This June was the month of Apple’s annual World Wide Developer’s Conference. Much of the event was dedicated to showcasing software updates to existing devices: brand new operating systems for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. WWDC is also where Apple chose to unveil its long-rumored streaming music service, Apple Music.
OS X El Capitan
It’s got an odd name, but this is the next version (10.11) of OS X that will be available as a free upgrade to Mac users this fall. New features include additional gestures (such as shaking the mouse to enlarge the cursor in case you lose it on screen) and the ability to pin websites and mute specific tabs in Safari.
One particularly useful feature is that Spotlight now allows you to search your computer using natural language. Type in “files I worked on last June,” and Spotlight will bring you the appropriate files that match that exact description.
Native support for Windows 8-like snapping is also built-in to the new Mission Control, allowing for more convenient split views of multiple windows.
Metal, the low-overhead 3D graphics platform once exclusive to iOS, will also be coming to the Mac, reducing rendering times by 50 percent, CPU loads by 40 percent, and improving battery life.
OS X El Capitan is now available as a developer preview, with a public beta coming in July, and a full release following that in the Fall.
iOS 9
Apple is bolstering Siri to be more competitive with Google Now with a number of improvements. Siri now is able to automatically detect context with your voice commands. For instance, telling Siri, “remind me about this,” will have Siri associate “this” with whatever is currently on your screen, such as a webpage, photo, or email.
The new Notes app has expanded functionality, letting you draw and add photos to notes for increased productivity.
The Maps app has been updated to include transit information, as well as show businesses that accept Apple Pay.
Apple unveiled a brand new News app that displays personalized news content all in one app. Its functionality is similar to that of Flipboard and Facebook’s news apps. Publications will be able to design new stories specifically to be displayed in Apple’s News app.
iOS 9 introduces a “Low Power mode” that boosts your battery life by an extra three hours when enabled.
iOS 9 on the iPad
Most exciting is that the rumored split screen features of the not-yet existent larger iPads is coming to new model iPads. There’s a new “Slide Over” function that slides in apps from the side to use without leaving your current app. “Split View,” a feature exclusive to the iPad Air 2, allows you to have two active apps on screen at the same time. Picture-in-picture video will allow you to shrink videos to a small corner of the screen while using other apps, a feature that will be coming to the iPad Air, Air 2, Mini 2, and Mini 3.
Much like El Capitan, iOS 9 is available now as a developer preview, with a public beta in July, and a full release in the fall.
Apple Pay
Apple will be introducing a new Square Reader to support Apple Pay for peer-to-peer transactions.
watchOS 2
This new update to the Apple Watch will make the watch less dependent on the iPhone, allowing you to use the watch directly for replying to emails, watching video, listening to music using the watch’s speakers, and making FaceTime audio calls.
watchOS 2 also features new watch faces and “Time Travel,” a way to quickly glance at upcoming events on your calendar.
Apple Music
Apple chose to end the conference with “one more thing.” Apple Music is Apple’s long-awaited music streaming service, powered by iTunes. You’ll be able to use Apple Music as a 24/7 radio station, streaming music from your favorite artists and listening to playlists curated by real human beings.
Siri integration will allow you to do things such as requesting songs from certain eras (“Play me the top songs from 1982”).
Independent artists will be able to upload their own music to a service called Apple Music Connect and share their musical creations with the world. Think of it like how MySpace used to be for indie music.
Apple Music will launch on June 30. The first three months will be free. After the trial period, it will be $9.99 a month, with a family plan at $14.99 a month for up to six family members. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, Apple Music will also be coming to Android devices later this fall.
By Alfredo Dizon, eParisExtra