Discovering Best Announcements from Apple Special Event 2019
Apple holds special events all the time — there are about four of them each year. The technology giant uses these events to announce new products, features, redesigns or improvements and to create more buzz in the media. Usually, Apple special events get great media attention and boost talks, shares and followings in the periods after.
The special event we are talking about, though, is somewhat wider and targets developers as well as users. Yes, you guessed it, it’s about WWDC19 — Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. For 5 days — from June 3 to June 7 — Apple engineers, designers, developers, and marketing managers welcomed everyone interested in San Jose, CA, to show, present, reveal, discuss and introduce what has been created and updated in the world of Apple devices and software.
The event schedule was rather intensive and full of presentations, labs, discussions, breakfasts, and lunches. We have gathered the most important takeaways from WWDC19 in this post to show what to expect if you are an iOS developer or Apple user.
iOS 13
The new iOS version became a headliner of the whole event. Of course, in the new version, the Apple team bumped up the performance with about 30% faster face recognition and apps loading time being half of what it used to be.
Other features include the long-awaited system-wide Dark Mode that works great for battery saving. While the Apple community welcomed the Dark Mode, it is a clear message to iOS developers that third-party apps should now support it, too.
Another thing you are going to appreciate in iOS 13 is the “Sign In With Apple” option that can now be implemented in most iOS apps. Users can authenticate with their Apple IDs in any website or app supporting this feature. Sure, you can still go the old-school way of filling in your email and password, but many users like this level-up in their privacy protection.
Besides, iOS 13 comes with a lot of improvements that seem minor but are, in fact, nice to have. Swipe typing for those who like swiping better than tapping, enhanced photo editing options in the Photos app, the revamped Maps app with higher resolution and a richer feature set — these are just a few updates that the Apple team included in iOS 13.
iPadOS
Yep, the famous Apple tablet is getting its own operating system. It is based on iOS 13 and offers the same features that iOS does. The main focus of iPadOS is on multitasking, and your iPad now supports split windows, multiple notes, two text documents side by side, and a lot more.
Of course, the proud owners of iPads with iPadOS on board will also have the same options that we described for iOS 13 — the Dark Mode, new Maps and Photos, swipe typing.
macOS Catalina
WWDC19 had its share of news for macOS users, too. The release of a new version, macOS Catalina, was officially announced with the presentation of its most significant features. For iOS developers, we would like to specially note the announcement of Project Catalyst allowing iOS apps to run on macOS devices. This means that, ultimately, you can build only one app for Mac devices, iPhones and iPads.
Another interesting feature is Sidecar allowing to turn an iPad into a second display for a Mac. Your iPad can work either as a second display expanding your desktop or as a graphic tablet.
macOS Catalina, however, also brought along some shocking news for iTunes lovers — iTunes are being discontinued. Their functions will be split between three different apps — Music, TV and Podcast. We can say that there is a sense in such a split, as it will help to manage that huge mass of content and features that iTunes have become.
New Mac Pro + Apple Pro Display XDR
The new Mac Pro desktop together with the new Apple Pro Display XDR were the only pieces of hardware that Apple showed at WWDC19. The new Mac Pro features 28 cores and a RAM up to 1.5 Tb. Naturally, as most Apple hardware, the graphics side has been given special attention, and the new desktop has the most powerful graphics card you can possibly find.
Apple Pro Display XDR is 32-inch and boasts a 6K resolution with powerful color reproduction and brightness control.
At the same time, the new Apple hardware is a bit on the pricey side. The Mac Pro comes at $5,999, and the price tag for Apple Pro Display XDR reads $4,999.
watchOS and tvOS
Other WWDC19 announcements include updates of watchOS and tvOS. Now Apple watches are going to use watchOS 6 and Apple TVs — tvOS 13. Both come with functionality improvements. For example, with watchOS 6 your Apple watch will support App Store directly, without the iPhone. For iOS developers, this should be a relief, as they no longer need to create a separate app for the iPhone if they are building an Apple watch product.
tvOS features a redesigned home screen and the support of DualShock 4 and Xbox One controllers. Gamers, rejoice!
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As usual, Apple’s event of 2019 became a source of joy and appreciation for Apple users. At the same time, we can say that the conference also brought good news for iOS developers. QuickBlox will continue following the news on interesting events in the IT industry, so subscribe to our blog to be the first to know what great innovations are going to hit the market.
