As always, Apple previewed a tonne of impressive features at their annual WWDC keynote this year (their 27th event), unveiling new OS’s for all platforms. Just incase you missed it, we’ve rounded up the highlights of the event.
Interestingly, Apple revealed that the attendees of WWDC came from 74 countries, with 120 people under 18 years old, and the youngest only 9 years old!
App Store Numbers
Since it’s launch in 2008, the App Store has been a huge success, growing year on year. Apple was proud to announce there are over 13 million developers and 2 million apps totalling 130 billions downloads.
macOS
After 15 years and 12 versions of OS X, Apple has renamed its desktop operating system to macOS, bringing its naming convention inline with iOS, watchOS and tvOS. The new operating system is named Sierra (after Sierra County in California), and focuses on continuity.
Users with a paired Apple Watch will be able to unlock their Mac just by being closeby. People who also have multiple Apple devices, will find the new Universal Clipboard feature very handy, which enables copy/pasting across devices. iCloud Drive has also received a handy improvement, allowing you to to optimize your storage by keeping older files in the cloud.
Perhaps the two most exciting announcements were that of Siri and Apple Pay both arriving to the desktop. Siri will be available right from your Dock or with a simple ‘Hey, Siri’ command.
If you’re a developer, you can get your hands on the beta in July, with a complete public release in fall 2016. As with recent releases, macOS Sierra will be available for free.
iOS
When Craig Federighi takes the stage to introduce iOS 10, he wasted no time demoing its newest lock screen with a Raise to Wake feature, displaying white, 3D touch enabled notifications. From the new lock screen, you can also quickly access the camera with a quick right swipe, or by swiping left, widgets.
Perhaps the biggest and most exciting announcement of the entire event, is Apple opening up Siri to app developers, allowing us to incorporate her into your apps! Got an idea? Get in touch!
Google, Microsoft and even Amazon have head start over Apple in the personal assistant area, with over 1000 integrations already available, but Apple already have some on the way, demonstrating actions like booking a ride, start tracking exercise and sending payments.
Developers can get their hands on iOS 10 today, with a full public release in fall 2016.
watchOS
Apple also introduced the latest version for it’s wearable, watchOS 3. With the new OS, apps launch far quicker than before and appear to be much easier to access. watchOS now also features a dock and control center similar to that found on iOS. Messages now have quick reply buttons which have preconfigured responses and Scribble, a handwriting detection feature.
In emergencies, you can nold hold the side button to call an emergency number (also works for internationally), and there are several new health apps as well: Breathe for meditation and a wheelchair-friendly mode for handicapped users.
The most interesting point around watchOS was Apple Pay support for standalone apps, which will allow users to make purchases directly from the watch.
watchOS 3 is available in beta now, with a public release during fall 2016.
tvOS
At WWDC last year, Apple introduced the App Store for tvOS. Since then, it’s grow to contain over 6000 apps and 1300 channels.
If you’ve ever misplaced your remote, you’ll be excited to know about Apple’s new iOS remote app. It’s also great to use as another controller for multiplayer games. It can be frustrating if you need to sync your cable account to access live TV on the Apple TV. The new tvOS features a single sign in that lets you access all channels available from your cable provider.
The tvOS updates we’re perhaps the least impressive, but still very welcome. Other features include an improved, smarter Siri and dark mode.
tvOS 10 will be available in fall 2016.
Music, Maps, Messages and More
Many of Apple’s native apps also received upgrades and improvements.
Music
Apple Music launched last year and will receive a ground up redesign. It will feature daily curated playlists and better access to recently added music. Watch out for lyrics coming soon too.
Maps
Apple’s Maps are being improved too, with recommended shortcuts and a restaurant search mode. Apple are also opening up Maps to developers too, allowing Apps like OpenTable for restaurant bookings and rides to get there.
Messages
Messages have shaped up too, with Apple allowing users to add more context to their messages. Large emoji’s, rich links and videos can now all be added to the message thread. There’s are also great scalable message animations and sounds too which bring messages to life.
Photos
Apple’s Photos app sees the return of Aperture’s Map view, where you can visualise where your photos have been taken and facial recognition.
News
Apple’s News app is another app to get a redesign too. News now sorts articles into sections and also includes support for subscriptions. News also features breaking news notifications.
Home
If you’ve got a smart home, you’ll be excited with apps new Home app addition to Homekit. The app allows you to control all of your smart home devices, if the doorbell rings, you can get a notification, view a livestream and unlock the door right from your phone.
Conclusion
WWDC was packed with incremental updates across all of Apple’s operating systems. These OS’s are now more aligned than ever before as Apple continues for continuity and ease of use when switching between devices.
At Mobile Jazz, we strive to be at the top of what’s happening in technology, digital marketing and design. If you’ve got a great idea for an app or website, get in touch, we’d love to hear.
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