Apple's iOS 13 Update: 5 Great Features For Businesses

A leading mobility solution provider outlines some of the biggest software changes coming to iPhones and iPads that could benefit the business world.

At WWDC 2019 earlier this month, Apple unveiled a multitude of updates coming to iPhones and iPads with the arrival of iOS 13.

The new version of iOS has much to offer businesses, said Marco Nielsen, vice president of managed mobility services at Stratix, a Norcross, Ga.-based MSP, in an email to CRN.

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Notable updates for businesses are coming around voice control and Siri, security, battery life and app updates, Nielsen said.

Apple’s iOS 13 update is coming in the fall, the company said. What follows are five key features in iOS 13 for businesses to know about.

Voice Control

"This is a huge update to accessibility and makes a massive difference to people with disabilities," Nielsen said. "Coming to both macOS and iOS 13, full control of the operating system can now be done with your voice."

The new capabilities are mainly due to the improvements in Siri, in tandem with the processing power of current devices, he said.

"Voice Control can also function offline without direct Internet connectivity," Nielsen said. "This bedrock feature is supported by all native apps off the bat, and third-party apps that use Apple’s accessibility API should be able to take advantage of it easily. In certain use cases, this could also provide hands-free computer operations to businesses where there is such a need."

Security & Privacy

"With iOS 13, we can look forward to new features to better protect connectivity and data usage," Nielsen said. "These range from one-time connections instead of 'Always' or 'When in Use' to background tracking alerts giving end users better visibility. As well, there are new weak password warnings, data separation from BYOD and single sign-on with separate personal iCloud accounts."

Users will only have to allow location sharing to an app on a one-time basis, and the app will be required to ask again if it wants further location information, Apple said.

For log-in to apps, Apple announced a new option called "Sign in with Apple" that is meant to take the place of logging in through social accounts such as Google or Facebook. Sign in with Apple will enable iOS 13 users to log in by authenticating with Face ID without revealing any personal information, according to Apple. And for apps that require an email, users will be able to have a unique random address created for each app.

Siri

"Apple continues to invest in their Siri and voice-based technologies," Nielsen said. "This year, several new Siri features and improvements were announced. Enterprises could improve workflows and hands-free operations. Some new features include Siri shortcuts, neutral text to speech that will be less robotics and better AirPods integration."

Battery Life

Apple is also now bringing its popular "dark mode" option from macOS over to iOS devices.

"The introduction of a 'Dark Mode' will bring better battery life to many end users and offer enterprise wide battery management," Nielsen said. "This will be a game-changer to remote and field service employees."

App Updates

Apple's iOS devices will get a performance boost with iOS 13, the company announced at WWDC 2019. That will include 30-percent faster unlocking with Face ID, 50-percent smaller app downloads and 60-percent smaller app updates.

The reduction in the size of app updates means that apps will now launch up to 2X faster, Nielsen noted.

"This will be a major benefit to the enterprise and help ensure all devices are up to date," he said.