Apple WWDC: a few new features and macOS Mojave
Apple's WWDC keynote didn't show us any new devices, but rather new features. Below, I reveal what's in store for iOS 12 or the latest version of your Apple Watch.
The rumours were flying. Apple fans thought they were going to see a new iPhone SE appear on the market, simply because they thought it would be cool. Apple didn't let anything slip, of course; it knows better than anyone how to turn its keynotes into a real show.
I'm listening to Imagine Dragons' "Whatever it takes" on my speakers before the live broadcast starts. At least I've chosen the right soundtrack.
The press conference has just finished. We know a bit more.
The first joke falls flat
The broadcast begins to thunderous applause. Apple plays an advertising clip showing a jet landing. A male voiceover describes a strange animal that hibernates for 11 and a half months and migrates once a year: the developer.
"We must observe them here, in their sacred temple", we are told as images of the Steve Jobs Theatre are projected. The sumptuous building has become a sacred temple. Ah, that's a joke! The clip depicts developers as slow, starving creatures, entirely devoted to their heroes. I don't think it made many people laugh.
The developers are then described as "enlightened shamans". So they're not just brainwashed devotees.
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, takes the stage. He informs us that developers have come from 77 countries. There are more of them than ever before. "More than ever before". "Best ever", right? He flatters them, because they're the ones who gave life to the iTunes App Store, which will soon be celebrating its 10th anniversary. Congratulations to them! It has 500 million visitors a week, and this week is set to reach a very special record: its revenue will exceed 100 billion US dollars.
However, Mr Cook isn't satisfied yet. He wants more consumers to learn to program. The Swift programming language (in English) should solve this problem.
The Swift programming language should solve this problem.
"Every school should teach programming." He's right; some basic knowledge already goes a long way to helping children and adults solve computer problems. Carry on. No kidding, if Apple wants to found a school, I'm all for it.
The new iOS 12
The slogan of the software-packed WWDC conference is "The customer at the centre of everything". The iOS mobile operating system, the centrepiece of this philosophy, is now in its 11th version.
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering at Apple, appears on stage. He paints a portrait of a phenomenally successful operating system that revolutionised the world of mobile technology with the iPhone 4.
He gives us an insight into user behaviour when it comes to updates. Half of them have upgraded to the current version in the last seven weeks. Currently, 81% of Apple's devices are equipped with the latest version of iOS, while according to Slide in Cupertino, they are only 6% with Android. "Well, they don't really have an update model," he says. He's not wrong, since Android is notorious for its catastrophic update performance.
Hence iOS 12. Above all, this new operating system is supposed to be faster on older devices. On the iPhone 6S, apps are expected to launch 40% faster, and they should perform better when under heavy load. Indeed, stress tests have shown that they start up up to twice as fast, even under these conditions. That's really excellent!
Source: apple.com/newsroom
But that's not all. The new operating system is even better suited to augmented reality (AR). A new file format, USDZ, has been created in collaboration with Pixar. These files contain 3D models that are supposed to work across the entire range of Apple products. To achieve this, Adobe has been called in.
Abhay Parasnis, CTO of Adobe, takes the stage. The USDZ format is supported natively by Adobe Creative Cloud, and throughout iOS. This 'immersive' design will have new applications in the Creative Cloud. They will process AR data in a WYSIWYG editor and send it seamlessly to Apple devices.
Let's get back to Mr Federighi. When creating AR content, measurements are key. So iOS 12 devices come with an app called Measure. It allows you to draw a line across your screen and see a precise measurement of an object displayed.
"Isn't that cool?" asks Mr Federighi.
Yes, that's pretty cool.
The new ARKit
Behind all AR apps is the Apple ARKit. The new version 2 not only features multi-user augmented reality, but also improved face tracking and display.
Lego Support, a new feature built into ARKit, will appeal to young and old alike. You create your models in AR and scan real models on your iPad while avoiding scattering pieces on the floor, then hurting yourself by stepping on them.
With Shared AR Interface, you can play two people with the same lego kit. I'm impressed with the technology, but even Batman and the Joker couldn't change my mind. I prefer to play with real pieces.
If you play with the virtual lego kits, you can record your games. The app remembers your kit and the pieces you've used so you can retrieve them. Legos as a memory medium... Nice.
Apple Photos gets smarter
Photos has been improved. It automatically associates tags with images, making it easier to search by keywords, such as "museum" or even "Olympic Museum".
