Apple WWDC 2015: Apple Music And 7 Other Major Announcements You Should Know
Apple Music, iOS 9, OS X El Capitan and much more.
By John Lim — 09 Jun 2015, 03:16 PM
Apple kicked off the annual Apple Worldwide Developers yesterday, where it unveiled new operating systems for its devices, along with the introduction of a new music streaming service and a news application amongst other things. If you missed any of it, we got you covered!
iOS 9: The latest mobile OS, iOS 9 for iPad and iPhone will be available this fall, includes an improved Siri and multitasker
Along with its new desktop operating system (OS), Apple pulled the wraps off its latest mobile OS, iOS 9. The changes over iOS 8 are subtle, but certainly not lacking in significance. Siri will get "smarter" and function more with more context-awareness. It will even be able to give you suggestions before you even ask. Apple is also launching a new search API for developers to take advantage of iOS 9 and Siri's functionality.
mashable.com
Apple is looking to make iPads more functional devices for business productivity with a new split-screen app mode which allows iPad users to run two different apps side-by-side.
techcrunch.com
The iPad Air 2 is also getting a split-screen feature that will let users see two apps at once, a big boost for multitaskers. Other multitasking features will come to all iPads, including a way to switch between apps by swiping from either edge of the tablet’s display. Users of iOS 9 will also be able to minimize videos so they can place smaller windows anywhere on an iPad screen.
OS X El Capitan: Rolling out as a free upgrade later this year, the latest Mac computer operating system is packed with improvements on existing features like Safari and Mail
Apple's Craig Federighi detailed the major changes in the new release, starting off with an overhaul to the Safari web browser. You can now pin sites in the tab bar just by dragging them to the left. The address bar is also becoming the spot to find which tab audio is playing from and mute it directly.
theverge.com
Spotlight search has been improved with the ability to respond to queries in natural language, such as asking it to find "documents I worked on in June." It can also look up weather, stocks, and games scores. There's a new Notes app as well as an improved Mission Control interface for better window management. The latter now includes a Split View, which splits the screen into two halves, one for each app.
theverge.com
Mail will benefit from new gesture controls that allow users to swipe to delete or mark mail, as well as increased search functionality. Notes has also been revamped, allowing users to attach various files to their notes. Apple will also be employing a new system font, San Francisco, which has been used on the Apple Watch.
mashable.com
Speaking of the name 'Capitan', we can't help but to think of a famous nasi kandar joint in Penang...
Apple News: Newsstand will be replaced by Apple News, which has a magazine-like interface
News will replace Newsstand. News brings content from publishers across the world, and content owners can customize the way articles are displayed. Just like Flipboard, News is a personalized feed of content and articles.
theverge.com
With the new app, consumers can customize their feeds to see news stories from the publishers they like. But the app will also learn users’ preferences and show them other stories based on what they read.
wired.com
Okay, allow us five seconds to interject a shameless SAYS plugin here that goes out to our readers to download the SAYS news app on iOS and Android. We love you, by the way!
Apple CarPlay: This feature released quite a while ago, but it's now gone wireless. Say goodbye to messy and tangled wires in your cars!
Apple announced that upcoming vehicles will offer complete wireless functionality between your ride and your phone. CarPlay enthusiasts will note that Apple started offering wireless connectivity with the iOS 8.3 update, but iOS 9 looks to improve the experience overall.
digitaltrends.com
Additionally, automakers themselves will now be able to create apps for CarPlay which can control systems within the vehicle. Previously, drivers had to exit the CarPlay app in order to access and control other system within the car.
techcrunch.com
Transit directions in Apple Maps: It's long overdue but it's finally here - transit directions are added in Apple Maps for users who ride public transport
New updates to Apple Maps in iOS 9 will offer transit directions that give users in various large cities a way to plot a route via mass transit.
The information will be available to users in San Francisco, New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Mexico City, Toronto, London, Paris and Berlin, with other cities and regions to be added later. The service is also available in over 300 cities in China, including Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai.
Apple Pay comes to the UK: Launched last year, the payment service is now moving out of the US to the UK
Apple is finally launching its Apple Pay contactless system in the UK, a year after it was announced. The feature lets people make payments by waving their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch over the contactless payment terminal.
Apple Pay will be supported by more than 70% of the credit and debit cards in the UK, said Apple executive Jennifer Bailey at WWDC.
theguardian.com
watchOS2: Although the AppleWatch is only two months old, it now has a new OS called the watchOS2
The next major update for the wearable, Apple Watch watchOS 2 update, includes support for native apps and new experiences on your wrist. You can set photos as your watch face, or an entire album that circulates through a gallery of photos. There’s also a Time-Lapse face that shows a time lapse for various locations like Hong Kong, London, New York, Shanghai and more.
technobuffalo.com
Developers will have more control; they can make apps that play back video and audio using the watch speakers, and there’s full support for HealthKit and HomeKit. Naturally, some of the latest improvements to iOS 9 — like transit directions in Maps — cross over to the Apple Watch as well.
theverge.com
Apple Music: Last but not least, the highly anticipated Apple Music, the diverse music streaming app that will be releasing in June. The app will be coming to Android. Yes, you read that correctly.
It will launch June 30 and users will receive a three-month free trial before having to shell out either $9.99 for an individual plan or $14.99 for a family plan. In addition to streaming, Apple Music will also offer a sort of social network where artists can post exclusive content for fans and a 24-hour radio station called Beats1, which will be hosted by various DJs.
mashable.com
There’s also a feature (called "Connect") that lets unsigned artists upload their music. It will be available on iOS starting June 30th and — maybe most importantly — it’s also coming to Android this fall.
theverge.com
Everyone seemed to be pleased about Apple's music streaming app. Everyone except the CEO of Spotify...
Why so? Apparently it's because of Apple's subtle dig at Taylor Swift's pull out from Spotify
Anyways, will Apple Music match up to Spotify? We will have to wait till end of June to find out!
