Apple WWDC 2019: What’s Coming
Apple’s signature World Wide Developers Conference is taking place next week, between June 3 - 7 with the opening keynote planned for June 3 at 10:00 am (GMT - 7). Tim Cook will be on stage to welcome and thank all the developers that make these great apps for the entire Apple ecosystem from iPhone and iOS to Apple Watch and WatchOS.
WWDC has a lot to offer to Developers, but there will be significant updates for all users. This is probably the most important Apple announcement of 2019.
So, what is important for all Apple users?
iPhone XI
Apple is expected to unveil three new models in 2019, iPhone XI (latin for 11) with a 5.8 inch OLED display, iPhone XIR with a 6.1 LCD display and iPhone XI with 6.5 inch display.
The new iPhones will keep the same design language. They will have a new huge camera module though, with a controversial design, including three lenses for the OLED models and two lenses for the LCD model. A new ultra wide lens will be part of the new camera housing across all models.
Apple is NOT expected to reveal new iPhones during WWDC; this will happen in a separate event next September.
iOS 13
Apple will release the new version of iOS which will be focusing on performance, efficiency, add some new features and possibly differentiating the iPad.
The main new features that we expect to see are:
Dark Mode which will be bringing a new black and grey themed version of the current white coloured iOS. Our eyes will benefit from the new dark design during night or in low light conditions. Furthermore, iPhones with an OLED display will also benefit from a slightly improved battery life.
New Reminders app bringing some of the features available in third party applications, Apple is expected to deliver a refreshed version of the app, which will add more features and four default sections (all tasks, today tasks, scheduled and flagged tasks).
New Find My app that will be merging the current Find My iPhone and Find My Friends App. There are rumours that Apple will be bringing new functionality that will allow you to trace all Apple devices. We could also see new APIs allowing us to connect and track other devices as well and possibly new Apple tracking hardware similar to the popular Tile.
Safari Downloads Manager. One of the most requested features, especially from iPad Pro users, is reportedly being tested from Apple and could be delivered in iOS 13. An update of the Files application will also be coming as well; Files app will be adjusted to show all your Downloaded files.
Mail: Mail will also be tweaked to include some improvements but unfortunately we do not expect Apple to delivered a drastically redesigned application. Mail App on iOS and macOS are clearly among the worst applications delivered by Apple. A significant rework is highly anticipated although not expected to arrive this year.
New iPad exclusive features: New Multitasking Interface, Multiple tabs/windows of the same application and a new redesigned HomeScreen.
macOS 10.15
macOS is being constantly evolved over the last years, yet without any significant redesign. Apple focuses on performance but new features and functionality is added in newer versions which has led to a more stable and capable OS. Apples is infamous for not updating its pro level application and probably this will continue this year.
This is about to change though. Apple’s internally known as Marzipan project is offering developers the tools to create one application for both iPad and macOS. This is a huge issue, since the enormous iPad application ecosystem will be able to be ported on macOS with relatively little engineering / software programming effort. These tools will become available to iOS developers later this year for iPad applications and in 2020 for iPhone applications.
New applications are coming to the Mac. Podcasts, Apple TV and Apple Music and Books will now be stand alone applications separate from iTunes. Wait, separate from iTunes? So what will happen with the iTunes application, will it be updated? Actually, iTunes will probably not live another year since Apple will probably kill the application in MacOS 10.15. We would say that this makes sense since these applications should become more sophisticated with better features that make sense for each different application. On the other hand this means that iOS applications will become more fragmented. This is probably against Apple’s philosophy behind Apple TV app which consolidates different sources in a single application. Yes it seems that the MacOS community shouts that one App doesn’t fit all approach.
iPad will also be able to act as a desktop extension for your Mac, acting pretty much like a Second Display. But what’s most important is that you will be able to use your Apple Pencil to interact with certain Applications that will enable this functionality. In a sense you MacOS will have a touch input and even if this functionality will be limited, it is a first step towards a Mac with a touchscreen.
Siri Shortcuts are coming to MacOS as well and also the new Find My application that we mentioned before for iOS 13. Screen Time and iMessage effects are also debuting on your Mac. Apple Watch authentication abilities are also expected to be enhanced on macOS. 32bit Applications will also be excluded from the next version of Apple’s desktop OS.
WatchOS 6
App Store is coming to the Apple Watch, along with new watch faces (including one with a gradient background), voice memos, new watch bands, a calculator app and several new health tracking applications. The rumoured ‘Dose’ app will remind you when it’s the appropriate time for you to take your pills.
Animoji and Memoji stickers may also arrive on your wrist.
Books will also arrive on the Apple Watch and you will be able to hear your audio books directly on your watch.
tvOS 13
New updates will be arriving on your Apple TV, although there is not much speculation about it so far. It’s almost certain that the arrival of Apple Arcade later this year on Apple TV hardware , means that relevant tuning and new application will be arriving on tvOS 13.
Stay tuned on 9techeleven.com and learn more during tomorrow’s keynote.
New Mac Pro
4 years ago Phil Schiller was bragging about Apple’s innovation path but the truth is the new Mac Pro seemed to be more promising that it actually proved to be. Mac Pro hasn’t been updated ever since and maybe Apple reveals the new Mac Pro during tomorrow's keynote.