A "For you" tab has also been added. Here, the app collects all your photos and creates a kind of artistic news feed that contains your photos and those that have been shared with you. The app also suggests people to share them with. This feature already exists on Google Photos. It looks great. Artificial intelligence recognises faces, locations and other elements. The app then analyses everything and suggests you share the images accordingly.
Siri gets shortcuts
Siri is already well integrated into iOS, but Apple is taking it a step further by making languages more natural. When you ask Siri where your keys are, it automatically activates the key finder app and launches it without you having to ask.
Siri also analyses your behaviour. Your commands and training data are displayed on your locked screen. Are you late for a meeting? It suggests you send a message via iMessage to apologise.
Source: apple.com/newsroom
You can define these shortcuts. Using an app in iOS 12, you define your own multi-step processes using drag and drop. This way, your daily routine is optimised and you can entrust simple tasks to your iPhone or iPad.
This only works, however, if you regularly enter your data. All you then have to do is define a phrase in the Shortcuts app. When you say "Say, Siri" followed by your phrase, it will process this data, interpret it and give you practical advice and updated information on travel or other topics. iOS will also be able to act on the real world. For example, Siri will adjust the air conditioning in your flat and turn on the radio on your phone via Homekit.
Apple has a head start when it comes to the Internet of Things, while Android is still struggling to implement multi-step commands, let alone use them. Google Voice can at most reproduce data, but not necessarily do anything with it.
Apps in brief
- Apple News, a news app, is run by a team. Apple is thus attempting to counter the filter bubble.
- Apple Stocks has been re-released.
- Apple News is now also integrated with Stocks.
- Apple News, in Stocks or standalone, overwrites source formatting and displays them in an iPhone-friendly format.
- Apple Stocks is also available on the iPad. News and prices are displayed on a split screen.
- iBooks has been completely redesigned and renamed Apple Books.
- Carplay supports third-party navigation apps on iOS 12.
- Facetime now supports up to 32 participants. It can be launched directly in group chat.
- The person talking in FaceTime Group Chats is automatically magnified.
Less, but better
Craig Federighi returns to the stage to address a problem Google already knows about: many consumers spend too much time on their phones. Apple has found a few ways to remedy this.
Do Not Disturb mode has been improved. The app no longer displays any notifications during the night so you can check the clock without being distracted by notifications. This mode can also be set intelligently: iOS 12 offers options such as "until the end of the meeting" or "until I leave this location".
Notifications are analysed more intelligently. They're grouped by app, topic or other factors, and they can be managed in batches. Siri will offer to disable notifications for rarely used apps.
Source: apple.com/newsroom
The Screen Time app will show you your phone's usage statistics. Times, apps, number of notifications and other factors will give you an overall idea of what you're doing on your phone. You can limit the time you spend on applications. Surfing less than two hours a day on Instagram? No problem. You'll receive a notification after one hour and 55 minutes. You can of course exceed these set limits, but at least you'll be aware of them.
Parents can also impose a strict limit on their children's devices and receive usage reports.
All these features are synchronised across all devices in a household.
Your face turns into an emoji
iMessage, Apple's messaging system, has just introduced AR emojis, animojis. The camera system matches the little drawings to your expressions and "sees" you stick your tongue out. You'll also find new emojis.
- The tiger
- The ghost
- The t-rex
- The koala
And that's not all, as Apple introduces memojis, a virtual avatar system that lets you replicate your face, or the face you'd like to have, in your device.
WatchOS moves to version 5
Tim Cook takes the microphone again. He explains that the idea was to make the Apple Watch something you'd always want to wear. Customers blamed it for this, as it took over 60% of the market at the end of last year. Its competitors and their Wear OS - the old Android Wear - are in crisis. Apple Watch is of course taking advantage of this to push ahead with its development.
Kevin Lynch, Vice President of Technology, then tells us about the data on users' health and sporting activities read by the watch. Developers have processed 6TB of data to improve the user experience.
New types of sport are being developed.
New types of sport:
- Yoga
- Hiking
New features:
- Competitions (maximum of seven participants)
- Steps per minute for runners
- Automatic recognition of training type
- A walkie-talkie application has been added in the form of an instant messaging service with voice instead of text.
- Siri Watch Face receives new data such as sports results.
- Siri shortcuts are synchronised on the watch.
