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  • 6 min read

WWDC 2021 Keynote

Today's WWDC keynote included a slew of new features with a focus on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with a heavy focus on refining existing technologies further. There has been a lot of changes in each platform in recent years (most notably on macOS Big Sur last year), so to have Apple announce features that simply expand existing integrations between iPadOS and iOS is a nice change of pace. Possibly the biggest announcement to developers was that you can now create apps on the iPad using Swift Playgrounds and the Xcode Cloud features.

#WWDC21

For most users though, expanding FaceTime to work for any meeting type is a huge expansion of the already popular service, especially now that works in a web browser. But SharePlay may be the most exciting feature that remains within the platform for now. These two announcements, coupled with the Center Stage feature announced earlier this year in the iPad and iMac, only add fuel to the fire that there is a living room hardware device in the cards coming soon.

I've added notes on what was announced today with some moderate commentary that I'll eventually expand on as more information is released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TD96VTf0Xs
WWDC21

iOS 15

FaceTime

  • Spacial Audio
  • Portrait Mode
  • FaceTime Links: schedule FaceTime events and it works on other devices (via a web browser) with end-to-end encryption for all calls!
  • SharePlay: shared music, TV, movies, or screen on a FaceTime call! Music includes a shared playlist.
  • They are going to introduce a hardware device that integrates these features.
  • Can be used in combination with AppleTV.
  • SharePlay API "for easy adoption." Disney+, Hulu, HBOMax, NBA, twitch, etc.
  • Screen share for showing off games, help.

Messages

  • Photos can be shared as a collage or other views.
  • Articles added to Shared with you in Apple News app for articles. Music integrates with shared playlists from Messages. Photos gains similar features (while filtering out screenshots and other things).
  • Safari, Podcasts, TV, etc.
  • Pins

Focus

  • Notifications Summary: This can be scheduled for when you need to see them for quick catchup. Ignores messages from people.
  • Do not disturb status now included in Messages as status.
  • Boundaries: DND for work or home. Can customize the Home Screen that matches your mode (work/personal).
  • Focus suggestions depending on the time of day or location.

Live Text

  • Captures text from photos. OCR but live from the camera app!
  • Can be used on existing photos.
  • Understands 7 languages and on all devices.
  • Visual lookup (reverse image search) for books, pets, flowers, landmarks, etc.
  • Spotlight integration for these features.

Spotlight

  • Integrates with Live Text
  • Rich results for Contacts. Also for popular public figures.

Photos

  • Photo Memories adds Apple Music.
  • Memory Mixes: filter-like addition to memories to easier create them using MI.

Wallet

  • Adding real-world keys to cars, homes, and hotels.
  • ID cards: scan your driver's license into Apple Wallet securely.
  • TSA enabling digital ID.

Weather

  • Big update [integrating Dark Sky].
  • Redesigned backgrounds based on location, clouds, sun position.
  • Weather maps.

Maps

  • Globe view.
  • Adding: commercial districts, marinas, etc.
  • Elevation and landmarks
  • Night-time mode.
  • Driving mode: increased detail and graphics. Added crosswalks, bus lanes.
  • 3D highway maps.
  • All coming to CarPlay later this year.
  • Improved transit drivers.
  • AR mode to find where to go once you get off mass transit.

AirPods

  • Conversation Boost: focuses AirPods on the person in front of you.
  • Announce notifications: reads select notifications.
  • Find My: locate much better using new network features by pinging nearby Bluetooth devices. Separation notification when you move too far from your AirPods.
  • Spacial audio: coming to TV and Mac.
  • Spacial audio for Apple Music releasing today.
  • [AirPods were interestingly announced as an iPhone accessory -- I knew this and their marketing has stated this in the past but they really were pushed as specifically an iPhone accessory today.]

iPadOS

Widgets

  • Add anywhere (not locked to the sidebar).
  • Larger format widgets.

App Library

  • Features released in iOS last year are coming to iPadOS.
  • Available from the Dock.
  • Can hide unnecessary screens.

