iOS 15's most exciting new features: FaceTime, iMessages and Apple Wallet get new tricks

iOS 15 brings an enormous number of new features, improvements and refinements. FaceTime bulks up with more Zoom-like features, including links that let Android and Windows users participate in a FaceTime video call via browser. You can have your phone bundle less important alerts and deliver them to you as a Notification summary. Live Text is basically Apple's version of Google Lens. You can watch videos and listen to music with friends over a FaceTime call. Messages can gather and organize links and content so you can view them all at once when you choose. You can even add your driver's license to Apple's Wallet app.

The upgrades in iOS 15 fit into four major themes: staying connected, finding focus, using intelligence and exploring the world. Apple's fast-paced, feature-packed preview on Monday was a contrast to the sober reality surrounding iOS and Apple's App Store as of late. Over the past year, Apple responded to inquiries about its App Store from lawmakers and regulators at home and abroad. The company launched iOS 14.5 which brought new levels of user privacy and new controls over ad-tracking, which led to a corporate skirmish with Facebook. Apple also awaits judgment in a lawsuit brought by Epic Games, one of the biggest app developers for iOS.

A developer version of iOS 15 will be available to download, and a public beta will launch this summer.