- Siri Watch Face integrates data from third-party developers' apps.
- WebKit is available on WatchOS.
- The Apple Podcasts app is available on the watch and synced across all devices in the household.
I found Apple's next move to be lacking in class. It's gay pride month, which defends the rights of gay, bisexual, queer, trans and other people. The American company has released a bracelet for the occasion. You can get it now. This capitalisation of a movement dedicated to the respect of human rights undoubtedly started from a good intention, but I don't find this process very elegant.
Apple TV supports Salt
The Apple tvOS was designed with your living room in mind. Last autumn, the company not only equipped its Apple TV 4K with 4K resolution, but also HDR 10 and Dolby Vision.iTunes is catching up and offering "the largest collection of movies in 4K". Films already purchased will be automatically upgraded to 4K, free of charge.
This is in addition to new support for Dolby Atmos. Apparently, the Apple TV is the only Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos certified streaming player. With the new sports channels and live news channels, the Apple TV now boasts more than a hundred.
In Switzerland, Apple has collaborated with Salt. Its streaming video offering will certainly be supported by the Apple TV. That's sure to change the game for the Swiss market, because the American TV world is nothing like ours.
macOS is now called Mojave
macOS is known as the centrepiece of the Apple experience. The operating system has been designed for both business and private use. We learned during WWDC that the mountain tributes have come to an end. The new version is called High Sierra Mojave, a reference to the Californian desert whose nights have inspired Apple's developers.
Source: apple.com/newsroom
macOS has a new night mode, 'Dark Mode', which displays control elements in shades of grey and black. The effect is particularly successful on xCode, Apple's programming interface.
Source: apple.com/newsroom
Apple has also added the Dynamic Desktop feature, which displays different images on the screen depending on the time of day. But that's not all: you can also make 'piles' of documents on your desktop. The system automatically groups files by type, theme or other factors. When you click on a stack, you'll see all the files it contains.
Source: apple.com/newsroom
Finder, Apple's file search tool, has a new view: Gallery. An image or presentation is displayed large in a vast preview area at the top of the screen, with metadata inserted if you wish. You can also perform a few quick actions, such as rotating an image, directly in the Finder. These are dynamic and are displayed differently depending on the type of data. You can also define your own quick actions on the Automator program.
Quick Look, Mojave's quick viewing app, now allows annotations, so you can directly sign PDFs, crop images or edit videos. Screenshots has also been given new video editing and capture features.
Other features of macOS Mojave:
- Apple News
- photos taken on the iPhone are automatically synced to the mac
- Stocks
- Voice notes
- Home
- Sensitive data is even better protected. When an application wants to access sensitive data, you receive a notification.
- Safari automatically blocks tracking technologies such as "Like" buttons or comment fields. If you want to click "Like" or leave a comment, you must allow your browser to do so.
- Safari prevents fingerprinting by transmitting only basic or falsified data to data collectors.
- The Mac App Store has had a makeover. The iOS App Store served as its model.
- Microsoft Office 365 has been added to the Store.
- Adobe Creative Cloud too.
- Macs now support up to four external graphics cards.
- Group Facetime is supported.
macOS can finally go toe-to-toe with iOS, whose technology was far more advanced until now.
Machine learning is more accessible in general. This is handled by the App Create ML application. It has been written entirely in Swift and provides simple access to AI models. The artificial intelligences created in this way learn more quickly and are only 3 MB rather than 90 MB.
will macOS turn into iOS, and vice versa?
Are macOs and iOs going to be combined into one operating system? No, simply answers Craig Federighi.
But the boundaries are becoming blurred. Integration into an ecosystem as controlled as Apple's could very well eliminate those boundaries. Apple is actually placing some iOS kits and frameworks in macOS so that iPhone apps can run on macs. Some applications will be transferred to the Mac as a first step (the project is not yet ready to be produced and added to Developer). The aforementioned apps, known as iOS apps, are actually iOS apps that work on macs.
Summing up
Tim Cook returns to the stage. He quickly summarises the news from the keynote. WatchOS and iOS have been updated, but nothing sensational. On the other hand, Apple pulled out all the stops with Mojave. The operating system, which seemed to have been somewhat neglected recently, is finally being modernised and is setting its sights on iOS apps, even though the two operating systems will not be combined into one.
That's it, it's over. Tim Cook and co spoke for two hours and 16 minutes. And no, no new hardware was announced.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.