A Gist of What Apple Announced in the WWDC 2020 Keynote Speech

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference or WWDC as we know it, is an annual conference conducted from Monday to Friday on any one week of June in San Jose. Apple during this event opens its doors to developers worldwide with a paid Apple developer membership, to attend and interact with eminent Apple developers.

Apple uses this platform to showcase its new technologies and softwares for developers. Keeping the current global pandemic in mind, the WWDC is being conducted virtually this year for the very first time – from Mon, 22 Jun 2020 – Fri, 26 Jun 2020. 

Didn’t get the chance to attend this event? Don’t worry we’ve got your back. Here is a gist of all the important announcements made category-wise.

New iOS 14 Features on iPhone: 

Apple kicked off the event by focusing on the new iOS 14 operating software. The following features are going to be introduced in iOS 14:

• App Library: This feature optimizes your home screen experience by automatically categorizing the apps installed in your iPhone. The categories will be displayed once you swipe through your final apps page.

• App Clips: Imagine how easy it would be to try out an application quickly without having to install it. To improve user experience Apple has introduced “App clips” , wherein the users can access a mobile application without installing it. Whether you are looking to order pizza or trying to rent a car, you can do it quickly through App Clips and later install the full app.

• Digital Car Key: Do you tend to lose your keys often? If yes, then a digital car key is all you need. Apple’s digital car key can be used to unlock and start your car using either your iPhone or your Apple Watch. The owner can share the keys with a maximum of 5 people through Apple’s iMessage.This feature is going to be supported by the BMW-5 Series in 2021 and will be extended to other cars in the future. Super handy feature, we think.

• More Memojis: iMessage users will have more options to customize their memojis such as age, add accessories like masks, hats and so on. Users can also pin their messages in iMessage conversations just like starred messages on WhatsApp.

• Picture-in-Picture: This feature allows you to watch thumbnail-sized videos on your iPhone screen while you do other things on your phone such as texting, browsing things on google and so on. Right away this feature is going to work for the Apple apps: Apple Tv (binge away), Safari, Podcasts, Facetime and iTunes.

• Cycling with Apple Maps: Apple Maps will provide iPhone and Apple Watch users with ways to travel in a more eco-friendly way – maps will reveal cycling paths, how busy the routes will be and also informs the users to be mindful of stairs, a feature missing from ‘Google Maps’.

• Siri: To make simple tasks like launching apps easier, Apple has come up with a much more compact Siri design. Instead of completely occupying the screen, Siri will be displayed at the bottom of your device’s screen.

iPad OS 14 Features:

While iPad will share most of the iOS 14 features mentioned above, it has got a new unique feature:

• Scribble: This feature will enable iPad users to hand-write in text fields such as notepad, using the Apple Pencil. Users also get to draw shapes like circles, triangles and the scribble feature will turn those rough drawings into a beautified one automatically.

watchOS 7 Features:

 Alongside, the Apple Maps and Digital car keys features, watchOS 7 is going to introduce more fitness features to Apple watches:

• Sleep Tracker: The watchOS 7 helps the users check how many hours of sleep they are getting every night and also creates a weekly report depicting their sleep trend. It also provides valuable tools for users to get their desired amount of sleep every night.

• Hand Wash Detector: watchOS 7 will enable Apple watches to automatically sense handwashing motions and set a 20-second countdown for the user since it is a good practice to wash hands for 20 secs to kill most germs. Apt timing, wouldn’t you say?

New Airpods Features: 

• Spatial Audio for Airpod Pro Earbuds: By using motion data and detecting the user’s head and the device movements, this feature will keep the audio and the visual in sync. This feature will also provide a surround sound, 3D- style audio on Airpod Pro earbuds so that it feels like a movie theatre experience to the user.

• Automatic- Switching across Devices: Airpods will be able to switch audio inputs based on the device you are using. For instance, if you are watching a video on your laptop and suddenly get a call on your iPhone, the AirPods will automatically connect to your phone. This feature is going to be applicable for both Airpod Pro Earbuds and Airpods.

macOS Big Sur Features: 

The macOS Big Sur upgrade will allow users to learn more about their privacy and gives them access to the new iMessage and Apple maps features on their MacBook desktop.

• Faster Browsing with Safari: It was announced that with the macOS Big Sur, the upgraded Safari will be 50% faster than Google Chrome. Safari will also offer new features such as monitoring the user’s passwords to see if they were exposed in a privacy breach, informing what data is being tracked on websites, customizable start page background image, built-in translator and many more features.

One of the biggest announcements Apple has made is that they are switching from Intel to their own in-house designed ARM-based CPUs as it has already been doing for its other devices: iPhone, iPad,iPod and Apple watch. Apple claims that this brings out a completely new level of performance and will consume less power. The company also stated that soon iOS applications will be able to operate on Macbook.

So there you have it. These were the most important announcements made in WWDC 2020’s keynote. Watch out for more updates.