iOS 15 will be released on September 20

The next huge updates to iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS are almost here. Following Apple’s annual iPhone event, the company announced that iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and watchOS 8 will be available as free over-the-air updates on September 20th. Next major update for Mac, macOS Monterey, no release date yet.

The launch date makes sense since it’s just days before the new Apple IPhone 13 lineup goes on sale. We first got to know iOS 15 back in June, when Apple showed off the new update features in the company’s virtual office. Worldwide Developers Conference… Most of big updates trying to improve FaceTime and make your phone less distracting. One feature, literally called Focus, lets you filter notifications for a variety of life scenarios including vacation, sleep, and work (profiles are fully customizable so you can customize them to suit your needs). In another cool update, iOS 15 also allows you to combine notifications and schedule them to appear on your phone at a time of your choice, thereby reducing any unwanted time spent looking at useless alerts. When it comes to communications, iOS 15 seems to offer richer connectivity than ever before: you can now FaceTime with your favorite Android friends, plan fun parties with the new and improved Apple Maps, and recognize and translate text using camera app. …

In the spirit of Apple’s ongoing efforts to keep iPhones and Macs running smoother (and maybe slightly overlapping), macOS Monterey also includes FaceTime and Focus updates, although it’s unclear when Monterey will be ready for primetime.

Notably, the long-awaited SharePlay feature for both iOS and macOS, which would let you watch movies or listen to music in FaceTime calls for a more fun group experience, until it is deferred and immediately available for use with the latest FaceTime features. And the complete overhaul of Safari has been largely scaled back following user complaints during the public and developer beta testing process. (Thank God.)

Universal Control, a macOS feature that will give users the ability to use a single keyboard and mouse to control multiple Macs or Macs and iPads at the same time, also appears to have been shelved, although it may be included in the final version. Monterey is available.

As usual, users can immediately delay installing updates as Apple’s servers are likely to be overwhelmed by others trying to download the same software. You also never know when a bug will hit the app you need to use, so it’s always a good idea to wait for the dust to settle down a bit before downloading the latest and greatest software.