iOS 12
iOS 12 is the twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvements and security updates. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4, 2018, iOS 12 was released to the public on September 17, 2018.[1] It was succeeded for the iPhone and iPod Touch by iOS 13 on September 19, 2019, and for the iPad by iPadOS 13 on September 24, 2019. Security updates for iOS 12 continued for four years after the releases of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 for devices unable to run the newer versions. The last update, 12.5.7,[2] was released on January 23, 2023.
Developer
Closed-source with open source components
September 17, 2018
iOS 12.5.7 (Darwin 18.7.0)
Proprietary software with open-source components
iOS 12 - Apple at the Wayback Machine (archived September 9, 2019)
More power to you.
Overview[edit]
iOS 12 was introduced by Craig Federighi at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 4, 2018.[3] The first developer beta version was released after the keynote presentation,[4] with the first public beta released on June 25, 2018.[5] The initial release of version 12.0 was on September 17, 2018.
System features[edit]
Performance[edit]
Performance optimizations were made in order to speed up common tasks across all supported iOS devices.[6] Tests done by Apple on an iPhone 6 Plus showed apps launching 40% faster, the system keyboard activating 50% faster, and the camera opening 70% faster compared to iOS 11.[7]
App features[edit]
Messages[edit]
Messages in iOS 12 introduces a new type of customizable Animoji called "Memoji" which allows a user to create a 3D character of themselves. Apple also introduced koala, tiger, ghost, and T-Rex Animojis.[28] In addition, Apple added new text and GIF effects similar to those found on other social media applications.
FaceTime[edit]
FaceTime gains support for Animoji and Memoji, as well as new text and GIF effects similar to those found on other social media applications and in the Messages application.[7]
iOS 12.1, released on October 30, 2018, adds the ability to include up to 32 people in a FaceTime conversation. This feature is only supported with video by devices with the Apple A8X or Apple A9 chip or later; it is only supported for audio on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, and is not available at all on iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, and iPad Air (1st generation).[29] Group FaceTime was disabled on January 28, 2019 due to a software bug that allowed calls to be answered by the caller rather than the recipient, allowing video and audio to be transmitted unless the call was declined.[30] The functionality got restored on February 7, 2019, with the release of iOS 12.1.4. Group FaceTime remains disabled on devices running iOS 12 that are affected by the bug.
Problems[edit]
Rainbow flag emoji[edit]
After a rainbow flag emoji with an interdictory sign over it appeared on Twitter, several users accused Apple of encouraging anti-LGBT attitudes. However, Emojipedia has clarified that this occurs when a user tweets the two emojis together and is not an intended feature. This can be used with other emojis as well.[40][41][42]