First of all, this live event was pretty amazing! They kept their presentations moving and made everything that much more entertaining. Aside from the theatrics, Apple has made some pretty huge announcements based on the iOS 14, iPad OS, Mac OS(Big Sur) and their move from intel at the WWDC.

Apple Announces New Updates to … Everything at WWDC

iPhone: iOS 14

1.  iOS 14, Apple allows widgets to be added to the main Home screen to live right alongside your apps. There’s a new “widget gallery” where users can easily add and customize widgets.
2. There’s a new “App Library” view that automatically organizes apps into groups and lists. It allows users to hide apps on their “main” home screen.
3. Apple is adding system-wide picture-in-picture to iOS videos.
4. Siri doesn’t take over your entire screen anymore! Finally! Instead of taking over your whole screen when you activate the digital assistant, there’s just a small overlay at the bottom of the display of the animated Siri icon.
   

   Image Courtesy Verge

5. Apple also announced a new Translate app. You can enter text in or dictate messages and have them translated into 11 languages. English, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian will all be supported at launch.
6. You’ll also able to pin important contacts and conversations to the top of the Messages app to easily talk to your favourite friends or group chats.
7. Apple Maps is getting new, curated guides from companies like Zagat or AllTrails to give better recommendations for new places.
8. Of the newest features, App Clip” comes to mind. These are speedy, card-based snippets of apps that let you access small parts of apps when you need them without requiring users to install a full app.

iPad OS: The iPad Experience

Image Courtesy ipadmenu

1. Redesigned widgets: The same effect from the iPhone will be duplicated on the iPad OS.
2. Photos redesigned with a new sidebar to help move through the photos app. It adds a drag and drop feature for easier organization. The sidebar works in files, calendar, music and many other apps
3. Apple Music has also added a full-screen view when playing music.
4. Siri has also been compacted and it’s much smaller and does not cover up the screen. Just like the other OS
5. Search is also compacted and made smaller to cover just but a small section. Just like the other search… Okay, I’m done.
6. The Apple Pencil now includes; Scribble. This is where you can now write from anywhere and the iPad will turn it into text. You can write directly onto the text field for search and it will be able to search what you have well, scribbled down. The same feature detects different languages. This includes English and Chinese as shown in the live demo.
   

   Image Courtesy The Verge

Airpods

1. Airpods will now seamlessly move from device to device without you manually switching. From the iPad to the iPhone to the iMac.
2. They are adding spatial audio. Essentially, it will add a surround sound experience when you watch any content on Apple products.

Watch OS

1. They have introduced watch OS 7. They are bringing new faces and you can now easily change and configure your watch.
2. You can now share faces with friends or family. Anything you create or someone else creates can easily be shared even on social media.
3. You can set up specific places on you watch.
4. Watch OS 7 now adds dance. It tracks the most popular dance workouts and brings them to you.
5. The upgrades also add sleep tracking and a rebranded fitness app.

Mac OS: Big Sur

1.  Introducing redesigned icons
2. Updates on sound effects
3. Additional sidebar
4. A top-right control centre
5. A translucent and customizable menu bar
6. Editable widgets
7. Smooth Transitions

Apple Silicon: RIP Intel?

Apple is officially moving to its own silicon chips for some of its Mac hardware. Calling it a “historic day for the Mac,” Apple CEO Tim Cook detailed the transitions to PowerPC, OS X 10, and a move to Intel chips before unveiling its plans to use Apple’s own silicon in Macs in the future.

Microsoft is also working on Office updates for the new Mac silicon running Word Powerpoint and Excel in their Demo. Apple has also been working with Adobe to get these pro apps up and running on these new chips. Apple demonstrated Lightroom and Photoshop running on the company’s new Macs.

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More information to come in the next few weeks! Stay tuned:) What are you most excited about?