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2018 mobile operating system From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
iOS 12 is the twelfth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple. Aesthetically similar to its predecessor, iOS 11, it focuses more on performance than on new features, quality improvements and security updates. Announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4, 2018, iOS 12 was released to the public on September 17, 2018.[1] It was succeeded for the iPhone and iPod Touch by iOS 13 on September 19, 2019, and for the iPad by iPadOS 13 on September 24, 2019. Security updates for iOS 12 continued for four years after the releases of iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 for devices unable to run the newer versions. The last update, 12.5.7,[2] was released on January 23, 2023.
| Version of the iOS operating system | |
 | |
iOS 12 running on an iPhone 6 | |
| Developer | Apple |
|---|---|
| Source model | Closed-source with open source components |
| Initial release | September 17, 2018 |
| Latest release | iOS 12.5.7 (Darwin 18.7.0) |
| Marketing target | Smartphones, tablets and digital media players |
| Update method | OTA updates, iTunes |
| Package manager | App Store |
| Kernel type | Hybrid (XNU) |
| License | Proprietary software with open-source components |
| Preceded by | iOS 11 |
| Succeeded by | |
| Official website | iOS 12 - Apple at the Wayback Machine (archived September 9, 2019) |
| Tagline | More power to you. |
| Support status | |
| Obsolete, unsupported | |
iOS 12 was introduced by Craig Federighi at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address on June 4, 2018.[3] The first developer beta version was released after the keynote presentation,[4] with the first public beta released on June 25, 2018.[5] The initial release of version 12.0 was on September 17, 2018.
Performance optimizations were made in order to speed up common tasks across all supported iOS devices.[6] Tests done by Apple on an iPhone 6 Plus showed apps launching 40% faster, the system keyboard activating 50% faster, and the camera opening 70% faster compared to iOS 11.[7]
Screen Time is a new feature in iOS 12 that records the amount of time a user spent on the device. The feature also displays the amount of time the user used particular apps,[8] the amount of time the user used particular categories of apps (such as games),[9] and the number of notifications the user received.[10]
Screen Time also provides blocking features to limit usage of apps (with time limits) or set other restrictions such as on purchases or explicit content. It replaces Restrictions in the iOS Settings app, but can also be used by adults to limit their own usage. These features can be used with or without a passcode. Without setting a passcode, the limits can easily be bypassed but may serve as a useful reminder of usage goals.[11]
In January 2018, investors JANA Partners and the California State Teachers' Retirement System had issued a public letter to Apple, calling for them to take additional responsibility for the "unintentional negative consequences" that iPhones may have on younger users, and to seek out new ways to limit these effects.[12][13] In June 2018, after the announcement of the Screen Time feature, Tim Cook publicly admitted that he "was spending a lot more time than [he] should" on his phone.[14] JANA Partners and CalSTRS issued a second letter to express their support for the new feature.[15]
A dedicated application in iOS 12 allows users to set up Shortcuts, automated actions that the user can ask Siri to perform.[9] Using the Shortcuts app, a user can create a phrase and type in the action they want Siri to do for them. Once they tell the phrase to Siri, Siri will automatically do the task they set for it in the Shortcuts app. The Shortcuts app replaces the Workflow app[16] that Apple acquired in March 2017.[17][18]
ARKit now allows users to share their view with other iOS 12-supported devices.[19] ARKit 2 additionally allows full 2D image tracking and incorporates the ability to detect 3D objects.[20]
CarPlay now supports third-party navigation applications.[9] (Waze, Google Maps, etc.)
The Voice Memos and Stocks apps are now available for iPads.[21]
Control Center is separated from the app switcher on iPad and can be opened with a swipe down on the top right corner. The status bar has been redesigned, and in addition, iPhone X-style gestures are introduced across all iPads running iOS 12.[22]
In iOS 12, the trackpad mode (which allows the user to freely move the cursor) is enabled by long-pressing the space bar on devices without 3D Touch.[23]
For devices with gesture navigation and no home button (iPhone X and later), users can now force quit applications by swiping up from the bottom of the screen (without having to press and hold on them when in the app switcher).[24]
On December 14, 2020, Apple released iOS 12.5, which includes the Exposure Notification API (backported from iOS 13) that provides access to the privacy-preserving contact tracing system that Apple have developed jointly with Google.[25][26] This is provided to support digital contact tracing which came to light during the COVID-19 pandemic.[27]
Since iPhone XS, iPhone XR and iOS 12, iPhone verifies hardware components on every boot time; if non-Apple screen and/or non-Apple battery is found, iOS will display “non-genuine screen” and/or “non-genuine battery” prompt on iOS settings, and the battery health information is unavailable. Later, the iOS 18.1 allows display battery health information of non-Apple battery.[28]
Messages in iOS 12 introduces a new type of customizable Animoji called "Memoji" which allows a user to create a 3D character of themselves. Apple also introduced koala, tiger, ghost, and T-Rex Animojis.[29] In addition, Apple added new text and GIF effects similar to those found on other social media applications.
