s been with iOS 15 , iPadOS 15 , and macOS Monterey . Several of the most challenging features have still yet to be released , and with the clock ticking down on 2021 , it ’s leave more than a few exploiter question if we ’ll even see these features this year .
Universal Control
As my confrere Jason Snell compose last workweek , one of the great features to not make the snub when macOS Monterey and iPadOS 15 rolled out is Universal Control . This telling capability allows substance abuser to master a combination of Macs and iPads with just a single keyboard and pointing twist , seamlessly alternate back and forward between them .
Most oddly out of all of these miss features , Universal Control — which Apple ’s marketing page still gasconade as coming “ later this fall”—has barely even appeared in the betas for any releases . ( In one pre - release version , some bidding - line of descent slickness could enable it , but it distinctly was n’t quick for prime time ) . Unless Apple ’s go away to bolt down this out fully formed with no genus Beta examination in the next mates of hebdomad , it ’s pretty unlikely it ’ll make its self - visit deadline .
Universal Control does n’t seem like it ’s going to be available “ this fall . ”
Apple
SharePlay
SharePlay was one of the biggest proclamation from Apple at this yr ’s WWDC . The chopine - sweep feature promised to make it sluttish to portion out a variety of body process , from check videos to revel podcasts to screen - sharing , with another user while on a FaceTime call . While SharePlay did eventually arrive on iPhones and iPads in the iOS 15.1 update , it ’s yet to appear for macOS .
However , that will likely change pretty shortly . SharePlay is in the current genus Beta for macOS Monterey 12.1 , which have been circulating for a telephone number of workweek . establish the land of that update , it seems probable it ’ll roll out to Mac users in the not too distant future .
App Privacy Report
In iOS 14 , Apple total the ability for users to call for apps not to dog them , a development not exactly recognize with equanimity by the likes of Facebook . So this year ’s announcement that iOS would extend an App Privacy Report screen in preferences that detail exactly what permissions apps are requesting and how often probably wo n’t be a liberal collision with the social media giant either .
App Privacy Report should be appearing presently on iPhones and iPads , as it ’s working in the current betas of iOS 15.2 . Like macOS 12.1 , this update seems to be nearing liberation , meaning that it will belike show up sometime in the next few weeks .
The App Privacy Report in iOS 15 offer a elaborate view of how apps are using your data and sensing element .
Digital Legacy
Another feature that Apple talked up for its late platform update is the Digital Legacy program . This aims to simplify matter for those trying to get at a loved one ’s Apple ID after their end . It appropriate users to specify a Legacy Contact , who will then be able to quest access to their Apple account using a recuperation code .
Like the App Privacy Report , this feature is presently in the iOS 15.2 beta , meaning that it ought to arrive before the final stage of the year .
ID software
There ’s a special class of things that Apple announce that are often too challenging to flap out quick , in turgid part because they require buy - in from third parties . ( Apple Pay is a good illustration . ) Into that bucket , you may supply iOS 15 ’s power to store ID cards in the Wallet app on your earpiece . Apple hasdetailed its monetary standard for this program , but it requires State to signal on . As of this written material , Arizona , Connecticut , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Maryland , Oklahoma , and Utah have announced they will join the initiative . But it ’s going to take some clock time to implement , so this featurewon’t see the lighting of dayuntil some prison term next class .
Swift Playgrounds
If there was a gasp - able-bodied mo in this twelvemonth ’s WWDC keynote , it may have been the annunciation that , with the latest major interlingual rendition of Swift Playgrounds — Apple ’s tool for watch the Swift programming language — user would be able to publish apps for the iPadonthe iPad . That tick off the first metre that ’s been possible for Apple ’s mobile platform , and while the apps in question will likely not be able-bodied to take advantage of all the same capabilities as those made with Xcode , it ’s still a milepost .
But that milestone will have to wait for a piece . Swift Playgrounds 4 is still not available , though late reports suggest that some developers have been invited to employ a pre - release variation . Apple ’s merchandising Sir Frederick Handley Page for iPadOS 15 but says the update is coming “ afterward in 2021 . ”
Swift Playgrounds 4 is another one we ’ll have to look until next class .
Xcode Cloud
Speaking of making apps , Apple also teased a fresh help for developer back in June : Xcode Cloud . This system , built into the Xcode app , is a “ uninterrupted integration and delivery service of process ” that uses swarm - based tools to make the app development process more effective . For example , developers can have their apps built in the swarm , potentially freeing them from constriction if they do n’t have the in style and greatest computer hardware available . There are also cloud - based tools for examination and deployment .
Xcode Cloud has been slow rolling out as a beta to concerned developer , but it ’s unclear exactly when it will ship for everyone .
Here and there
There are a few other small-scale feature that have yet to appear , such as a CarPlay version of Apple ’s new Maps interface , Hide My Email desegregation at once into the Mail app on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 , and more wallet - based digital keys for cars , home , hotels , and workplaces . And the Apple Music Voice program has n’t come either , though it await like it ’ll sour up iniOS 15.2 .
All in all , however , it seems like the volume of Apple ’s new feature should be out by the close of the year . Though if you ’re hold off impatiently for Universal Control or Xcode Cloud , you may want to put the timpani on .
