WWDC19 — Everything you need to know
Mind = Blown!!
That’s the only expression I had in my head towards the end of WWDC19.
Apple never fails to impress me. This is one of the best events Apple did in years. Apple touched almost every product in its ecosystem with an update.
These new features and updates will impact every corner of Apple’s ecosystem.
There are several high-profile announcements during the two and a half hours’ keynote. If you missed the event, sit back and relax, as I have wrapped it all up for you in an easily and quickly readable package.
Here is everything announced, in a nutshell:
1. iPhone gets an update iOS13
2. Apple’s tablets now have their own operating system
3. macOS 10.15 is announced
4. Apple’s most powerful computer ever: Mac Pro
5. Apple Watch gets an update: watchOS6
6. Apple TV update: tvOS13, gearing up for Apple Arcade gaming
Apple has also announced many other tweaks which make a huge difference in our daily lives/usage.
Long story, LONG!
tvOS13:
Being a gamer myself, I cannot hold the excitement till the mid or the end of this article so, I’ll start with something that excites every gamer.
Apple TV will soon be compatible with Xbox One and Playstation Dual-shockcontrollers.
1. Apple TV will now have a “Redesigned home screen” with richer, full-screen content previews
2. Multi-user support, letting the TV give you personalized recommendations to you and all the other associated profiles
3. Switching between profiles is made easy by introducing profiles
4. Support for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 controllers on Apple TV and letting users who already have game consoles in the house use their own controllers on the box
5. “Zero Sign-In” feature designed to allow streaming apps from cable networks to automatically log in when used on a customer’s home Wi-Fi network
6. The music you play on Apple TV will include an option to view lyrics. It will be in sync
7. Apple TV Plus is slated to launch sometime this fall
iOS13:
As expected, Apple has announced iOS13 with some thoughtful upgrades. Every feature introduced as part of iOS13 will offer a variety of improvements to the operating system.
“We know nothing is more important to iPhone users than performance” — Craig Federighi, VP.
Here are some jaw-dropping performance improvements users will experience with iOS13 -
1. Unlocking with Face ID will be 30% faster
2. App downloads are 50% smaller
3. App updates will be 60% smaller
Going into the features:
1. Dark Mode — much-awaited feature! The demo on stage was mind-boggling; it looks incredible! Can’t wait to use it
2. QuickPath swipe to type keyboard
3. The more powerful Camera app
4. Easier browsing through Photos
5. Voice Control gets an update
6. Private sign-in through Apple ID
7. New look for Reminders
8. New and improved Messages with a profile picture (FINALLY)
9. Notes app update with a gallery view
10. Improved health app
11. Files app now can be shared to external storage
12. Time synced lyrics for Music app
13. Memoji stickers
Special mentions:
There are a few brilliant features which require special mention.
Maps: This requires a special mention because Apple is redoing the Maps entirely (ground up). It also introduced a feature called “Look around,” which will let the users explore places with an immersive 3D experience that lets you pan around 360 degrees and move seamlessly down the street.
Sign in with apple: A killer feature which is going to kill the majority of the business for all Social Media platforms like Facebook and Twitter because Sign in with apple is a simple way to sign in to apps and websites that respects your privacy. No more tracking.
AirPods: Siri will be able to read your incoming messages to you, and you can instantly respond.
Audio sharing: Just with a tap, you and your friend can listen to the same music and watch the movie together.
Handoff: Bringing your iPhone close to your Homepod; it will instantly handoff the activity to the HomePod (music, call or podcast) and you can take it with you the same way.
PS — iOS13 is available to iPhone devices starting iPhone 6S. The developer version is out today.
iPadOS:
iPad finally gets its own OS and its called iPadOS.
Honestly, it doesn’t look much different from iOS, but the name change will free Apple from making independent updates to the iPad only.
The iPad has finally outgrown iOS.
Key pointers:
1. You’ll be able to bring widgets to the home screen that are just a swipe away. You’ll also be able to fit more app icons on each screen.
2. Changes in iPadOS include an update to the Files app which will allow you to share folders in the iCloud Drive. There’s a new column view, and you’ll be able to grab files from USB-C flash drives.
3. You’ll be able to bring up multiple windows of the same app, which wasn’t previously possible and there are a lot of small interface changes that make it easier to multi-task with your larger screen real estate.
watchOS06:
Apple Watch gets a huge improvement:
1. Apple watch gets its own AppStore
2. “Independent” apps that can run directly on the watch without the need for a companion iPhone app
3. Dedicated voice memo, audiobook, and calculator apps
4. A cycle tracking app for helping women to keep track of their menstrual cycle (this will also be built into Apple’s Health app on iOS)
5. Built-in Shazam support
macOS:
Introducing macOS “Catalina.”
After macOS Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave comes… it’s time for macOS Catalina.
Points to note:
1. iTunes is not precisely dead instead split into 3 apps — Apple Music, Apple Podcast and Apple TV
2. SideCar — You can now use the iPad as a second display for your Mac
3. Introducing “Find My” app, which is pretty much a combination of Find my friends and Find my iPhone. Even if a device is offline, you can search for it using a Bluetooth mesh network made up of all other iOS/Mac devices.
4. Project Catalyst — Lets developers to retune their iPad apps for macOS, using the iOS app’s existing codebase as the foundation.
New MacPro:
A beast of a computer and here are specs to prove it:
It has a 28 core Intel Xeon, with 300 watts of power, supporting 1.5TB of Ram, and 8 internal PCIe slots. It has built-in ethernet, four Thunderbolt 3 slots, two USB-A slots, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
So, as anyone could guess — It’s insanely expensive.
1. The base model of the Mac Pro will include an eight-core Intel Xeon CPU, 32GB of memory, a 256GB SSD and the Radeon Pro 580X graphics card.
2. Video editors will no doubt appreciate the inclusion of Afterburner, a hardware accelerator card that enables the Mac Pro to play 12 streams of 4K video.
3. The base Pro will start at $5,999 and be released this fall.
4. A new 32-inch, 6K Retina display for Mac Pro will also be available this fall and costs $4,999.
Fun fact: Apple’s previous version of Mac Pro was called as a trash can due to its cylinder-style look, and now trolls are calling this new Mac Pro a “Cheese-grater” :-)
The demo shown on stage to prove the machine’s power is a must watch!
Worth mentioning:
2 other key takeaways from the event are:
ARKit3 gets a significant update. If you are a developer developing Smartphone AR, this will inspire you. ARKit3 supports -
1. Automatic real-time occlusion of people
2. Real-time motion capture
3. Apple also unveiled RealityKit, a framework that enables developers to blend virtual objects with real-world environments, and Reality Composer, which makes it easier for developers to build interactive scenes with full AR support.
Demo by Minecraft to showcase Apple’s new AR capability was decent.
SwiftUI, a new framework for building interfaces for Swift apps. It’ll automatically support features like screen rotation, and the newly introduced dark mode.
Apple is always known for its gesture control. Go to apple.com and browse through the announcements (get into each category) and the experience is breathtaking.
Summing up:
So many brilliant announcements and we have to hold on for a few more weeks before we could start experiencing the enchilada.
I call this a “very out of the ordinary “ event.
Source: Apple.com and tech sites
