I’m trying not to complain too much on my blog these days but with the withdrawal from social media I need some outlet to get it off my chest 😀.
Since iOS 16 (I’m using the iPhone 13 Mini) there’s been a really annoying problem. If you run in dark mode there’s a flash of light mode just for a second when you both load apps and unlock your device. If you’re in low light it’s pretty startling and to me shows the lack of interest in fixing UI glitches even though I’ve been reporting it for what feels like months.
I’ve started to run in light mode but wow this is an annoying issue.
Are you experiencing excessive battery drain on iOS 16? Since updating my iPhone 13 Mini to it, I have. I’ll lose between 10-30% of battery overnight. Looking at the battery stats I can’t figure out why. It’s a very strange one.
I’ve been in the Apple ecosystem since the iPhone 3G and I knew I’d become dependent on iOS but with iPhone dominance it’s hit home as to how dependent I actually was.
Between iMessage and iCloud I’ve locked myself in. It’s also made me realise why Apple doesn’t open these up to Android, users locked into iMessage and iCloud aren’t likely to switch.
I’ve had trouble getting text messages to work consistently on Android and accessing my iCloud mail and shared calendars isn’t native. I can access via the web but the experience isn’t ideal.
I’ve grown too used to iOS and it might be my experience with it but I get so much more done quickly on it VS Android. Android to me feels naggy, between notifications being unintuitive to toggle and the Google assistant home (left of home page screen) throwing all sorts of content at me I’m feeling calmer back on iOS.
I’m glad I’ve done this experiment though and am using iOS with some more appreciation of why I used it in the first place.
I’m all for reporting bugs with iOS 16 on the iPhone 13 Mini but when none of them are worked on it gets frustrating. I know it’s not new someone pointing out the waste of time that reporting bug with Apple is but I’ve hit my limit now too.
This might get old but all I can do is talk about them here hoping someone at Apple can see me being vocal about it.
(Apologies in advance on this, you may see more in the future 😀).
This is a weird bug that I was hoping Apple had worked on between the release master last week and the official yesterday. It’s stopped me using Notes and Reminders.
It’s like there’s some debug code still enabled but if you watch my video you’ll see a flash of bright light before the app fully opens. I get it with Apple apps including Reminders, Notes and Safari.
It’s very strange given this wasn’t in any previous beta. Just me? (I’m on the iPhone 13 Mini).
I’m going to stay on iOS 15.7 I think to get around this.
I’m looking at the rumours and I’m thinking that iOS 16 is going to be released on 15th September 2022. The next iPhone is rumoured to be coming out on 16th so I’m thinking iOS comes out the day before.
I’ve been playing with iOS 16 and I’m not a fan so far but letting it sit with me for a bit. I’m finding that the fonts used and widgets aren’t working out for me with the new Lock Screen changes. I’ve gone back to iOS 15 for now on my iPhone.
I’ve held off running the iOS 16 beta this time around. I’ve been busy and didn’t want to mess with anything. But now I’m back off holiday I put iOS 16 beta 4 onto my iPhone 13 Mini. In my testing I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how it runs.
Battery was down about 10%, which seems ok to me. It’s not far off iOS 15 in terms of day to day performance.
The only issues I found was the phone got a bit warmer, especially when charging. I also noticed bugs (as you’d expect) with the new Lock Screen functionality.
If you’re worried about battery life on the iPhone Mini models on iOS 16, I wouldn’t worry. Go into it open minded that you’ll experience crashes and your device isn’t going to be as stable and may get a little warmer.
So with the launch of the public beta of iOS 16 it’s tempting to put it on your main device but it’s important to think about your next couple of months. iOS 16 with launch for everyone in the first two weeks of September so from now until then you need to think about how long you are willing to have less battery and some apps breaking.
Personally I’m still on iOS 15.5 and been considering moving to iOS 16 again but I have some day trips where I’ll be away from a charger. I have the iPhone 13 Mini and in my previous iOS 16 testing I definitely noticed the reduction in battery.
At this point I’m not willing to make the trade for some Lock Screen improvements. They look good from a distance but in reality after you’ve messed with them for a bit it’s business as usual.
Anyone else on a Mini that can share their battery experience with me?
