Apple stuck to the script at the annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). No new hardwares were unveiled. Instead, the company focused on updates to its operating systems: iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.
Apple kicked off its annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California on Monday with tons of software updates. As expected, there were no new hardwares unveiled, the company opting to reserve that for its September event.
But it doesn’t mean there aren’t any exciting products to look out for! Apple says most of these features will come in the fall. Here’s a quick summary of the stuff to be excited about when they become available later this year.
iOS 12: Siri Shortcuts, Memoji, Group FaceTime, ARKit 2 and ScreenTime
It is much easier to work with Siri in iOS 12. With Siri Shortcuts, the smart assistant can suggest actions based on factors like time, location, and even your calendar. This means you can ask Siri to do a set of commands such turning on the home AC, texting your mom your ETA and turning on your car radio, all with just the phrase “heading home”.
Memoji is very similar to AR Emoji that debuted with the Samsung Galaxy S9. It brings customisable emojis to the iPhone X. New effects are also coming to Messages and FaceTime apps. Users can now add filters, stickers, text, and Animoji to photos and videos before they send them.
Facetime has been upgraded as well. Now you can add up to 32 different people with the option of audio or video.
Apple is determined to expand its services into the AR realm. The company unveiled today its ARKit 2 framework which brings support for multiple users in the same AR environment.
Another AR-related tool is the Measure, which will allow you to measure 3D objects in real time using the camera. You do this by simply tapping and touching screen.
With all these cool new features, Apple also doesn’t want you to just spend all your time on your phone. Screen Time offers weekly summary reports to help you see which apps you use more. App Limits allow users to well, set time limits for certain apps with constant reminders. You can of course, ignore the warning but iOS 12 will continue to remind you of it.
macOS
The new macOS, called Mojave, will now let users enter into something called Dark Mode. This feature allows you to dim your desktop screen making it easier for the eyes. Dark Mode is specifically intended to make editing photos and videos even better.
Mojave is also introducing Desktop Stacks. It allows users better acess to their desktops by automatically stacking files into groups based on file type.
The Mac App Store has also gone through a facelift. It now sports an upgraded look and better text content. The addition of Create, Work, Play, and Develop tabs let users easily find what apps they want to install on their devices.
tvOS
Apple gave a preview of its tvOS 12 for the Apple TV lineup. A Zero Sign-on feature gives users access to their account by automatically signing them on. The feature will detect the broadband network a user is on and gives them access to the premium apps bundled to their plan.
The Apple TV app for all Apple devices now supports over 100 video apps from 10 countries.
Additionally, the company also announced a partnership with Charter communications to provide Apple TV 4K to customers. The latter is the second largest cable provider in the US.
watchOS
The Cupertino-based company has also unveiled the watchOS 5 for its wearable tech.
Users now have the ability to do watch to watch communication through a feature called Walkie-Talkie. It is quite a convenient feature when you want to exchange voice messages back and forth in real time without hopping onto a call.
New content has also been added including live sports scores, commute time from one place to another, and heart rate after a workout.
Apple has however, dropped supported for the original Apple Watch. The update is only available for Apple Watch Series 1 and later. It also requires an iPhone 5s or later device running iOS 12.
