iOS 15 Lets You Drag and Drop Images and Text Across Apps

[MacRumors]

Apple this week previewed iOS 15, which is available now in beta for developers ahead of a public release later this year. One smaller but useful new feature added is the ability to drag and drop images, text, files, and more across apps on iPhone.

MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci demonstrated the new feature in a tweet:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1401999674899419143

Cross-app drag and drop has been available on the iPad since 2017 and Apple has finally extended the feature to the iPhone with iOS 15. Cross-app drag and drop always results in duplication, not movement, of content.

From the iOS 15 features page on Apple's website:

Drag and drop
With support for drag and drop across apps, you can pick up images, documents, and files from one app and drag them into another.

To drag and drop on iOS 15, long press on an image, text, or file and, without lifting that finger, use a second finger to swipe out of the app and open another app. Then, let go of the image, text, or file to drop it into the other app. Long pressing on content makes it appear to rise and adhere to your finger, and as the content is dragged, animations and visual cues identify possible destinations where the content can be dropped.

In many apps, you can drag a single item with one finger, and while dragging, select additional items by tapping them with another finger. The selected items move together and appear stacked beneath the finger that's dragging the original item. You can then drag the items as a group and drop them into another app.

The first beta of iOS 15 was seeded to developers earlier this week, and the software update should be released for all compatible iPhones in September.

Article Link: iOS 15 Lets You Drag and Drop Images and Text Across Apps

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Such a nice and helpful feature.

Thank you again Apple.

We don’t owe Apple just money 💰 we owe them our loyalty to the brand.

 

[JosephAW]

It would be nice after you paste text the clipboard would clear.

 

[macsplusmacs]

15 keeps giving!

 

[contacos]

Anyone else feel like iOS has become super unintuitive with its weird and almost random gestures and stuff by pressing on invisible areas on the screen with different amount of fingers on top or am I just getting old? It can’t be that cuz half the people I know didn’t even know multitasking was a thing on their iPads ?

edit: Cross-app drag and drop has been available on the iPad since 2017

i didn’t know this was a thing either!

 

[profets]

So many more little tidbits than we saw at WWDC. Awesome.

 

[jk1221]

Anyone else feel like iOS has become super unintuitive with its weird and almost random gestures and stuff by pressing on invisible areas on the screen with different amount of fingers on top or am I just getting old? It can’t be that cuz half the people I know didn’t even know multitasking was a thing on their iPads ?

edit: Cross-app drag and drop has been available on the iPad since 2017

i didn’t know this was a thing!

This is like we want to give access between apps but refuse split view like every other phone out there for some reason.

It would be WAY better with a true split view to see both apps rather than this ghost press and hold, keep pressing and switch apps with your other hand. A basic 2 app split view would be far more intuitive than this.

 

[RowellE]

Wouldn’t copy and paste be easier and faster?

 

[cmaier]

It would be nice after you paste text the clipboard would clear.

Why? You never paste the same thing multiple times? I sure do.

 

[syklee26]

Wouldn’t copy and paste be easier and faster?

Exactly what I thought...

 

[Apple_Robert]

The process sounds a little convoluted. I will reserve judgement until I have tried it.

 

[velocityg4]

Anyone else feel like iOS has become super unintuitive with its weird and almost random gestures and stuff by pressing on invisible areas on the screen with different amount of fingers on top or am I just getting old? It can’t be that cuz half the people I know didn’t even know multitasking was a thing on their iPads ?

edit: Cross-app drag and drop has been available on the iPad since 2017

i didn’t know this was a thing!

Definitely, I started with iOS 4 or 5. It was very intuitive. First time I picked it up. It was like I'd been using it all along. All the commands and placement of everything in the UI just made sense.

iOS 7 was when it started to change. With features being hidden and placement being unintuitive.

Now so much seems to require a Google search to learn or poking around through tons of menus. Then much else I don't even know I'm missing out on. Unless I happen to come across it in a post.

A large part of that is feature creep. Everythings more complex. Which makes it harder to make everything intuitive.

A lot also has to do with minimalism or anti-skeumorphism. Making things less apparent. The most aggravating thing is when they move a function or command to another category or menu. For example adding mail accounts to settings has changed locations multiple times. To different headings.

 

[Apple_Robert]

 

[adammusic]

Useless for me.
Just sharing the pic is faster.

 

[Khedron]

Such a nice and helpful feature.

Thank you again Apple.

We don’t owe Apple just money ? we owe them our loyalty to the brand.

That escalated quickly.

 

[Karma*Police]

Wouldn’t copy and paste be easier and faster?

It’s probably why they didn’t show it off at WWDC. It’s one of those power user features that will be seldom used by most people.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Wouldn’t copy and paste be easier and faster?

Depends on the situation. I personally prefer dragging and swiping to tapping multiple times.

 

[Your Royal Highness]

copy and paste seems much more elegant.

 

[Radeon85]

15 is looking to be a great OS update for quality of life improvements

 

[lazyrighteye]

On paper, this looks to be a pretty nifty alt for Copy/Paste. Interested to see how this fairs in my daily workflow.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Anyone else feel like iOS has become super unintuitive with its weird and almost random gestures and stuff by pressing on invisible areas on the screen with different amount of fingers on top or am I just getting old? It can’t be that cuz half the people I know didn’t even know multitasking was a thing on their iPads ?

edit: Cross-app drag and drop has been available on the iPad since 2017

i didn’t know this was a thing either!

YES! The techinology challenge people I help every year are having a harder time using iOS/ipadOS, and i find myself desparately searching for all the off switches for these hidden features that cause them confusion.

The issue is Apple is trying to balance what the technology enthusiasts are demanding to turn iOS into a full desktop OS, versus what the appeal was for iOS in the first place ... simplicity.

Frankly, since iOS 7 it's been getting worse and worse. I saw a demo of iOS 4 recently and was shocked how much easier, straightforward, and better it was to use compared to now.

 

[bigrell486]

Such a nice and helpful feature.

Thank you again Apple.

We don’t owe Apple just money 💰 we owe them our loyalty to the brand.

False. We don’t owe them anything; they have to earn it.

 

[Apple_Robert]

YES! The techinology challenge people I help every year are having a harder time using iOS/ipadOS, and i find myself desparately searching for all the off switches for these hidden features that cause them confusion.

It is hard to keep up with every feature and all the ways to turn on and off etc. even for us Apple nerds.

 

[cmaier]

copy and paste seems much more elegant.

How do you copy multiple things and paste them at once from apps that don’t allow multiple-selection?

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

False. We don’t owe them anything; they have to earn it.

Apple has been doing an amazing job lately. Innovation at it’s finest.