I’ve been testing out iOS 16 on the iPhone 13 mini just for the fitness plus classes and after a day of testing I’m about 20-30% less after a full day compared to iOS 15. I finished the day before bed on 22% where normally that would be around 40-50%.
If you have full days away from a charger then I’d seriously think about not using the beta until later on in the summer. For me I can charge in the car and I work from home so it’s not a big deal. On a day trip I can take my Anker MagSafe battery pack so I think I’m covered.
I will say though that in day to day use there isn’t a huge amount of change, unless there’s something specific you want to test I’d just stay where you are.
I’ve started to think about iOS 16 coverage and at the moment I’m thinking about breaking it down by app or function. I’ve been using widgets on my Home Screen a lot so thought I’d start there.
Set their theme independent of the system setting
Sometimes I like to run in light mode but I want the widgets to stay in dark mode. A lot of third party apps allow this but Apple apps don’t, I’d like to see this added.
Smaller widgets
I’d like an app icon sized widget type. Like now we have the calendar icon showing the correct date I’d like more. Weather to show actual weather, Reminders to show number of tasks due etc.
Placing them where I want
I hope iOS 16 does away with snap to grid for apps and widgets. I’d like to be able to place them wherever I want regardless of what white space is around them.
I’ve been checking out Portal for the last couple of weeks, integrating it into my day and I have to say that it’s been helping me with with distractions and focussing in work.
The app is an interesting combination of features that are focussed on your wellbeing and letting you escape to different surroundings using an immersive soundscape.
What I’ve found is using the Focus mode, picking a portal (like Japan above) and listening to the environment lets me cut out background sounds and get to my task rather than being distracted by music. As much as I do love music, sometimes it’s just nice to sit in a calming environment when the pressure is on. It is also a good way to unwind after a rough or busy day, just close your eyes and relax. In total there are 44 portals in total so you should be able to find something that fits with your current mood.
The app is a breeze to use once you get used to each of the controls on screen and you can see that the UI is well laid out and a lot of thought has gone into the design. This also applies to the screen once you enter one of the portals, like in my screenshot above. You can choose to display the background with a time but I just like to have the beautiful wallpaper on my iPhone whilst I chill out. If I’m focussing I just ignore it and treat it like I’m listening to some background music.
Where this app really shines though is in its spatial audio support.
There are quite a few portals that have been created with spatial audio in mind and if you are using headphones capable of hearing it, it’s really an amazing experience. I found that after getting used to spatial audio soundscapes I didn’t want to go back to a static stereo one, they are that good.
The other area of that app that I have been using is the breathing exercises that are simple (non-guided) that for me as someone that hasn’t been able to stick to a daily practise are great when I just want to take a few minutes to calm down.
One area that I haven’t been able to test out however is the integration with smart lighting systems such as Hue, HomeKit and Nanoleaf. This looks a really good addition to the app and I imagine would go a long way to making you feel like you are there. If you have smart lighting then download and give it a go, I imagine it would be a great way to unwind (and let me know how you get on).
Portal is a wellbeing app with a difference in the way that it combines several methods of relaxing in one place, it’s created by a team that obviously cares about good app design, the environment around us and the wellbeing of its users.
The app is free with in app purchases ($9.99 a month or $49.99 a year).
I’ve been using the DuckDuckGo browser on my iOS devices since it launched but with iOS 15 I’ve completely switched over to Safari. There is only one reason I’ve done this – Private Relay.
Normally when you browse the web, information contained in your web traffic, such as your DNS records and IP address, can be seen by your network provider and the websites you visit. This information could be used to determine your identity and build a profile of your location and browsing history over time. iCloud Private Relay is designed to protect your privacy by ensuring that when you browse the web in Safari, no single party – not even Apple – can see both who you are and what sites you’re visiting.
Apple
I’ve stopped using a VPN now after my go to was purchased so whilst I was looking around for one I tried Private Relay. It’s not a VPN but enough for me to feel safer browsing the web. I’m actually finding it works really well too, no real performance issues at all.
Safari itself is challenging to use on macOS however but it appears Apple have adjusted the tabs again and hopefully it means the end of me still being confused about which tab is active. It’s nice having both my Mac and iPhone in sync, something I missed with DuckDuckGo.
LJPUK 