iOS 12 Developer Beta in Screenshots

Apple announced iOS 12 at its annual developers conference today and the update was noticeable for what wasn't there. It wasn't big on new features, nor was there a dramatic redesign of the user interface. Instead it was all about stability and under-the-hood performance improvements. And in my own use of iPhone 8 with the developer beta installed, I found it to be extremely fast and snappy. And quite polished too, if I may add. But what surprised me the most was Apple's plans for Siri. Gone are the smarts, not to mention its quest to compete with Google and Amazon in the virtual assistant space (at least for now), it's now more about achieving a trade-off between being useful while not sacrificing on user privacy, at the same time offering handy "shortcuts" to help get things done quickly. So without any further ado, here is what's new in iOS 12:

Redesigned and rebranded Apple Books app

Redesigned and rebranded Apple Books app, and 2FA passcodes appear as AutoFill suggestions

The home screen layout, updated Voice Memos app, the new AR-based Measure app and Shortcut recommendations in Spotlight Search

New Shortcut features in Siri

Grouped notifications with added ability to turn them off while delivering them 'quietly'

Updated notification settings and battery stats, and option to turn on automatic software updates

New shortcuts in Messages app to initiate FaceTime calls or get info on the contact, new book sync options for Apple Books, setting to disable access to Wallet and USB accessories from lock screen, and new Siri voices (Irish and South African)

New Do No Disturb options, new Control Centre setting to scan QR codes, new wallpaper, and setting to turn off password AutoFill

New 'Screen Time' digital well-being features that lets users track app usage activity, schedule downtime and enforce content restrictions

Screen Time alerts, and Instagram app and Facebook website inaccessible once time limit is reached

Siri alerts for important events surfaced from text conversations, Apple Books goes dark when it's night time, new iMessage camera effects, and updated icons for weather conditions

Setting App Limits, new autocorrect suggestion highlights, updated iMessage app tray placement above the keyboard, and the new 'For You' section in Photos

Artist profiles have larger images in Apple Music, song search by lyrics, darker music player widget in lock screen, and new warning to turn on Do Not Disturb mode before recording home screen

Updated colour and pen tip options in Apple Notes, and new "Scan Document" menu (replaces "New Sketch") when performing a 3D Touch action on Notes app icon from home screen

Currently being read book is shown open in landing page of Apple Books, new Apple Books Review of popular books, augmented reality-based Measure app to measure and copy distances, and Level moved from Compass app to Measure

New Voice Memos app settings, different media types in Photos app, favicon support in Safari, and updated "Request Desktop Site" icon

Refreshed Stocks app can display stock price changes all the way back to 10 years, new Reachability arrow indicator, Siri Shortcut to copy link currently on Clipboard to Safari, and new "Scan QR Code" menu when performing a 3D Touch action on Camera app icon

Redesigned Stocks app with Apple News integration, and slightly tweaked bottom navigation bar in Apple News

Updated Browse tab in Apple News (with Saved stories and History pushed to the bottom of the list), redesigned Voice Memos app, and the new Measure app that uses augmented reality to measure objects.