Apple’s Developer’s Conference 2021
/Apple’s annual World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) 2021 happened yesterday. This is a conference put on by Apple for the non-Apple software developers around the world that write apps for Apple products. Its purpose is to inform them of the new operating systems that will be released this coming fall so that they can prepare or adapt their apps for the coming systems.
Why should you care? Because Apple describes to us what changes to expect in the operating systems in our iPhones, iPads, Watches, AppleTVs and Macs this fall. It is a peek into our future!
Each of Apple’s computing devices operates an operating system. This is the software that you interact with everyday to use your devices - open apps, surf the web, text, check email - these are all things you do that are directed by your operating system.
The systems are iOS (for iPhone), iPadOS (for iPad), watchOS (for Apple Watch), tvOS (for Apple TV), homeOS (for HomePod) and macOS (for Macs). Here are the major changes coming:
iOS 15
Selfishly, the big change in this version of iOS has a huge impact on my business! FaceTime will now allow you to share experiences with others when in different locations such as watching a movie together, looking at each other's photos and much more. What this means to me is that I will be able to see your iPhone (and iPad) screen to be able to help you with your iPhone and iPad remotely, much like I can do with your Mac! Sharing your Mac screen allows me to operate your Mac remotely (change settings, install software, etc). The “SharePlay” feature of iOS and iPadOS will not allow me to operate your device remotely but I can see what you are doing and coach you on what buttons to push, what to type, etc. via voice. It is a lot better than my current ability to help where I instruct you what to do without being able to see your screen as you do it. Fantastic!
Other changes to iOS 15 include text recognition in Photos! Take a picture of a sign and you can copy the text of the sign into another app! Take a picture that has a phone number in it (maybe on a sign in the background), tap the phone number and call that number right from the photo! Take a picture of a recipe a friend has on paper, copy the text from the picture and paste it into Notes, Pages, Word, an email or whatever. Brilliant.
Also, Photos will now be included in Spotlight search (the type of search that searches your entire device). For example, search for ‘bicycle’ and you will get the usual results that include emails, texts, web searches that contain that word, but you will now get your photos that have a bicycle in them or text in the photo that has the word ‘bicycle’ in them! You have been able to search in the Photos app for objects for many years now, if you did not know that. Now that search will include text found in your photos that match the search word.
Notifications will be better organized and grouped in iOS 15. Also, in addition to Do Not Disturb (that has been with us for years), there is a new type of anti-distraction mode called Focus that will only notify you of certain types of events like family members texting or co-workers emailing. You define the type of Focus and who can get through to you when it is enabled.
In the Health app your iPhone can measure your “Walking Steadiness” and changes in your walking metrics to give you an assessment of your likelihood of falling while walking. It will alert you to any risk or changes in your level of risk.
Finally, in iOS 15, if a friend shares something with you, via text such as a News article or web link or a photo; those things are not only in the text conversation but now will be also highlighted in the app you use to see what they shared. They will be in a new “Shared with You” location in News, Safari and Photos so that you do not have to go back to the text conversation to see what they shared.
iOS 15 will be compatible with iPhone 7 and newer.
iPadOS 15
Most of the changes with iOS 15 are also in iPadOS 15. In addition there are a few iPad-specific features:
Multitasking - It is now easier to see two apps, either side-by-side or slide over (on top of another app).
Notes - now it will recognize your handwriting on a note, turning it into edible text.
Translate - the app is now available for the iPad, allowing you to translate phrases from and to other languages.
Universal Control - use your iPad as a second screen for your Mac, enabling using the Mac mouse and keyboard, slide between screens and copy and paste between devices.
Here are the iPads supported (the same list as the current iPadOS 14):
iPad Pro (all)
iPad (5th through 8th generation)
iPad mini 4 and 5th generation
iPad Air (4th generation)
iPad Air (3rd generation)
iPad Air 2
macOS 12 - Monterey
The new Mac operating system is named Monterey. It is and has been the only OS to have its own name for each major version. Apple moved away from cat names in the past and now they are on a theme of places in California.
Monterey gets the features of iOS and iPadOS 15 mentioned above. In addition, Safari gets a major overhaul, providing more screen space for websites and a new Tab Groups where you can group tabs of websites together that share a theme. Lets say you are planning a vacation, all of the website tabs for that research can be grouped together in a Tab Group called, say, “Vacation Planning”. That group of tabs can then be accesses anytime from any of your devices to be able to continue your planning a few days from now or on your various devices, seamlessly. I have used something like this for years: opening different Safari windows with their own tabs for the same purpose. This will be a nice improvement.
AirPlay to Mac will allow your Mac to be an AirPlay destination for your other devices, adding the Mac to the list of AirPlay devices in the past - AppleTV and HomePod (among others). This allows you to broadcast what is on your iPhone, for example, to other devices (music, photos, videos, etc.).
A big surprise with Monterey is the list of Macs that are supported. Here they are:
iMac - Late 2015 and later
MacBook Air - Early 2015 and later
MacBook Pro - Early 2015 and later
Mac mini - Late 2014 and later
MacBook - Early 2016 and later
If your Mac is not on this list it is probably time to start planning for a new Mac in the next year or two.
watchOS 8
Not a lot of change - it now gets the Find My app to find your lost devices and find friends and family that have given you permission to do so.
Also, the Apple Watch will get the ability to set multiple timers - great for cooking!
watchOS 8 has the same system requirements as the current watchOS 7:
Apple Watch SE
Apple Watch Series 3 and later
iCloud
A new service as part of iCloud was announced. It is called iCloud+. Apparently it is a free upgrade for all. It has several parts, each of which is impressive in itself:
Private Relay, which is essential a VPN (Virtual Private Network). This encrypts your web traffic and obfuscates it through a couple of Apple servers on its way to and from your Internet destination (checking your email, buying something online, doing some banking, etc). This will allow you to securely use public Wi-Fi networks (hotels, airports, coffee shops, etc.). This is a huge security breakthrough that currently requires a 3rd party VPN, subscription, etc.
iCloud authentication using friends and family. Say you are out and about and need to log into iCloud, but you only have your iPhone with you. A 2-factor authentication message is sent to your other devices, but they are at home! You can designate friends or family to receive this message on your behalf. You can call them to get the code.
Digital Legacy - you can designate people to have access to your iCloud account after you pass away. They can then get your photos, documents, music, notes, email, etc.
Email obfuscation - if you currently use an @iCloud (or @me or @mac) email address, you will be able to do two useful things with it:
Create temporary email prefixes to give to people or businesses that you don’t want to have your primary email. Perhaps they only need them for a short while. These temporary addresses forward to your primary iCloud email. You can delete them any time.
Create an alternate email domain (suffix). So, instead of using something like johndoe@icloud.com you could change it to john@doe.com. That domain can be used by others in your Family Sharing plan.
There were lots of other things announced, these are just the highlights in my opinion. To watch the entire keynote:
https://www.apple.com/apple-events/june-2021/
To see the previews:
iOS 15: https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-15-preview/
iPadOS 15: https://www.apple.com/ipados/ipados-preview/
macOS 12 Monterey: https://www.apple.com/macos/monterey-preview/