Here Are The Most Important Things Announced At WWDC

WWDC is Apple’s annual tech and software show where they take to the stage and blow everyone’s socks off with their latest creations. There was a decidedly peaked interest in what was going to be announced today, with the world waiting to see what Apple had up their sleeves. I was one of those people, especially seeing how Apple has been relatively silent about things as of late. As usual, rumors swirled, and there was talk of everything from an Apple exclusive music service, to Apple finally unveiling their TV service. Although one of these things did happen, the other did not, and I really wish it would’ve. See, had Apple actually announced a TV service, I would’ve taken note about how ambitious undertaking something like that sounds. Instead, I sat and listened to Apple (once again) announce new services and features that have been available for quite some time now. In the process they put off more of a “We’re playing catch-up”vibe than a “We want to change the world” vibe. Here’s a few of the biggest announcements from today’s WWDC keynote.

Let’s start with iOS 9 shall we? iOS is essentially the bread and butter of Apple nowadays, with iPhone and iPads making up a ton of their business. The announcement of iOS 9 today seemed more like an incremental update aimed at keeping up with the competition rather than completely surpassing them. Still, there were several new features added that will undoubtedly give iPhones a leg up on the competition, even if that leg happens to be an artificial one. One of the most glaring sore spots in iOS has been maps. For too longs maps has been the butt of plenty of jokes and Apple themselves admitted that Maps hadn’t been performing as expected. After a few “fixes” it still seemed as if Maps would forever be a thorn in Apple’s side, and perhaps be the one thing they’d consistently get wrong. While the additions revealed today for Apple Maps weren’t huge by any means, they’re still some pretty big improvements. Maps will now be able to open in ‘Transit View,’ giving users the ability to see public transit routes and directions, all customized for specific cities. The new ‘Nearby’ feature will add categories when you search in Maps, giving you better, more accurate recommendations based around whatever you search for. Notes are getting the Google Keep treatment, with the added ability to easily create checklists, add a URL straight from the web, and even create a sketch within a note for an even more custom feel. There’s even an attachment view used as a type of digital file folder tab to help you better find specific content. Siri is getting a shot in the arm as well as Apple is doubling down on functionality. They introduced a new aspect to Siri and are calling it the “Proactive Assistant.” The Proactive Assistant will act as Apple’s Google Now, giving users access to information before they even need to look for it. For example, if you ‘re listening to a podcast and then stop it, the next time you plug headphones into your headphone jack, iOS 9 and Siri will assume you’d want to finish that podcast and automatically start playing it where you left off. Tim Cook and co. made it a point to talk up the security aspect of these new features, highlighting the fact that they don’t data mine your information. In fact, all the things your phone knows about you will reside on the device itself and never in the cloud. I will admit that’s pretty impressive. Another really impressive aspect of iOS 9, is Apple actually shrank and compressed the raw file size so the actual install will only require 1.3 GB of storage, and will work on every device that currently supports iOS 8.

Users of iPads will gain true multitasking for the first time, as Apple is finally instituting features dubbed slide over and split view. Slide over essentially gives users the capability to have two apps open simultaneously, then slide one away when it’s no longer needed. With Slide over the screen ratio is split about 70/30 with one app being the primary app and taking up majority of the screen space. Split Screen essentially allows two apps to share equal screen time, which will be a power users dream. There’s also a brand new picture in picture mode which will allow you to be able to keep a small video window open while you take care of all your important “stuff” and “things.” There’s also an added shortcut bar on the keyboard now to give you access to things like bold, italics, and copy/paste. Something as simple as text selection has been revamped as well, offering users the option to use a two finger swipe gesture across the keyboard to highlight text.

Apple Music was quite possibly the biggest announcement of the day, as Apple officially put every streaming music service available on notice. At it’s core, Apple Music is a really simple concept and is the fruit of the Beats acquisition from a year ago. Looking at most of the screens from the keynote, the revamped interface looks almost identical to Beats Music. With that being said, all of Beats best features are now alive and kicking with Apple backing them, and that should be a scary thought for any competitors out there. For example, Apple made sure to talk about how the new Apple Music service featured radio stations and playlists that are made by people and not algorithms. This is a veiled referenced to Beats “curated” playlists and stations that featured celebrity DJs essentially picking their favorite tracks. This is particularly dangerous for other services when you add in the fact that Apple has the absolute LARGEST music library of anyone. This means that users and curators alike will have a seemingly bottomless supply of track to choose from, and the results are literally endless. In addition to all this, Apple is ensuring that members don’t have to worry about losing anything they already own, so as a member of Apple Music, all existing songs and content will be moved into iCloud. Don’t get too crazy though, as there’s still the storage limit of 5GB for standard accounts, with upgradeable memory available by purchasing a monthly storage plan. Beats 1 is another aspect of Apple Music, and it’s essentially a giant, radio station with music being broadcast live from cities all over the world. The people tapped to head up Beats 1 are some of if not the most influential minds in music today. Zane Lowe, Ebro (Hot 97) and Julie Adenuga will bring the best of music, interviews, and culture to Beats 1. If it sounds like I’m actually excited for this, it’s because I am. Beats Music *Ahem* Apple Music will be awesome. Ready for the best part? Apple Music will launch for iOS devices and PC on June 30th, and there will be a (paid only) version made for Android that’ll arrive in the Fall. That’s right, Apple is acknowledging the growth and reach of Android devices and have decided to make their most important current project available on the platform. That’s huge. There will be three different price models for Apple Music. A base model that’s free that’ll give you basic access to Apple Music and Beats 1, a $9.99 monthly subscription for access to the entire Apple music library, unlimited skips, and expert recommendations. There’s also a $14.99 monthly subscription, which is essentially the same as what you get for $9.99 only geared for families of up to six people.

Lastly, Apple announced some pretty solid updates for the Apple Watch, making it more functional for users. One of the biggest complaints among Apple Watch users was the speed at which apps opened and ran. This was largely due to the fact that most of the apps on the Watch were essentially running on the phone as the watch acted as a conduit of sorts. This issue will be solved with Watch OS 2, and the introduction of native watch apps. Native apps will also gain better abilities on the watch as they are now able to be written directly on the watch’s interface and will be able to interact with all the sensors within the watch. One such feature is called Time Travel, through which users will be able to go through and get a glance at their entire agenda, past and present, by scrolling with the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown. Thanks to the improved API, users will also gain the ability to do things like reply to an email, and add a contact directly on the watch, without having to interact with your iPhone. All positive steps forward in my eyes.

At the end of the day, this year’s WWDC may have lacked a bit of the luster from years past. Apple Music was by far the most important piece that we got from Tim Cook and co today, and outside of that it was mostly improvements and enhancements. Nothing too mind-blowing at all. I’d imagine that Apple has all their big guns saved for the iPhone event that’ll happen around August/September. The refinements announced today are totally a step in the right direction, but we’ll see if those steps were big enough for Apple to maintain their dominance in the mobile space. One thing’s for sure, with Android M hot on their heels, the battle for supremacy between Android and iOS just got a bunch more interesting.

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