Whether or not you’re on the new iPhone 11 train, have no fear — many of its coolest bells and whistles can be yours with iOS 13, Apple‘s latest iPhone software coming out today. With an expanded Memoji selection, a whole new Photo app, and, my personal obsession, Dark Mode, this software gives the iPhone a welcome refresh that’s easy to use with a downright sexy interface (I’m sorry, but I’m never going back to Light Mode). Ahead, we rounded up the best new features.Honorable mention: The new QuickPath keyboard, which lets you swipe along the keys instead of tapping them (similar to Android’s keyboard swipe option) to compose texts and search. For when you’re too lazy to lift a finger.

Memoji

As an adult woman who is no longer a child, I should probably be less excited about these, but alas — I find it ceaselessly entertaining to send Memoji stickers via iMessage, a new feature in iOS 13. In moments of boredom, I have even made Memojis for my friends and texted them stickers of themselves.

They now join the keyboard in Messages alongside icons like Photos and Apple Pay, making them very tempting to insert into all of my conversations. And you can also use them in Mail, FaceTime, and third-party apps like Instagram. (I recently FaceTimed with my boyfriend using a Memoji I made for him as my own face, and it wasweird and amazing.) Also new: 30 more hairstyles, 15 additional pieces of headwear, more
earrings and glasses, and makeup options to make your Memoji even more personal.

Quick Actions

File under: A thing I didn’t know I needed but evidently do. With Quick Actions, now you can press on a widget on your phone’s home screen for a quick look at the app externally having to even go in. In the case of Photos, as pictured here, Quick Actions shows me a quick scan at recent photos and gives me the option to search, check out photos from a year ago (one of my favorite things to do while procrastinating), and look at my favorites.

With Calendar, just tap the icon and you can quickly add an event; with Maps, you can send your location with the touch of a button. And for the latter, with iOS 13’s improved Shortcuts, the people you communicate with most will automatically appear, so all you have to do is tap their icons rather than searching for their names.

Find My

iOS 13 is combining Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into one app. Have a device that you can’t locate? Voila — it’s right there on the map. And if your device happens to be offline (with Bluetooth still enabled) but it’s close enough to connect to a nearby device via Bluetooth, you can still track its location.

Under the Me tab, there’s also now a new Help a Friend option, where you can let a friend log into their iCloud account on your phone and use it to find their lost device. Very clutch.

Dark Mode

Finally what we’ve all been waiting for: Dark Mode. iPhone is pretty late to the game compared to Android’s “Dark Theme,” though we were first introduced to Apple’s version of dark mode with last year’s macOS Mojave on Mac (which I’ve been using since it came out). And now that I can opt-in on my phone, I am never turning back.

In addition to being easier on my eyes, the new interface looks sleeker (especially in Messages), has elicited many compliments from my onlooking coworkers, and can also be scheduled to turn on at nighttime to help you sleep better.

Portrait Mode

The coolest part of the overall revamped Photo app is the new suite of Portrait Lighting effects. This photo, taken with High-Key Light Mono, was actually taken in the fluorescent lighting of my office building’s lobby, despite seriously looking like it was taken in a professional studio setting. You can also adjust the intensity of the lighting.

Source: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/09/8423433/apple-ios-13-update-new-features-public-release