Multitasking

  • Multitasking menu: tap at the top opens up a multitasking control to simplify the process.
  • Swiping down now lets you choose another app in multitasking mode.
  • Shelf: open windows in an app to manage open windows.
  • App Switcher: can now be used to place apps in multitasking mode.
  • A new set of keyboard shortcuts.

Notes

  • Mentions: getting @ mentions.
  • Tags!
  • QuickNote: system-wide easy note creation. Swiping from corners for quick typing or pencil notes. They are app aware and will pull in-app data (such as the website you are on in Safari). In-app linking to a note to pull you back into an app you generated the note from.
  • iPadOS and macOS can create them. iPhone can edit them after they are created.

Translation

  • Auto Translate: detects the speaker and translation live.
  • Live Translate: Can translate text anywhere.
  • Can be downloaded to be used on any device.

Swift Playgrounds

  • Can now build apps on iPad in Swift Playgrounds.
  • Testing and App Store submission for iPhone and iPad app creation.

Privacy

  • Mail privacy protection: hides IP address, location, and whether you opened the email from marketers.
  • Safari: hides IP address and noted in Safari privacy protections.
  • App privacy report: "...overview of how apps treat your privacy," over the last 7 days.
  • Siri: on-device speech recognition: never leaves the device. Good for privacy but also means no internet connection is needed. Also means things process faster.

iCloud

  • [we haven't had an iCloud update in a while, it feels like]
  • Account Recovery: add family or friends to help you unlock your account. They don't get access.
  • Digital legacy: allows to pass down information if you pass away and recover your account.
  • iCloud+:
  • Private Relay: encrypts outgoing requests and sent through 2 private relay's without compromising speed. Not even Apple sees this data.
  • Hide my email: private email forwards for using additional addresses.
  • HomeKit Secure Video: Unlimited cameras now supported and not counted against storage.
  • Same price.

Health

  • Integration with Health resources (ResearchKit, HealthKit, Apple Watch) to build post-medical visit care app.
  • Mobility: expanding existing iPhone data into *Walking Steadiness*. Detects your pace/gait to determine how you are moving.
  • Labs: Includes details about lab results and if your results are in the expected ranges.
  • Trends: better tracking of long-term health tracking for better monitoring of potential issues or improvements in health.
  • Private sharing with health provider: selectively choose what you can share with your doctor. Goes into their electronic records securely with some vendors now and more later.
  • Family: tracking kids' and parents' health which can be shared between family members.

watchOS 8

  • Breath app: improved experience.
  • Reflect: mindful moment to remember positive feedback.
  • New mindfulness app for tracking this data.
  • Sleep: Respiratory rate tracking.
  • Tai Chi and Pilates workouts added.
  • Fitness+ new workout instructor. Artist spotlights added.
  • Portraits watch face: adds Portrait photos.
  • Photos: an improved app with mosaic layout, memories. Sharing via messages and mail.
  • Improved dictation or scribble when sending messages. Easier access to emojis or gifs with #images.
  • Multiple timers.

Home

  • HomeKeys to securely unlock your doors.
  • HomePod now can play something on your AppleTV hands-free.
  • SharePlay: shared with you on AppleTV.
  • For all of you: helps find things based on your previous viewing habbits.
  • HomePod mini select as output for AppleTV 4K.
  • HomePod mini gaining lossless audio at the end of the year.
  • Expanded international rollout.
  • Individual HomePod mini results.
  • Siri being brought to third-party devices!
  • Matter: a new standard for HomeKit devices.
  • Apple Watch improvements with the Home app.
  • Adding package detection.
  • AppleTV adding multiple camera views.

macOS

The crack marketing team came up with...Monterey!

Craig Federighi

Continuity

  • Universal Control: single mouse and keyboard for Mac and iPad! Can use to mouse and keyboard for multiple devices. Can drag and drop documents or into actual apps.
  • Airplay to Mac: present things from iPhone to Mac.
  • Automation: Shortcuts now on Mac. Automator still supported but looks like will be integrated into Automator.

