Apple WWDC 2019: Everything you need to know about iTunes, new Macs, iOS 13 and WatchOS 6
Apple’s iPhone is changing and the tech giant is going old-school in their new era, with the return of the cheese grater computer and the Apple Watch getting a retro finish.
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Apple’s new era of products sees a return of ‘old school cool’ with the revival of the classic cheese grater style of computer tower and a modern take on the calculator watch.
But not everything has survived the tech-giant’s retro-revival.
In the worst-kept secret of Apple’s annual event, the company has confirmed the death of iTunes.
Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, announced its end with sarcasm, first joking that Apple could add more features to the do-it-all software, including a calendar, mail program, a web browser, and its own dock.
His team, he joked, had the better idea to split Apple’s media into three separate apps.
“The future of Apple Music is not one app but three: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV,” he said.
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Mr Federighi said iPhone users could still synch their iPhones with their computers, with backups appearing in a Mac Finder window.
The company did not address what would happen with legacy music libraries, however, which is a major concern for existing iTunes stalwarts.
At its annual Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC) in California overnight, Apple unveiled new software for its devices, including iPhones and iPads, Mac computers, and Apple Watches to rabid fans.
APPLE WATCH
Chief executive Tim Cook called the company’s smartwatch “the number one watch in the world,” and “an intelligent guardian for your health”.
And then Apple executives proceeded to announce new feature after new feature for the timepiece.
The sixth generation of software for the Apple Watch will get new independent apps including a calculator (so it can be used as an old-school calculator watch) and an app to stream audiobooks directly.
The Watch will also get independent access to Apple’s App Store so users can “search the full App Store by dictation, scribble or asking Siri,” according to spokesman Kevin Lynch, and install them on their wrist without using a phone.
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Women will also get an app to track their menstrual cycle on the Watch, while everyone will be able to use a new noise-monitoring app that warns when ambient noise reaches over 90 decibels.
Apple warned the company would not record audio around you, though, and would only listen in “periodically”.
In fitness tracking, the Apple Watch will also show trends for the first time, comparing fitness for the last 90 days with the wearer’s performance for the rest of the year.
APPLE IPHONE SOFTWARE
One of the biggest cheers from the hyper enthusiastic WWDC crowd came when Apple embraced its dark side, delivering the much-promised Dark Mode to iPhone software with a black background to everything from apps to its keyboard.
The new version of iOS coming to smartphones soon will also feature a much stronger focus on privacy and keeping creepy third-party apps in the dark.
Software engineering senior vice-president Craig Federighi told the crowd sharing your location with apps could provide a more personalised experience but “we don’t expect to have that privilege used to track us”.
As such, Apple will introduce an “Allow Only Once” option for apps that want to track your location, prompting companies to ask to access your location each time it wants to do so.
Apple also promises to deliver reports on how often apps use their location.
But perhaps an even bigger privacy addition is “Sign in with Apple,” which will be delivered as a login option an option alongside signing in with Facebook and Twitter.
Rather than allowing app developers to see everything attached to their social media accounts, the Apple signin will hand over little information to the third party company, and can even be used to create a randomly generated email address that will forward messages to a real address.
These addresses can easily be deleted when users no longer want to stay in contact.
Apple also unveiled a new Photos tab for its camera roll that shows what the company deems to be your photographic highlights, removing the clutter of receipt photos and screenshots.
IPAD GETS ITS OWN SOFTWARE
For the first time, the iPad will get software designed just for it. No more phone software stretched on a big 12.9-inch screen.
Named iPad OS, the new operating system is designed to make the tablet more of a work tool.
The new software includes many more shortcuts, such as swiping right to reveal a new tab filled with widgets.
iPad OS will also feature a lot of new multi-tasking options, including a rotating menu of apps that can appear in miniature at the side of the screen.
Apple tablet users will also be able to plug a USB stick into the machine for the first time, ending a major bugbear for travellers.
Extra features will also include a new three-finger swipe gesture to undo a selection (so you no longer need to shake the device), automatic desktop rather than mobile view for websites, and a new implementation of Mark Up that will let anyone with an Apple Pencil write on top of the text in any screen.
SOUND CHOICES
Siri should sound a little more human after the next software update, with Apple paying more attention to the way she talks to you.
The company will use a technology called neural text-to-speech to make the digital assistant sound a little less like a feature from a science fiction film.
AirPods also got a small update, with a new feature called “Announce Messages” letting Siri read incoming messages in the wireless earbuds and let users quickly dictate a reply without touching a phone.
Apple’s smart speaker, HomePod, will also get the ability to recognise different voices.
MAC PRO
Apple often launches computer hardware at the conference and this year it opted for maximum power.
The newly unveiled Mac Pro harks back to the original “cheese grater” style of computer tower, ditching the old “trash can” design.
The new computer features 1.5 terabytes of system memory, a new Intel Xeon processor with as many as 28 cores, eight PCI slots for adding hardware, and heavy duty cooling involving three fans to keep the system running.
The Mac Pro is designed for the biggest and most demanding of tasks, promising to handle up to 12 streams of 4K video at once, and 8K ProRes RAW footage editing in real-time.
The Mac Book Pro will also come with a 6K display calibrated specifically for the computer.
Mr Cook called it “a product that will take the Mac further than it ever has before”.
Apple earned the biggest laughs of the event when unveiling the display’s cost.
The company announced it would charge $US999 ($A1440) for the Mac Pro’s screen stand alone, sending attendees into fits of laughter.
There’s no word on whether you can use the computer’s display without it.
MAC SOFTWARE
No Apple developers’ conference would be complete without Mac software updates, of course, and new developments include new options for displays, apps, and finding your Mac when it goes missing.
MacOS Catalina will include a new feature called SideCar that lets Mac users add a second screen wirelessly; connecting an iPad up as a new display, for example.
Apple also launched Project Catalyst, as anticipated, that will let developers more easily transfer existing iPhone apps to the Mac.
Macs will also get Screen Time features in its menu that tell users just how long they’ve been staring at that big screen, and a new combination of Find My iPhone and Find My Friends will let Apple computer users locate their missing Mac even if it’s offline.
Apple computers will also get Voice Control, which will let users control the machines with their voice and deliver dictation.
Originally published as Apple WWDC 2019: Everything you need to know about iTunes, new Macs, iOS 13 and WatchOS 6
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