Before the start of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 5, 2017 in San Jose, California, the rumor mill was busy with speculation. The consensus of expectations appears to have been met, with the announcement, in the two-hour keynote address, of a slew of new operating systems, tools for developers, new Macs, a new iPad, and the HomePod, a stand-alone speaker with Siri capability. The keynote address included demonstrations of the new operating systems and products.
The Keynote began with a video, unfortunately without audio description. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, welcomed everyone, reaffirming Apple's commitment to developers. There are now 16 million registered developers around the world with three million added just this past year. About 5,300 developers attended this year's WWDC, the largest attendance ever, with attendees from 75 countries. Cook said, "It's really a worldwide conference." This conference included more student developers than ever.
tvOS
There is only one change to tvOS. Amazon Prime Video is coming to Apple TV later this year. It will be included in the TV app. Cook said, "We are so pleased to welcome Amazon to Apple TV." He added, "You'll be hearing a lot more about tvOS later this year."
Apple Watch
Cook said that Apple Watch was the best selling smart watch and is number one in customer satisfaction. He said, "Apple Watch is designed to help you live a healthier life." He then introduced Kevin Lynch, Apple's VP of Technology, who spoke about watchOS4.
Lynch began by introducing three new Watch faces. The Siri face will display relevant information that you need, depending on the time of day. When you raise your wrist, Siri will automatically update the information on the screen. Turning the digital crown will reveal more information. The second new watch face is a kaleidoscope that changes throughout the day. The third face is Toy Story and features Buzz, Woody, and Jessie.
Lynch stated that Activity is one of the most frequently used apps on the watch. With watchOS4, you will receive more personalized activity notifications. Personalized monthly challenges will also be part of the Activity app.
The Workout app has new features. The Quick Start feature is now easier to locate. For swimmers, the watch can now count your laps and provide other information about your swim. New algorithms have been created for high intensity interval training. You can do more than one workout in a single session and it will be tracked.
Two-way data exchange will be possible with some gym equipment. Pair the watch and the watch will send data to the equipment and the equipment will send data to the watch. This will make information more accurate. For example, the watch will send heart rate data to the equipment and the equipment will send information such as speed to the watch. Lynch said that the equipment manufacturers who will support the watch provide 80 percent of the equipment found in gyms today. He added that supported equipment will be available this fall.
Music will be synced automatically to the Apple Watch. There is support for multiple playlists and the watch will choose selections for you. You can have a playlist start playing as soon as a Workout is started.
The Dock has been redesigned and it is easier to get to recently used apps. There is a new News app, which lets you save articles for later to read on your iPhone. There is now a flashlight in the Control Center. The light can be set to blink as a safety light when outside at night. There will be more support for apps running in the background and faster app responsiveness. Native Core Bluetooth will be supported. This improves apps that work with small devices such as glucose monitors.
watchOS4 is a free upgrade and will be available this fall.
Mac
Craig Federighi, Apple's VP for software engineering, spoke about what's new with the Mac. He said, "People are loving Sierra and we love it too, so we wanted to spend this year perfecting it. The question is, what do we call it?" The answer is "High Sierra."
Federighi explained, "High Sierra is all about deep technologies that provide a powerful platform for future innovations on the Mac. But we couldn't help ourselves; we also added some refinements."
According to Federighi, Safari with High Sierra is the fastest Web browser. A new feature, Auto Play Blocking, will be introduced in High Sierra. By default, this feature is active and will automatically block videos that load when you go to a website. It can be disabled if you want to get the videos.
Another useful feature is Intelligent Tracking Prevention. Safari uses machine learning to identify trackers and remove their data. It is not an ad blocker but instead protects your privacy. According to whatis.com, machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides computers with the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning focuses on the development of computer programs that can change when exposed to new data.
The search feature is improved. Using Spotlight will show your top hits. When composing an email, there is a split-screen view. Mail will use 35 percent less space on your Mac's drive.
Photos
There are some new features for photos on the Mac. There is improved facial recognition and if you label people in photos, these labels will transfer to all devices. There are also different ways of organizing your photos. More editing options are available. It will be easier to search for specific photos.
The Apple File System (APFS) will be coming to the Mac with High Sierra. Federighi said, "APFS is safe and secure with built-in crash protection and native encryption and it's ultra-responsive." Federighi then demonstrated the speed difference between Sierra and High Sierra in duplicating a video file. High Sierra, with the new file system, performed the operation almost instantaneously. High Sierra will have Metal 2 for significantly improved graphics. Metal 2 will also be used in machine learning.
High Sierra is a free upgrade from Sierra and will be available later this fall.
New Macs
John Terns, VP of hardware engineering, spoke about the new Macs. They will be using Kaby Lake, Intel's newest processor. There are three iMacs: 21-inch, 27-inch, and iMac Pro. The new iMacs will have displays that are 43 percent brighter and they will be able to process a billion colors. They will have more memory, improved graphics performance and much more. There is an entry-level iMac that starts at $1,299. All the iMacs, except the iMac Pro, are now available. The Pro will be available later this year.
