Some companies are so influential and own so much of the market share in the tech industry that when they roll out an update it affects businesses across all industries. A company that comes to mind right away is Apple. Apple’s latest iOS 15 features powerful tools to help users focus, find things quicker, and gain even more control over their privacy. This update has a lot to offer end-users, but for businesses, and especially marketers, some of these changes are going to make the job a whole lot harder.
What’s New with Apple iOS 15?
Today we are going to highlight some of the new features with iOS 15 that will have an effect on individuals and businesses everywhere.
New Privacy Features
The first and most important change in the iOS 15 update is the introduction of even more privacy controls. We can all appreciate new features like an App Privacy Report that will give you an overview of how apps use the access they have been granted to your location, photos, camera, microphone, and contacts.
Image Source: Apple
Other features like Mail Privacy Protection are a huge hit for email marketing. Mail Privacy Protection prevents senders from seeing a user’s tracking details, including:
- IP address
- Email opens and forwards
- Time stamps (including those for open times)
- Location
- Device type
- Browser or platform
Many businesses rely on these email marketing metrics to understand their customers and make business decisions. Apple’s introduction of Mail Privacy Protection is going to change everything. Apple’s privacy update is going to mark all emails received on an apple device as read. With such a large percentage of users checking their email on an Apple device, it makes the reporting unreliable.
We already see some companies like Keap that are removing email open rates altogether and predict many other email clients and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms are going to follow their lead. So although more privacy controls are a win for users, they are a nuisance for businesses.
Tools to Find Focus
Many will agree that our whole lives are on our phones. With friends, family, work, fun and more all accessible at our fingertips, it is no surprise that our devices are distraction central. iOS 15 includes a new feature called Focus that helps users do just that—focus!
Focus filters notifications and apps to help users stay in the moment during work hours or perhaps while they are winding down for bed. Users can create Home Screen pages that only display relevant apps and reduce temptation. Focus will block incoming notifications and automatically display your status to others in Messages, reflecting that a user is not currently reachable.
Image Source: Apple
AI-Powered Search
Advancements in artificial intelligence continue to blow us away! It’s no wonder so many people and companies are investing in AI and securing their .ai domains. iOS 15 device intelligence helps users find what they are looking for quicker. Live Text recognizes text in a photo, for example, the picture of a handwritten recipe or the phone number from a storefront sign, and allows the user to take action.
Image Source: Apple
Redesigned Safari Interface
With iOS 15, Safari gets a new browsing experience with controls that are easier to reach with one hand. Instead of having the URL bar at the top of the Safari page like a computer, Apple redesigned the experience for mobile. All of the controls are at the bottom of the screen so that the website address is front and center and users can easily swipe between tabs.
Image Source: Apple
As an apple user myself I’m excited for the features that are coming with iOS 15, but as someone who works in marketing I know these changes will take some adjusting to.