FaceTime gains support for Animoji and Memoji, as well as new text and GIF effects similar to those found on other social media applications and in the Messages application.[7]
iOS 12.1, released on October 30, 2018, adds the ability to include up to 32 people in a FaceTime conversation. This feature is only supported with video by devices with the Apple A8X or Apple A9 chip or later; it is only supported for audio on iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, and is not available at all on iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, and iPad Air (1st generation).[30] Group FaceTime was disabled on January 28, 2019 due to a software bug that allowed calls to be answered by the caller rather than the recipient, allowing video and audio to be transmitted unless the call was declined.[31] The functionality got restored on February 7, 2019, with the release of iOS 12.1.4. Group FaceTime remains disabled on devices running iOS 12 that are affected by the bug.
Measure is a native AR application that allows the user to take measurements of real objects. It also works as a level,[7] a feature that was originally packaged as part of the Compass app.[32]
Photos has been completely redesigned with four new tabs, including "Photos," "For You," "Albums," and "Search." The new "For You" tab replaces the "Memories" tab previously found in iOS 11 and makes sharing recommendations, creates short-length video collages, photo editing suggestions, as well as featured photos from a specific day.[7]
While the "Photos" and "Albums" tabs received only a few cosmetic changes, the "Search" tab includes new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning features which show the user photos by place and categories (e.g. animals, cars, objects).[33]
Notifications are now grouped by application and have a "manage" button to turn off notifications for that app or to deliver them quietly right from the Notification Center without having to go into the Settings application.[34]
Do Not Disturb gives users more options for automation. Users can hide notifications indefinitely or scheduled like previously, but can also hide notifications for 1 hour, until a time of day, until leaving a location, or until the end of a scheduled event in Calendar.[35]
Voice Memos and Stocks are supported on iPad, and have a newer design. Stocks was integrated with Apple News to show financial and other related news.[36]
iBooks was renamed Apple Books, and the app was redesigned, with five new tabs, including "Reading Now," "Library," "Book Store," "Audio Books," and "Search."[37] The new app design is similar to that of Apple Music, and has been praised for its simplicity in allowing users to easily navigate their book library.[citation needed]
Safari receives an update to Intelligent Tracking Prevention. This includes a feature which allows the user to disable social media "like" and "share" buttons.[38]
Apple Maps had started to be rebuilt from the ground up by relying on first-party map data instead of using map data provided by third parties. This allows for more accurate directions and predictions on the fastest routes.[39] The new maps were rolled out in sections and the entire US completed by the end of 2019.[40]
After a rainbow flag emoji with an interdictory sign over it appeared on Twitter, several users accused Apple of encouraging anti-LGBT attitudes. However, Emojipedia has clarified that this occurs when a user tweets the two emojis together and is not an intended feature. This can be used with other emojis as well.[41][42][43]
A FaceTime issue impacting several versions of iOS 12 (versions 12.1–12.1.3) allowed users to call someone via FaceTime and hear the audio coming from their phone before answering the call,[44] before the bug was fixed in iOS 12.1.4.[45]
All devices that support iOS 11 support iOS 12.[46] However, devices with 1 GB of RAM, A7 and certain A8 chip processors have limited support[lower-alpha 1], which include the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 & 6 Plus, iPod Touch (6th generation), iPad Air (1st generation), iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini 3.