Safari

  • Tab design updated.
  • Tab groups: save tabs in groups in sync and with several websites together.
  • All devices have the updated tab experience. iPhone now simplifies the tab experience. Gestures to swipe between tabs. Start page syncs between devices.
  • Extensions come to iPhone and iPad.

Developer Technologies

  • API's: SharePlay, Screen Time API, ShazamKit, ObjectCapture, etc.
  • ObjectCapture: stitches together 2D photos that can transform into a 3D model.
  • Swift features: Concurrency
  • App Store features

Xcode Cloud

  • Cloud-based Xcode with privacy and security baked in.
  • 3 min read

WWDC 2015 - Announcement Speculation Extraordinaire Apple posted...



WWDC 2015 - Announcement Speculation Extraordinaire Apple posted it’s announcement for this years WWDC today and, as Gruber pointed out, it really looks like there is a AppleTV shaped device centered in the invite. While it’s always fun to speculate on the meaning of these teases (and in hindsight they do end up being obvious nods to what’s being announced) it’s important to be careful how much is read into them.

Even so, it is fun to pull the announcement apart! While I think Gruber is right to see an AppleTV highlighted there, I pointed out 1 there was a big similarity to the color scheme of the announcement and the Game Center iOS app icon 2. I am hopeful I’m right as I’ve been pining for a AppleTV Gaming Update for years! 3 Apple is sitting on a gold mine of entertainment options for casual and even higher end gaming by simply adding an AppStore to the AppleTV and tweaking the interface to accommodate such a change.

The rumors include mention of Siri being integrated tightly with the new device. The new focus on Siri with the Watch has certainly ramped up it’s importance, at least to Apple, in how they view the product. The new landing page for Siri includes an in depth review unlike anything I remember seeing for other software products Apple releases and I expect we’ll see Siri take a larger role going forward, including the inevitable launch on MacOS.

But when you think about Siri integration it becomes evident the whole device would need to be rethought. Will you activate Siri by yelling at your TV, “Hey, Siri!” or will you first have to interact with the remote? Will there be a different activation phrase to keep from dictating to your plugged in iOS devices? I’m not sure what the new interaction will look like in practice but I can’t wait to try it. But this raises another question, will we see it on the third-generation AppleTV? If it’s anything like the iPhone rollout’s of yore then more than likely, we will see some improvements added but a full feature set rolled out to the older AppleTV.

There is so much more to this announcement that the rumor mill has me excited about: TV subscription services, reworked remotes, HomeKit integration (fueled by the tagline in the announcement, promising “The epicenter of change”). The possibilities are there. I know they’ve focused hard on building the watch but the AppleTV feels so behind in what you could do with it (and what competitors are trying to do in that space) that Apple could really set the stage. Even the current AppleTV is underutilized in capability, I feel like there is so much more room for improvement with it to take advantage of. I’m honestly more excited by the prospect of this than the Watch. Apple has spent the last 8 years training us to ditch a watch and put a iPhone in our pockets all while helping drive users to a massive change in our media consumption methods. The TV is prime for a shift and there are people who are eager for options outside of the confines of cable subscriptions. The Watch will do fine but the real disruption is waiting in the living room.

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  1. http://ift.tt/1ayJQ9W↩
  2. Game Center iOS icon ↩
  3. The AppleTV needs a gaming update The Apple TV needs a gaming update ↩
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Adventures in Online TV

