Two reports by Guilherme Rambo at 9to5Mac citing “people familiar with the development” of both macOS 10.15 and iOS 13 may have revealed some notable new features in Apple’s operating systems for Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
In the first report, published yesterday, Rambo describes new additions in iOS 13, which has long been expected to be a major release after iOS 12 was focused on improving performance and reliability.
The report says that iPads running iOS 13 will support multiple windows: “Each window will also be able to contain sheets that are initially attached to a portion of the screen but can be detached with a drag gesture, becoming a card that can be moved around freely.” Users will be able to stack the cards or dismiss them with a gesture.
Additionally, Safari will default to the desktop versions of websites on iPads.
A new gesture will be added for undoing or redoing, the article claims. Currently, you have to physically shake the device, which isn’t a very pleasant way of handling it. Instead, iOS 13 will allow you to slide three fingers across the keyboard—left to undo, right to redo. Apple also plans an improvement to the process for installing and managing fonts on iOS devices, with a new panel in the Settings app.
Other small updates described in the report include a redesigned Reminders app, a less-intrusive volume UI, new gestures for selection in tables and collections, and automatic organization of Mail messages. Also mention in the report was some kind of API for helping developers include collaboration features in their apps similar to those available in Pages and some other Apple-made apps.
Finally, dark mode is coming to iOS 13, as has previously been reported elsewhere. 9to5Mac claims that will include both a normal dark mode and a high-contrast alternative.
External displays in macOS
In a separate article on macOS published earlier today, Rambo writes that the next major release of the operating system will have a new feature currently called Sidecar that allows users to “send any window of any app to an external display”—including an iPad.
Notably, the feature works with the Apple Pencil—which is to say that you can draw on the tablet while an app window is sent to it, making the iPad effectively similar to a Wacom tablet. This could create a powerful pairing for digital artists working with a Mac and an iPad Pro or even the new iPad Air.
The 9to5Mac report claims that Sidecar will live in a menu that will appear when you hover your Mac cursor over the maximize button on a window. Selecting an external display (iPad or otherwise) will send the window to that display, fullscreen.
We’ll learn a great deal more about both iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 from Apple itself at the company’s developer conference in June. Both operating systems are expected to launch to users this fall.
https://arstechnica.com/?p=1491937