| Version | Build | Codename | Release date | Notes | Update type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.0 | 16A366 | Peace | September 17, 2018 | Initial release on the iPhone XS and XS Max
|
Initial Release |
| 16A367[lower-alpha 2] | October 26, 2018 | Initial release on iPhone XR | |||
| 12.0.1 | 16A404 16A405[lower-alpha 3] |
October 8, 2018[47][48][49] |
|
Bug Fixes | |
| 12.1 | 16B92 16B93[lower-alpha 2] 16B94[lower-alpha 4] |
PeaceB | October 30, 2018[50][51][52] November 6, 2018[lower-alpha 4] |
|
Feature Update |
| 12.1.1 | 16C50 | PeaceC | December 5, 2018[53] |
|
Feature Update |
| 12.1.2 | 16C101 16C104[lower-alpha 5] |
December 17, 2018 December 20, 2018[lower-alpha 5] |
Only for iPhones
|
Bug Fixes | |
| 12.1.3 | 16D39 16D40[lower-alpha 6] |
PeaceD | January 22, 2019[54] |
|
Bug Fixes |
| 12.1.4 | 16D57 | February 7, 2019[45][55] |
|
Security Fixes | |
| 12.2 | 16E227 | PeaceE | March 25, 2019[56] | Initial release on iPad Air (3rd generation) and iPad Mini (5th generation)
|
Feature Update |
| 12.3 | 16F156 | PeaceF | May 13, 2019[57] | Initial release on iPod Touch (7th generation)
|
Feature Update |
| 16F8155[lower-alpha 7] | May 28, 2019 | ||||
| 12.3.1 | 16F203 | May 24, 2019 |
|
Bug Fixes | |
| 16F8202[lower-alpha 7] | May 29, 2019 | ||||
| 12.3.2 | 16F250 | June 10, 2019 | Exclusive to the iPhone 8 Plus, resolving an issue that could cause Camera to capture Portrait mode photos without depth effect on some devices | Bug Fixes | |
| 12.4 | 16G77 | PeaceG | July 22, 2019[58] |
|
Feature Update |
| 12.4.1 | 16G102 | August 26, 2019[59] | Undoes a vulnerability fix reversal from the previous release | Security Fixes | |
| Exclusive to iOS devices not supported by iOS 13 (iPhone 5s, iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, and iPod Touch (6th generation)) | |||||
| 12.4.2[lower-alpha 8] | 16G114 | PeaceG | September 26, 2019[60] | Fixes bug that allows applications to read restricted memory | Security Fixes |
| 12.4.3 | 16G130 | October 28, 2019[61] | Fixes bug that allows AirDrop transfers to be forcefully accepted when the receiver is in Everyone mode | Security Fixes | |
| 12.4.4 | 16G140 | PeaceSecYukonC | December 10, 2019[62] | Fixes bug that allows a malicious video sent by FaceTime to lead to arbitrary code execution | Security Fixes |
| 12.4.5 | 16G161 | PeaceSecYukonD | January 28, 2020[63] | Security fixes, no published CVE entries | Security Fixes |
| 12.4.6 | 16G183 | PeaceSecYukonE | March 24, 2020[64] | ||
| 12.4.7 | 16G192 | PeaceSecYukonF | May 20, 2020[65] | Fixes bugs in the Mail app that allowed kernel corruption and panics | Security Fixes |
| 12.4.8 | 16G201 | PeaceSecYukonG | July 15, 2020[66] | Security fixes, no published CVE entries | Security Fixes |
| 12.4.9 | 16H5 | PeaceUpdate | November 5, 2020[67] |
|
Security Fixes |
| 12.5 | 16H20 | December 14, 2020[68] |
|
Feature Update | |
| 12.5.1 | 16H22 | January 11, 2021[69] | Fixes an issue where Exposure Notifications could incorrectly display logging profile language on the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 6/6 Plus. | Bug Fixes | |
| 12.5.2 | 16H30 | March 26, 2021[70] | Fixes bug where processing of maliciously crafted web content may lead to universal cross-site scripting | Security Fixes | |
| 12.5.3 | 16H41 | May 3, 2021[71] | Fixes bugs where processing of maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. | Security Fixes | |
| 12.5.4 | 16H50 | June 14, 2021[72] |
|
Security Fixes | |
| 12.5.5 | 16H62 | September 23, 2021[73] |
|
Security Fixes | |
| 12.5.6 | 16H71 | August 31, 2022[74] |
|
Security Fixes | |
| 12.5.7 | 16H81 | January 23, 2023[75] |
|
Security Fixes | |
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