Apple adds minor Photos update to iOS 15

In iOS 15, Spotlight now searches photos by location, people, scenes, and objects

At the Worldwide Developer Conference this week, Apple Inc. debuted iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and watchOS 8. The event primarily focused on enhanced privacy features for those platforms but there were a few imaging-related enhancements:

  • Portrait mode is now available for FaceTime and designed specifically for video calls, so users can blur their background and put themselves in focus. While using Group FaceTime, a new grid view enables participants to see more faces at the same time.
  • Spotlight now uses intelligence to search photos by location, people, scenes, or objects, and can find text and handwriting in photos.
  • Photos includes the biggest update ever to Memories, with a fresh new look, an interactive interface, and integration with Apple Music, which uses on-device intelligence to personalize song suggestions that bring memories to life, the company said.
  • For developers, new camera APIs allow for better fused images and add the ability to capture high-quality stills and 1080p video in the same session.
  • Also for developers, RealityKit 2 introduces Object Capture, an API on macOS Monterey enabling developers to create high-quality, photo-realistic 3D models of real-world objects in minutes by taking photos shot on iPhone, iPad, or DSLR and transforming them into 3D models optimized for AR.