What to know from Apple’s WWDC Keynote 2020
At this year's Apple’s WWDC 2020, the company has gone virtual and free to attend by anyone, unlike other years. This year Apple has shown off new features for iOS, watchOS, macOS, and many more.
iOS 14
The new iOS features a lot of data-rich widgets for photos, podcasts, and many others in a variety of different sizes allowing users instant access to essential information and controls. The widget interface has taken design and interactions from watchOS and integrated them into iOS. Another feature upgrade that iOS 14 has gained is a feature called Smart Stack. Smart Stack works automatically by showing you information relevant to you at a certain time. For example, in the morning it may show you the morning news and your morning commute to work, during the day show you upcoming events, and in the evening show your daily exercise progress.
The App library gets a slight design change, showing you categorised view of apps, eg home and fitness, entertainment etc., with a search bar at the top of the app. Apple has a new translation app that works offline and will be able to translate between text and speech. The translation app will be able to translate into 11 languages, mostly European languages along with Mandarin Chinese.
Apple Maps will be getting an improvement via a dedicated cycling option with elevation data and information on quiet and busy roads. Unfortunately, this feature will only be available at New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Beijing, and Shanghai for now. The UK and Ireland will be getting Apple’s rebuilt map.
iPadOS 14
iPadOS 14 will inherit the new features announced for iOS 14. iPadOS 14 will also see improvements in the sidebar in apps with Photos, Notes, and Files added. Pulldown views in Files and Calendar will allow users to see information on a larger screen. The music app sees a redesign to incorporate a full-screen player mode complete with rolling lyrics. I can see karaoke might be a fun car game with an iPad. The Search function now acts as a universal search where it will be able to launch apps, contact find, do web searches as well as finding references within documents.
watchOS 7
Apple has enabled users to share your watch face with contacts or in the App Store. Within apps you have multiple complications for one single app such as the weather app can show temperature as well as the UV index. watchOS now shows cycling directions just like on iOS 14. For exercise tracking, Apple is launching a dance workout-tracking which will use a combination of gyroscope and accelerometer data to track your workout. The watch will also able to track activities such as strength training.
Apple Watch will now detect whether you are washing your hands, sensing how long you are washing them for by listening to the audio to confirm the sound of water or soap pumps.
AirPods Pro
AirPods and AirPod Pro have become smarter, they will get auto-switching that will allow switching between devices easier, you will be able to switch seamlessly from an iPhone to a Mac and when the phone rings, the AirPods will automatically flick back to your iPhone. AirPod Pro will get Spatial Audio which will use accelerometer and gyroscope to keep the 3D audio in place.
macOS
macOS gets an aesthetic redesign with tweaks to app icons, glyphs, and symbols. Buttons will disappear when you don’t need them. Incorporation of a translucent menu bar and new pop of colour in apps such as the Mail app are among the subtle design improvements. The Control Centre allows quick access to brightness, dark mode, Nightshift as well as an updated Notification Centre and menu bar. macOS will also get the new widgets from iOS 14.
Apple Silicon for Mac
Mac’s will now go into a new era where they will be powered by Apple’s ARM-powered silicon chips. Apple says that the use of their ARM-powered silicon chips will mean a completely new level of performance with lower power consumption which will help with overheating and battery usage. Apple will release its own Mac with Silicon by the end of this year, however, Apple will continue to release Mac products powered by Intel.
Summary
Majority of the improvements announced from the WWDC are small but significant improvements across all operating systems. Apple has focused on improving the user experience and making information displayed at a higher level, making it easier for users to access information quickly. Majority of Apple’s focus seems to be their ARM processors which will power future Mac devices and potentially their mobile devices.