iOS 13 BETA: Why you SHOULD probably WAIT to Download!!!

Apple released the public beta of iOS 13 a few days ago, and in that time I've been taking in all the info I can about the pro's and con's of downloading the beta. I, and I'm sure many other nerds, went and downloaded it the first chance I got, excited to see the new features Apple promised in action. And let me tell you, the first few hours... were bad... very, very bad. Trying to play a song on Spotify? Almost impossible. Well to be more specific, I would be playing a song, and right before the song would end, the app would crash. However, this hasn't happened to me at all since those first couple hours. This combined with a few apps working less than spectacular is the main reason why you shouldn't download the beta of iOS 13 just quite yet... Just leave it to me to tell you what's wrong and what's right. Now I'm sure you're here for the more relevant things... dark mode/faster Face ID/and the overhauled reminders app. Okay maybe that last one was just me? Let me know in the comments what upcoming feature in iOS 13 you're most excited about!

Let's begin. iOS 13 has a few key things that Apple themselves focused on during WWDC 2019, which is their big yearly conference where they show off new stuff, more software than anything. Among the things Apple announced for the iPhone, included a system wide Dark Mode, a whole new reminders app, a new app called FindMy, which basically combines the old Find My Friends and location services for your other Apple devices, all in one place. Now let's start with Dark Mode, which brings a whole new look to the phone. Well... not really... but like... kindaaaa? It's definitely noticeable in apps like Messages, Calendar, and Maps, all of which are of course proprietary to Apple. Now Apple did say that they are going to make it easier for developers to create a dark theme for their app later on, just a reminder that this is a beta and is not a complete build of iOS 13. However, Dark Mode looks really slick, as you'd expect, bringing a new look to even some of the stock wallpapers, which honestly are a really high point of the beta. The stock wallpapers have a little sun/moon in the bottom right while you're selecting them, and depending on which mode you're in, (light/dark) the wallpaper has subtle shifts in itself, which is a super nice and convenient touch. But when it comes to Dark Mode, you aren't talking about of functionality changes, just a new look, and that's basically what it is. I think a few people were a little too hype about this feature, especially when there are many other things going on in the beta.

Shifting more towards the performance of this beta, Face ID is extremely faster than before. I'm not sure if it's some sort of placebo effect where they just say it's faster, but I've noticed an extremely high performance bump with this beta in that regard. I don't really have a base for app downloads, to which Apple said would be 50% smaller in iOS 13, however I've been keeping my eyes peeled on the updates, as those are supposed to be 60% smaller. Diving into Health, the new Health Highlights is an interesting new way to look into your Health stats. This new feature offers personalized Health information that your phone thinks is going to be helpful to you. The highlights compare your activity to a baseline of your previous performance.

The new photos app has some new interesting features you might like. Photos now shows you the best pictures you've taken in weekly, monthly, and yearly periods. While this is all machine learning, your results might not be the most accurate to what you believe, however the phone will adapt with that same learning and improve upon the previous time, at least that's all we can hope for. Now while I would browse my pictures, I would mainly stay in the albums section, looking at the all photos album which had everything. Apple doesn't want you over there anymore unless you're making an album of photos. Every photo on your phone is now in the photos tab down on the bottom of the screen, and this is where you're getting the daily/weekly/monthly/yearly breakdowns of your best photos as well, so it makes sense why Apple would steer you in this direction. Overall I think the new photos app is a great improvement upon what it was before, it's just going to take some time for people to adjust to what they're looking at.


This is just a small thing, which might affect the most people. Animoji is now coming to every iPhone with iOS 13, not with the facial recognition/motion capture aspect, but with STICKERS! This is honestly the one thing I can see everyone loving. With everyone (not just iPhone 10 & later users) being able to have some form of Animoji, it allows for self expression. Personally, who cares you aren't able to use the same sensors that Face ID uses to take video of your Animoji, sure that can be fun sometimes, but having a whole sticker pack with your animated face, it's already something I'm using more and something I see many, many more people using when the full update drops later this year.

Reminders gets a new look and new functionality! This is the one thing that I was most excited for during the WWDC presentation. I personally have been waiting for something to be done with reminders for a while, and now being able to set a reminder, that reminds you about something FOR someone, and creates a pop down of that reminder while you're messaging them, is the feature I didn't know I needed until now. Along with folder creation for different "genres" of reminders you might need, (I've already created some for groceries, work, and for specific people, hoping to utilize that messaging aspect) this overhaul of the app is what Apple needed Reminders to be in the first place, I'm just glad it got some attention this go around.

Let's look forward to what the final product of iOS 13 is going to look like. While we aren't getting new app icons, there's a lot of depth within what's already available within iOS, and that's not a bad thing by any stretch. However the beta being extremely hit or miss towards the beginning and causing some apps to perform or crash more often than in iOS 12, I say hold off until Apple releases the final product, because I have a feeling it's going to be amazing.

Stay tuned for more Apple news! And much, much more!
Leave a comment if you enjoyed this post and share it with your friends!