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wwdc

WWDC 2020 Summary

wwdc, 2020 |

WWDC-2020

Today Apple held the latest developer's conference keynote, for the first time - online. Here are the few key announcements from the conference:

iOS 14

UI:

  • App Library - automatic app organization on the home screen
  • Widgets can be not only on the today screen, but on the home screen, in different sizes
  • Picture in picture - floating videos on home screen

Siri:

  • Siri not blocking the whole screen anymore :)
  • Translate app

iMessage:

  • Pinned conversations
  • New Memojis
  • Inline replies
  • Group conversations improvements

Maps:

  • Guides (what's around / recommendations)
  • Cycling
  • EV routing

CarPlay:

  • Unlock and start 2020 BMW 5 series from an iPhone
  • Use U1 chip to do that from further distances than NFC

App Store:

  • App Clips - fast and lean (<10MB) apps accessible via QR codes / NFC

iPadOS 14

  • Improved photos app
  • Sidebars, top toolbar controls (hello Finder)
  • Improved iPad apps layout
  • No more full screen blocking calls, on iPhone as well (only the incoming call notification or during the call as well?)
  • Mac-like global floating search everywhere
  • Scribble (handwriting recognition)
  • Change default mail and browser apps

AirPods

  • Automatic switching
  • Spacial audio

watchOS 7:

  • Rich complications
  • Watch face sharing
  • Better navigation directions
  • New workout modes
  • Sleep tracking and winddown mode
  • Hand washing detection

Privacy:

  • Upgrade other accounts to Sign in with Apple
  • Approx. GPS location
  • Camera/microphone usage indicator
  • Data usage disclosure in the App Store
  • Safe home devices

HomeKit:

  • Automized routines
  • Easier setup of new devices
  • Adaptive lighting for smart bulbs
  • Extended smart cameras setup

tvOS 14:

  • Show those smart cameras on the TV
  • Multi user support for gaming
  • Picture in picture
  • 4k AirPlay
  • New TV show announcement :)

macOS (Big Sur):

  • New UI and icons
  • Control center
  • Widgets, notifications center
  • Improvements to Messages
  • Improved Maps.app
  • More capabilities in Mac Catalyst

Safari:

  • Privacy reports
  • Customizations
  • Safe extensions
  • Tracker prevention
  • Built-in translation

Apple silicon:

  • Universal binaries
  • Rosetta 2 emulation
  • Virtualization
  • App Store apps support
  • Developer Kit based on Mac Mini
  • 2 years transition, new hardware this year

WWDC'19 Summary

wwdc, ios, tvos, ipados, macos, mac pro |

This was a big one.

The dev conference started with a TV series announcement trailer 😑

WWDC-2019

tvOS 13

  • PS4/Xbox One controller support
  • New wallpapers

watchOS 6

  • New watch faces
  • Hourly beeping sound
  • Audiobooks, voice memos, calculator
  • Independent standalone apps
  • Audio streaming API
  • Own App Store
  • Activity trends
  • Noise app to monitor noise pollution
  • Cycle tracking
  • Health summaries
  • New bands

iOS 13

  • Speed improvements
  • Dark mode
  • Improved Safari, Mail, Notes, Reminders
  • Improved Maps with Street View (SF only as usual?)
  • ‘Just once’ location access option
  • Sign in with Apple - private social login
  • One-time email address generation
  • HomeKit secure video
  • iMessage avatar pictures
  • Enhanced Memoji with earrings, teeth, eyeshades, etc.
  • Memoji stickers
  • Improvements to photo capture and post-production
  • Rotate videos, filters and effects for videos
  • ML to remove photo dupes and choose the best of them
  • Improved Photos.app to remove clutter and let focus on important moments
  • AirPods reading and replying to messages
  • AirPods audio sharing
  • HomePod handoff
  • Siri live radio support with iHeartRadio, TuneIn, etc. 100k stations.
  • Updated CarPlay
  • CarPlay integration with 3rd party apps
  • Neural TTS - much better sounding Siri voice

iPadOS 1?

  • Much improved multitasking
  • Multi-window support for the same app
  • Improved Files.app
  • iCloud Drive folder sharing
  • SMB File sharing
  • Mass Storage Device support
  • External device support via usb-c
  • Desktop class browsing on Safari iPad
  • Download manager
  • Custom fonts
  • Working with text is now much easier
  • Apple Pencil latency down to 9ms from 20ms
  • New notes app
  • PencilKit

New Mac Pro

  • 28-core Xeon CPU
  • 12 DIMM slots
  • PCIe expansions
  • Special dual-core Vega II GPU
  • Custom designed video processing card
  • 1.4kW PSU
  • Optional wheels
  • New 6k, HDR, anti-reflective, 1000 nits display
  • Mac pro starts at $5999, new display at $3999/$4999

MacOS 10.15 Catalina

  • iTunes now broken down into Apple Music, Podcasts and Apple TV apps
  • iPhone sync moves to Finder
  • Podcasts will have content search
  • Apple TV 4k HDR playback on Mac
  • Sidecar - wireless connectivity tablets as second screens/tablets
  • Voice control
  • Improved find my Mac even when it’s offline
  • ScreenTime

Dev Tools

  • iPad apps migration tool to Mac
  • RealityKit - kit for building photorealistic scenes, includes 3d scene tools
  • ARKit3 with real-time people occlusion, motion capture
  • Real-world Minecraft
  • SwiftUI - new UI framework written in Swift - less code, live preview in sim and device (sic!)
  • Native UI framework for watchOS

It was probably the most packed WWDC I've seen. I hope all of the new stuff will be working reliably when it's out 🙂

Bold business

business, wwdc |

While reading Twitter of developers who went to this year's WWDC I noticed all of them mentioning some scooters laying on the streets all over the city. Then I saw this video in my YouTube's recommendations.

I think it's a brilliant business idea and a very bold one - you don't ask anyone for permission, you don't necessary create a business plan and meetings. You just litter the streets with scooters. Of course you need to have initial money for something like that, and you should be prepared for few of those being stolen or broken, so not everyone can replicate such 'entrance' to the market. But this is a nice example of how bold ideas are made and how much deserved buzz they are getting for doing that.

On the WWDC episode of ATP the hosts share what they think of it, and in my opinion their thoughts nicely demonstrate the process of the buzz building up. Here are quotes of the hosts' thought process from the show:

  1. What are those, they are everywhere
  2. People riding them are jerks
  3. There are three scooters just on the road!
  4. Maybe I should try one
  5. Let's give it a shot, why not
  6. Sign up in the app
  7. Get scooter
  8. Whoa, whoa, holy shit
  9. These things are really fast
  10. These is really fun!
  11. These has to be a good thing
  12. This should be illegal
  13. Everyone should try it before they become illegal
  14. There's no way in a year this would be legal
    And eventually they want to share their experience.

That's a nice example what makes people talk about your product or service. But more important is that you have to put it in front of their face for them to notice it. And that's a whole another topic to discuss.