WWDC 2020

Today saw the Keynote speech and kickoff of Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference. WWDC 2020 is obviously a little different than previous years, with no crowd for the keynote, and particular efforts put in to health and safety regarding Covid-19.

There weren’t really any new hardware reveals this year, which also marks a difference to previous years. The exception to this is pretty big though – a new processor that Apple says will replace Intel chips in MacBooks, iMacs, and Macbook Pros over about two years.

As Tim Cook says “It truly is a historic day for the Mac.”

Let’s take a look at some of the other improvements Apple has in store for us and our friendly Apple devices.

iOS 14 has a redesigned home screen with a list view of your Apps called the App Library, new picture-in-picture mode for viewing video within a moveable frame while doing other things on your iPhone, and new widgets to access information quickly at a glance.

Changes coming to iMessage in iOS 14 include mentions for specific people, pinned conversations, and in-line replies within conversations.

Siri, as well as the Phone App, will have far less intrusive notifications that don’t take up the whole screen when you use Siri or when you receive an incoming call.

There’s a new Translate App, which is apparently capable of translating speech and text offline in 11 languages.

You’ll be able to unlock your car using NFC on your iPhone – the first vehicle to support this is the 2021 BMW 5 series, so put that one on your Christmas List!

Maps has had a revamp, with expanded international coverage, new cycling routes, new electric vehicle directions with charging information and savable exploration guides.

More head ware options for your Memoji are available in iOS 14, including the option to add a face mask.

AirPod users will be able to easily switch between Apple devices with a new automatic device switching feature in iOS 14.

iPadOS 14 includes new features that take advantage of the larger surface area, and has a new compact design for incoming FaceTime calls, phone calls and Siri interactions. Photos has a redesign that allows for easier browsing and organization. You can also now search from anywhere.

With the new Scribble App, users can write in any text field using the Apple Pencil, which will then be converted to typed text.

Both iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 will allow users to set third-party browser and email apps as default, such as Chrome or Outlook, rather than having to rely on Apple’s own Safari and Mail apps (winning).

iOS 14 is compatible with with iPhones that are five years old and newer.

WatchOS7 brings sleep tracking, ‘Wind down’ mode, automatic hand washing detection, additional workout types (Hi Dancers!) and a new hearing health feature. The ‘Activity’ App connected from your Watch to your iPhone is now renamed the ‘Fitness’ App.

There’s easy sharing of watch faces (yay) with multiple complications now allowed.

macOS Big Sur will be version 11.0. This marks the end of macOS 10, which spanned from version 10.0 or ‘Cheetah’ in 2001 to version 10.15 or ‘Catalina’ in 2019.

The new macOS comes with a big update to Apple’s native Safari browser, with a new Privacy button in the toolbar which gives users insight into how sites are using their connection, and which trackers have been blocked.

Big Sur also includes new designs for the Dock, Message App icon, and new UI for apps like Photos and Mail, and Control Center is now available, letting you change display brightness, activating Dark Mode or Night Shift.

So that’s it guys!! Some definitively better redesigns and improvements for all of our software needs. I’ll leave you with a trailer for the new AppleTV+ show, Foundation. Enjoy the rest of your Monday!