Apple WWDC 2015 Keynote highlights
At 10:00am today, June 8th 2015, Tim Cook opened the 26th edition of the WWDC Keynote, introducing a number of major, and some minor updates regarding iOS 9, as well as the next iteration of OS X, codenamed “El Capitan”, and a new version of the watchOS development toolkit, for programmers looking to create applications for the Apple Watch, and more important updates.
OS X El Capitan
Apple’s Senior VP of software engineering Craig Federighi took the stage to talk about the new and improved Mac OS X “El Capitan”, which features a number of enhancements affecting performance and user experience, with a more fluid integration of Spotlight, and window management.
Some of the minor features introduced in the update include a shake gesture that can be performed on a trackpad, or with any pointing device, which will highlight the position of the cursor. the feature is particularly useful on high resolution screens, like the 27 inch Apple iMac Retina 5K.
A feature reminiscent to Chrome’s home screen icons has been introduced in Safari, called “Pin Sites”, which creates icon bookmarks for frequently accessed websites. Another feature that somewhat borrows once again from Google Chrome, is the audio icon appearing on tabs when media, such as video or audio is playing.
Predictive search has also been improved, providing better information retrieval using Spotlight, from the desktop, as well as the file manager.
In the spirit of revisiting existing features, and improving upon them, the familiar Windows 10-like “Windows Snap”, or some form of it has made its way into El Capitan. Mac OS X users can now drag two application windows to the edge of the screen and automatically size them to one half or the other of the screen to quickly snap them in place side by side.
Virtual desktop also take a page from the same style of interaction. Application windows can now be dragged off screen, to trigger an overhead virtual desktop editor that allows users to group applications on the fly.
Reliability and speed has also been improved system-wide, starting from replacing OpenGL with Metal as the default engine for 3D applications, which improves rendering performance by 50%, with a 70% reduction of CPU usage.
The developer Beta of OS X El Capitan will be available in July, and users worldwide will be able to upgrade for free, this Fall.
iOS 9
Finally, the wait is over: iOS 9 has been introduced, with a modest number of important upgrades, starting with better battery life, performance and security of customer data. This has been rumored to be the case for some time, as word floated around of Apple rewriting the core of iOS to support legacy devices as far back as the iPhone 4 and iPad Mini 2. This has been confirmed today, towards the end of the iOS presentation.
Despite the lack of what some anticipated as Apple introducing augmented reality features and other outlandish performances, Apple has managed to raise a few eyebrows, by introducing advanced predictive search features, like Google Now-like cards, and other apps designed to proactively serve information to users, based on their habits and preferences. Siri has also seen a 40% increase in accuracy. Reminders are also a feature of iOS.
Apple Pay
While the news that Apple Pay is now supported by Square, and it’s now in over 1 million locations worldwide does not come as a surprise, social network Pinterest is about to add an Apple Pay purchase button on items for sale, displayed directly on pins.
Apple Pay is also about to seek expansion in the UK, with a planned coverage of as many as 250,000 locations, and to include store cards support
Apple Notes
The default note taking app in iOS has been enhanced with text formatting options, and the ability to include images and drawings into Notes. Web pages can also be instantly sent to Notes, in a similar way as Google Keep’s.
Maps
The much rumored support for public transit has been added to Apple Maps, at the moment as a separate module called “Transit”. the service is now available in a limited number of US locations and in some Chinese provinces. The feature allows to plan trips by public transport, by providing information from a number of bus and train stations, as well as providing multi-routing walking distance directions.
Apple Pay will also be part of the experience, by providing purchase options of goods and services, directly from retailer’s local listings.
Apple News
A Flipboard-like service has made its way into iOS 9, called News, which uses machine learning algorithms to display news headlines and links to articles from a number of curated sources, listed according to the user’s reading history and preferences.
Split Screen and more rumors, now confirmed
Those who thought that Apple would never implement split-screen in iOS had a rude awakening today, as the feature has been demoed, showing how a number of apps can be docked in a vertical configuration on the side of the screen, alongside other full-screen apps. The feature is vaguely reminiscent of the Windows 8 Charms Bar, and allows independent slide feature, which can be executed simultaneously, without triggering a multi-touch gesture. The update also comes accompanied by a new apps-switching feature.
The iOS keyboard has also been refreshed. It now features the ability to be used as a trackpad for overhead applications.
Two-factor authentication
In the wake of Tim Cook’s remarks on security and privacy, iCloud now support two-factor authentication, which is expected to be available across all Apple devices.
Easier upgrade
In response to complaints over the storage required to perform an update in previous versions of iOS, the size of the download of iOS 9 has now been shrunk to 1.3GB, making it easier to upgrade to on devices with less storage space.
New developer toolkits
Three new toolkits will be available to game developers: GamePlay, ModelKit and ReplayKit, each adding to the existing three toolkits introduced in the last keynote.
HomeKit developers will also have better toolkits with enhanced performance on IOT home appliances, and remote access capabilities through iCloud.
CarPlay
Apple’s in-car connectivity system has been updated with untethered iPhone integration. Starting from the new version, CarPlay will allow users to remotely control their car’s entertainment, navigation and utilities without having to physically connect their iPhones.
Swift 2
More good news for developers, as Swift 2 has been released, and it is now open source for iOS, OS X and Linux. the July rollout will make the developer beta available in July, through http://beta.apple.com.
Apple Watch
Several updates and improvements were to be expected about the still brand new Apple device. A new version of the watchOS has been released, with native apps support, which makes use of the Watch’s own logic chipset.
New features have been also introduced, including Timepiece, a new way to customize the watch face with timelapse animations, slideshows and custom wallpapers.
Time Travel is another great feature, which allows to use the side crown on the Apple Watch, to scroll back and forth in time, to reveal events available at given times.
Other minor improvements include a “nightstand” mode, turning the watch into a nightstand alarm clock with a snooze button. Communication is a “speed-dial” type of feature that allows to select from a list of frequent contacts that can be customized dynamically directly on the watch, and built from the existing phone book app.
Facetime audio support, an improved fitness app, Apple Pay store cards and Transit, are also part of the wave of updates to watchOS, as well as an audio recorder, video playback, HealthKit native support, improved accelerometer, HomeKit native apps and voice dictation for messaging applications.
By enabling native apps on the Apple Watch, users will gain a similar ability to Android Wear users, which is to be able to connect directly to a Wi-Fi hotspot and gather information, without the need for iPhone connectivity.
Finally: Apple Music
The brand new streaming music service Apple Music has been introduced today, as three services: Music, Radio and Connect,
Music is the main application, which is designed to stream music in a similar way as Pandora does, but in a way that is less algorithmic, with content curated by actual artists.
Radio is the evolution of Beats 1, which is a 24/7 radio broadcast from different locations worldwide. Radio is available for free, without a subscription.
Connect is a social networking application which works within the Apple Music ecosystem, which allows users to upload their own music, videos, images and other information to share with the community.
Apple Music also uses predictive search to find music, based on user preferences and habits, as well as gathering information from movies, TV shows, news and other content.
Apple Music will be available across the entire line-up of Apple products, and also as an Android app, this Fall.
The service will have a monthly individual cost of $9.99, and a family plan available at $14.99 per month.