macOS Sierra & iOS 10: first impressions

The biggest update to how you use your iPhone and iPad since iOS 7

You notice the changes in iOS 10 right away, when you pick up your iPhone and the screen comes on, thanks to the “raise to wake” feature. But it doesn’t present you with the “swipe to unlock” screen that has greeted everyone since iPhone OS 1. In its place, it asks you to press down on the Home button. That’s really the core of the changes at iOS 10: familiar, but new, and better laid-out.

Raise to wake is an incredibly useful way to glance at your Lock screen notifications without pressing a single button – which is great, because you’ll be doing more right from the notifications. Hard pressing on a Mail notification causes it to pop up and reveal more text. 3D Touch on any text message and it’ll expand into a small chat history and provide a window in which you can respond inline. Close out the message and you’re right back on the Lock screen. You can really get stuff done without unlocking it now.

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you’ll be greeted with one of the best iOS 10 changes: a revamped Control Center. Apple has simplified it by adding multiple menus – with music controls accessed after a right swipe, then HomeKit controls after another – and it’s a lot easier to use.

Apple’s updated apps

The changes to the Messages app are big, but very welcome. Apps mean you can send friends music clips, stickers, GIFs, and more, thanks to a separate iMessages store. At the moment, it’s all free, though sparse. Expect to see a lot more on launch day.

The feature that highlights words that have an emoji equivalent, so you can tap to turn them into that emoji, is actually really good – you can’t search for emoji (like you can on a Mac), so instead you can just type out the word normally, then tap it.

The Home app worked with some of our HomeKit gear already, and we actually prefer it to individual developers’ apps. It’s incredibly easy to use, with big buttons and movable tiles designated for each room.

Maps no longer springs you back to your current location when you try to look ahead at a route, which makes it much more useful. It features bigger buttons and fonts than before, making navigating the app itself a lot easier.

iOS 10 just feels faster – not so much in performance, but in a reduction of friction within tasks. We’re excited for the full release this fall.