WWDC Software: iOS 12, macOS Mojave, tvOS 12, and watchOS 5
It’s that time of year again. Time for Apple’s annual developer conference. Apple came through on many things this year, so lets jump right in and recap all the software mentioned today!
iOS 12
Apple took to the WWDC stage today to officially unveil the company’s newest mobile operating system. Apple claims that iOS 12 doubles down on performance and most importantly will be supported on all current iOS 11 devices.
The segment began with compatibility for all current iOS 11 devices and eased into how the next generation will increase performance. Tim Cook used an iPhone 6 Plus for example stating that apps launch 40% faster, the keyboard can appear 50% faster, and sliding over to take photo can be up to 70% faster.
ARKit was shown off with a new app called Measure. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, displayed how Measure could be used similar to a tape measure and could also automatically give detentions for rectangles.
Most notably many changes are coming to Siri. New shortcuts are coming to the digital assistant allowing compatible apps expose quick actions to Siri. During the demo the shortcut “I lost my keys” was added and then Tile app exposed the necessary information. Siri is also becoming a little more personal by learning what actions you may perform everyday. Siri can now suggest app actions on the lock screen such as ordering coffee or starting a workout. Other apps are also becoming more aware. For example if you have a movie pass in the wallet app, Do Not Disturb (DND) can be activated. Oddly enough last week Siri dropped some hints that she might be getting a new voice, there was no mention of a new voce during the keynote.
Other app such as News, Stocks, Voice Memos, and iBooks also received a UI refresh. Speaking of iBooks, the name is no more. iBooks has now been rebranded as Apple Books. The Stocks app now includes more charts, top stories from Apple News, and includes stock ticker above stories. Additionally, the Stocks app is coming to iPad for the fist time. Voice Memos has been redesigned and will sync iCloud memos between other devices. Voice Memos is also coming to the iPad for the first time. Grouped notifications for the lock screen have also arrived with iOS 12.
Do Not Disturb has seen a little revamp. DND will now hide alerts during bedtime hours and a new morning lock screen feature will show weather info and dismiss button to enable alerts again.
Similar to the latest version of Android a feature dubbed Screen Time gives you a weekly summary of how you’ve used your iPhone or iPad. You can view a detailed breakdown with times, apps, and how often you pick up your iPhone or iPad. You can also view which apps are sending you the most alerts. Adding to that, you can now set app time limits. This will also give you reminders that time is almost up. Of course you can ignore alerts, but reminders will persist. These features can also be added to children’s devices and can be managed via Family Sharing.
Another notable addition is the introduction of group FaceTime calls. FaceTime will gain the ability to group calling up to 32 users. Participants will have the ability to easily join and leave calls. The UI will automatically changes who is shown largest based on who is speaking for easy identification.
New characters were added to Animoji. Animoji can now also be used within FaceTime and you can add on other sticker packs and filters. Memoji was newly introduced and allows you to create a personalized Animoji based on your you. The service looks and sounds really similar to Bitmoji on Snapchat.
Last but certainly not least, CarPlay was touched on very briefly during the keynote. The infotainment system is now gaining support for third party mapping apps such as Google Maps and Waze.
iOS 12 will be released to the public as a free update this Fall.
macOS Mojave
Following detailed leaks last week, Apple has announced macOS Mojave featuring a fully redesigned Mac App Store, Dark Mode, Home app, Desktop Stacks, and more.
Apple also took the opportunity to share a sneak-peak at its new cross-platform framework that will be available to developers in 2019. The new frameworks will allow for applications to be run across iOS and macOS, with Apple using its News, Stocks and Home apps as examples of how “very few” code changes can create beautiful new, yet familiar iOS apps on the Mac.
Apple has launched a new Dark Mode feature within macOS Mojave. The easy-on-the-eyes option allows users to hit a switch and turn the entire interface, including apps such as photos, Finder, Calendar, Mail, iTunes, Messages, Xcode, Pages, and more into a dark version.
macOS Mojave gains the new group FaceTime feature found within iOS 12.
As touched upon above, Apple has brought the Home app to the Mac, allowing HomeKit users to control their compatible accessories from the Mac, a feature highly requested by many since HomeKit launched along side iOS 8.
tvOS 12
Apple unveiled tvOS 12 during its annual week long World Wide Developers Conference at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California on Monday, introducing support for Dolby Atmos surround sound for the Apple TV 4K, new Aerial screensavers, “zero sign-on”, and more.
During the keynote Tim Cook revealed that Apple’s TV business has grown 50% year-over-year. According to Apple its upgraded audio experience will be coming to iTunes this fall and will be a free upgrade to applicable media.
Following the release of its single sign-on feature last year, Apple has announced “zero sign-on,” wherein the Apple TV detects the user’s broadband network and automatically signs them in to “all the supported apps they receive through their subscription – no typing required.”
The Apple TV team have partnered with the International Space Station to offer Apple TV users breath-taking Aerial screensavers taken by NASA astronauts and filmed in 4K HDR. – Apple is also making it easier for Apple TV viewers to find out exactly where their screensavers have been filmed, with users able to press a button on the Siri Remote to pull up location information and the ability to swipe-to-change the image shown on-screen.
Apple will release tvOS 12 for the 4th generation Apple TV and Apple TV 4K later this year.
watchOS 5
Apple’s wearable is ready for latest software update brining us to watchOS 5. watchOS 5 adds plenty of new features for health and fitness tracking. Aside from adding new workout types for yoga activities and hiking, you can now challenge your friends to activity competitions up to seven days in length. watchOS 5 includes a new workout tracking mode that allows Apple Watch to track an activity when it detects that you might be working out. Inversely it also allows Apple Watch to stop tracking the activity when it detects you have stopped working out. You will also be able to see more detailed information such as rolling mile times and pace reminders.
Apple has also incorporated a new way to communicate with others Apple Watch users. The new feature, walkie-talkie, pretty much speaks for itself. Push a button, speak, wait for the noise of someone communicating back.
With the additions to Siri in iOS 12, it’s no surprise that similar features were also added to the watch. The Siri watch face has been updated with sports, maps, as well as shortcuts to the new Siri actions. Apple has also eliminated the need to say “Hey Siri” before invoking a command. Instead, Apple says that you will be able to just raise your wrist and start speaking.
Select notifications are becoming more interactive. For example, paying for rides directly within the Watch version of an app or responding to Yelp reservations. Additionally for the first time ever, Apple is adding the ability to view certain webpages directly on the Watch, through new WebKit support. Allegedly the sites will be optimized for usability on the watch.
Wrapping up, the company has included a new Podcasts app, the ability to play background audio, and a customizable Control Center. The Wallet app can now also support student ID cards and is being piloted on a limited amount of universities. The smartwatch will also be receiving a new Pride Edition watch face and band, both of which are available starting today.
watchOS 5 will be available as a free update this Fall and will be compatible with the Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 watches. This is the first update that will not be coming to the original first-generation Apple Watch that was released three years ago.