At the end of November after several long discussions, my wife and I decided to cut off our cable subscription with AT&T’s Uverse service. This is not new in today’s world of cord cutters but I do not know too many who have been successful in doing it personally (IRL) so this felt like a big jump. While it has been a bit of a challenge finding programing occasionally, we have both found that the AppleTV covers our whole house’s entertainment needs. I wanted to cover what we did to cover the “gaps” and our lessons-learned up to this point and highlight what I’m looking forward to in the future for this new way to consume live and serial content. Our first step in making this decision was to review the shows we watched regularly and looked at the online subscription services we were already subscribed to, Netflix and Hulu Plus. Both were apps we used for consuming content pre-cut but we often underutilized the content available there when we had a cable subscription. We would instead find ourselves vegging out on the couch, hooked to a home improvement show or random re-runs. Next, for the shows we couldn’t find on those two services, we reviewed the way to consume the other content out there. Since we are heavy Apple users we found the rest of the shows we were watching were mostly available on iTunes and available to stream the day after they aired without commercials! Rather than the traditional cable or online subscription, iTunes lets you purchase show’s one at a time or subscribe to each show, per season. So you end up paying around $45 or less depending on the show which when we totaled up all the shows we were following, was still significantly under what our cable subscription from AT&T was costing us. Now a note here - we do not watch a lot of TV shows that were not available on Hulu Plus. We only followed The Walking Dead and Orphan Black through iTunes so far so your mileage may vary. But for us it has worked very well. For those events we wanted to catch live and locally I purchased a over the air antenna on Amazon and hung it on the wall for local TV access. We were pleasantly surprised the number of channels we were able to pick up despite being a good distance away from the local TV stations. Since we live in prime tornado country, local weather information was also paramount in driving this decision as was the essential need to catch any coverage of SEC college football games! Which brings us to the most difficult part of cutting the cord, live sports and more specifically, college sports. ESPN is unquestionably the leader here for anything outside of what is available over the air. So there were a lot of big games they covered that the only way to watch them was to make arrangements. I found two solutions to this, one low tech and one online. First was the most obvious, we left the house and went to a bar to catch a game! Amazingly simple in the concept but for us with two kids, it can be tough to get a babysitter. So I found a little loophole that allowed us to watch the rest of the games online legally. Our internet still goes through AT&T’s Uverse service and buried in your terms of service is the fact that you can still access ESPN3 through the AppleTV and iOS apps. The selection available here is generally 3rd tier events but interestingly they broadcast the spidercam view of some of the major games of the day. This is akin to watching the game from a drone flying around the field tracking the ball. It may not be for everyone but it was a bit like being at the game as you had a score overlay and the sound of the crowd. No announcers or yellow line but you don’t have to leave home and spend on a ticket or cable costs and all while staying legal. In addition to the content available from those major providers there are a slew of other options for sports content. MLB has an amazing streaming service and there are paid options for WWE, NHL, soccer, as well as free options from Red Bull and the new 120Sports available. And while you look through the content there, notice all those other apps that have deep or rotating catalogues of free and varied content from PBS (and PBS Kids!), Yahoo Screens (I can’t wait for Community season 6!), and YouTube. I’ve found I spend a lot more time on these other content sources when I want to kill some time with minimal interaction and just scroll through random content easily. None of these directly replicate what TV had but I have found my behavior has changed along with my families watching patterns. My wife has similar patterns to me in watching content. We both use our iPads a lot more to consume content now. I’ve increased how many Podcasts I listen to rather than watch TV programing (I’ll detail my love of Podcasts in another post), and we generally find we watch less TV overall now. It has drastically limited the kids access to TV. In the past, we had been lazy in letting the little guy watch too much TV. But now with access limited to Netflix and generally consumed when he has permission from us on the TV proper or on an iOS device handed to him, he instead opts to play with IRL puzzles, arts, and toys (every parents dream!). So far we’ve found a post-cable world has worked out rather well. I know this may not work well for everyone but I think it’s becoming more and more tempting to pull the plug on a cable subscription. Services are coming out from several companies that provide ESPN and other programing look tempting and I’m excited to see how that will work on an AppleTV as that’s been central to our consumption. There are some things that we gave up with cutting out Uverse. My wife lost access to a couple Showtime shows that she was following and there is nothing that replicates that tendency that allows you to take a completely passive viewing mode that we are all accustomed to with traditional TV. But by engaging directly with the content you watch, you make a consious choice to watch a show and that affects the amount and quality of what you watch increases drastically. But if the quality of the current crop of Netflix shows continues then there will be plenty of options to continue to look forward to in the future!

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