Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) for this year i.e. WWDC 2020 streamed on YouTube this time with all the necessary precautions, with Tim Cook addressing an auditorium with no one present.
It is the very first time where a conference has been streamed online from an empty auditorium and directly into the living rooms of their worldwide developers and fans.
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Following are some of the biggest news from WWDC 2020:
iOS 14 Features
Apple unveiled and gave a sneak peek of its upcoming software i.e. iOS 14, the new update which will be coming to iPhones- both for the new devices to be launched and the devices we already own.
This new update added an App Library, a new feature which can automatically group apps into folders making different pages, based on their categories.
Widgets
With this update Apple changed the widgets a bit. Now it is customized, we can place it on the home screen. It took this feature from Apple Watch. We can also resize it.
Picture-in-Picture
Picture-in-picture is also coming and already available for iPads to iPhones. It will let us swipe away while watching video.
Uprgade in Memoji
Update in Apple Maps
Sleep tracking Option
Siri
Safari
Previously, Safari didn’t support extensions. But with the new update it is possible.
Users can now also customize the start page with a background image.
We can now find Safari Extensions on App Store. Apple will let the users decide which apps or website might be able to use the extension, among other controls.
Safari 14 ships with iOS 14 and macOS 1.
It is also claiming to be 50 percent faster than Google Chrome.
App Clips
With the all new App Clips, we can download a small part of an app and see whether it works fine for us or not. The only can decide if to download the application or not.
WatchOS 7 Features
Washing your hands
With the ongoing pandemic, keeping up good hygiene is a must. So, the new will automatically detect when you wash your hands. It will then keep track of the time and will also provide prompts to wash the hands for a minimum of the recommended 20 seconds.
Tracking Dance Workout
With this new feature is an addition to tracking running, swimming, rowing, and many more workouts, we might be able to track our dance workout and view how much calories were burnt in the act.
We can see all this data on our iPhone in the rebranded Fitness app wich was known to us as Activity App.
Sleep tracking
As entioned earlier with the Wind Down Option, one can set one’s desired bedtime and waking up time, both on Apple Watch and iPhone. The user can view their sleep trends mapped overtime too.This will help users create a pre-bedtime routine and complete their sleep goals.
iPadOS 14 Features
Scribble
With the Scribble feature, users can write in any text field and it will be automatically converted to text, which will make Messaging or searching in Safari fast and fun.
Search
The search option on iPad has been rebuilt.
Now it comes with a compact design, which enables the users to start a search from anywhere, without leaving the app they are using that time.
tvOS 14 Features
With the tvOS 14, Apple TV users can now access HomeKit-enabled video cameras and accessories by accesing Siri or Control Center, and in return can receive notifications regarding Doorbell, on the screen with live feeds showing who is on the door.
tvOS 14 expanded their multi-user capabilities which will now include Apple Arcade and other games. With this everyone of the users in the house can easily resume their games exactly where they left. With the help of Control Center, players can also switch between
macOS 11 Big Sur
They are calling this the biggest Design Upgrade Since the Introduction of Mac OS X.With this we get an updated Messages app which lets users send and receive more personal messages. Users can also keep track and interact within group messages.
“macOS Big Sur is a major update that advances the legendary combination of the power of UNIX with the ease of use of the Mac, and delivers our biggest update to design in more than a decade,” said
Mac transition to Apple silicon
Apple also announced that it will transition the Mac to its world-class Apple silicon. It will help in delivering industry-leading performance and many powerful new technologies. With his the developers can now start updating their apps and can take advantages of the Apple silicon in the Mac. With this transition, it will also establish a common architecture across all the Apple products. It will also make it easier for developers to create and optimize applications.
With this the developers can transform their existing applications to run smoothly on Apple silicon.
“From the beginning, the Mac has always embraced big changes to stay at the forefront of personal computing. Today we’re announcing our transition to Apple silicon, making this a historic day for the Mac,” said Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook.
“With its powerful features and industry-leading performance, Apple silicon will make the Mac stronger and more capable than ever. I’ve never been more excited about the future of the Mac,” he further added.
To help out the developers with Apple silicon, Apple is also launching the Universal App Quick Start Program.
This program will provide access to documentation,beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12, forums support, and Developer Transition Kit (DTK) (limited usage), a Mac development system based on Apple’s A12Z Bionic System on a Chip (SoC).The DTK, which must be returned to Apple at the end of the program, consists of a Mac mini with Apple’s A12Z Bionic SoC inside and desktop specs, including 16GB of memory, a 512GB SSD, and a variety of Mac I/O ports. Developers can apply for the program at developer.apple.com, for a sum of $500.