There have been changes with the new MacBooks as well, including the Kaby Lake processor. The entry model of MacBook Pro will start at $1,299. MacBook Pros still come in 13-inch and 15-inch. The 13-inch MacBook Air is also improved. All these MacBooks are currently available.
iOS
Tim Cook said that iOS 10 has an industry-leading 96 percent customer satisfaction rate and 86 percent of Apple's customers with iOS devices are using iOS 10. The new operating system is iOS 11. Craig Federighi returned to discuss its new features.
In Messages, there will be an App Drawer so users can easily access messaging apps, stickers, etc. Messages will sync across all devices so if you delete on one device it automatically will be deleted across your other devices. Most recent messages will stay on the device while older undeleted messages will be accessible via iCloud.
Apple Pay will be available at more than 50 percent of retailers in the US by the end of this year. With iOS 11, a new Apple Pay person-to-person payment will be available. Federighi explained, "It's super-simple because it's integrated right into Messages as an iMessage app." Authentication will be through Touch ID. When receiving money, it will go to your Apple Pay Cash Card. You can send money, pay for items or transfer money to your bank with money Cash Card.
Siri will get some new features. It is available in 21 languages in 36 countries. Siri will have a new male and a new female voice. You will be able to type your question for Siri. Another new Siri feature is translation. Siri can now translate from English to Chinese, German, Spanish, Italian, and French and Federighi indicated there will be additional languages in the future. Siri Kit will enable developers to perform more tasks in their apps.
Federighi said, "Siri isn't just a voice assistant, because with Siri intelligence, Siri not only understands your voice, it understands the context, it understands your interest, it understands how you use your device. This allows it to understand what you want next." What Siri learns on one device will transfer to all your devices. Federighi added, "This is kept completely private, only readable to you on your devices."
The Photos app is improved. Apple will be using a new photo format that will allow for less space in the cloud. There will be new ways to organize photos. Better software will help with object identification. There will be new editing options.
The Control Center will be a single page in iOS 11. If using a device with 3D Touch, there will be more options. The Lock Screen and the Notification Center are now combined. Widgets can still be accessed on the left and the camera can be accessed on the right.
The Maps app will include floor plans for many malls and airports and more locations will be added in the future. Nothing was said about indoor navigation or iBeacons. For drivers, Maps will include speed limits and lane guidance. iOS 11 will have a "Do Not Disturb While Driving' feature. If the phone senses you are in a car, you will have the option to use this feature. There is a setting for not driving. If the Do Not Disturb feature is enabled and a text comes to the phone, the sender will get a message that the driver is driving and will contact them later. People can be added who can break through the feature and their texts will appear.
Home Kit will have AirPlay 2, for sending music wirelessly to supported speakers throughout your home. In Apple Music, you will be able to find out what your friends are listing to, if you want that feature enabled.
The App Store will be redesigned. There will be a Today tab featuring apps released that day. Games will be getting a separate tab and all other apps will be in the Apps tab. Apple is also reducing the time it takes for a developer's app to be approved.
Apple is releasing an AR (augmented reality) kit to developers. When AR Kit launches, Apple will be the largest AR platform in the world.
iPad
Apple announced its new 10.5-inch iPad Pro. All iPad Pros will have a faster processor and improved display. iPad Pros will have the same front-facing and back-facing cameras as the iPhone 7. USB-C is supported on the iPad Pro as is fast charging. Both iPad Pros come with at least 64GB of memory. The 10.5-inch iPad Pro with 64GB of memory costs $649. iPads with 256 and 512GB will also be available. These iPads have been shipping since mid-June.
iOS 11 offers special features for the iPad. The dock can hold more apps. On the right side of the Dock there will be "predictive apps" including continuity apps. The dock can be accessed from anywhere. A drag-and-drop feature has been added. You can now flick up or down on the on-screen keyboard to switch from letters to numbers. A new app called Files will be added to the iPad. This app keeps all your files together and of course supports iCloud, but it also supports other storage apps including Dropbox and Google Drive. There are additional features including for Apple Pencil.
HomePod
HomePod is Apple's first stand-alone speaker. It integrates Siri into the speaker and is slightly less than 7 inches tall, with 7 tweeters and a 4-inch subwoofer, all covered by an acoustic mesh. It is powered by the same chip as the iPhone. With six microphones, it can pick up the Siri phrase, "Hey Siri," from anywhere in the room. The HomePod eliminates distortion when the volume is high and it adjusts sound based on room size.
HomePod is designed to work with Apple Music. It will access your Apple Music library including playlists. Siri can perform the usual tasks including setting reminders, sending a text, and giving a weather report. If you have Home Kit enabled, it will interact with Siri and the HomePod to control Home Kit devices. Data is only sent to Apple when Siri is activated.
HomePod will cost $349 and will be available in December.
Conclusion
Apple is introducing many useful features into its operating systems and adding some exciting new hardware. Although accessibility was not discussed at the Keynote, Apple did have sessions for developers about accessibility.
The presenter explained changes needed to make an app accessible with VoiceOver, but there was no clear description of what took place on the screen. The session did contain a lot of useful information.
