I thought I would give some of my thoughts on Apple's recent announcements at WWDC. I am excited to see several of the new additions, but below are the top new features that I am interested in:
1. Apple Music
It looks like they changed the Apple Music app quite a bit. I was plenty happy with the old version and thought it needed some enhancements (options for multiple Airplay speakers, better album/artist review, and improved matching of albums). However, this looks like more of a surface level update that has large text all over the place to tell you where you are. This must be the answer for people that couldn't understand when they mixed playlists in with albums? In fairness, many bloggers talked about how hard it was to navigate, so hopefully the huge text saying "Monday's Playlists" will make it easier for them to figure out where they are now and what day of the week it is.
They changed the landing page to the "Library" page. I prefer it to land on "For You" like we do now. I don't have to subscribe to Apple Music if I just want to listen to my library. For me, the service is more about having access to new "to me" music.
I am happy to see lyrics, the discovery mix that was picked "just for me", and a daily curated playlist. They also now have "Browse" instead of "New". As I have mentioned in the past, I like "New" because of the "Mastered for iTunes" albums they often included on that page. I am afraid that section is now gone for ever.
In any event, I am looking forward to trying this out and as long as they don't screw up the For You suggestions and Siri too much, I will continue to use the service.
They changed the landing page to the "Library" page. I prefer it to land on "For You" like we do now. I don't have to subscribe to Apple Music if I just want to listen to my library. For me, the service is more about having access to new "to me" music.
I am happy to see lyrics, the discovery mix that was picked "just for me", and a daily curated playlist. They also now have "Browse" instead of "New". As I have mentioned in the past, I like "New" because of the "Mastered for iTunes" albums they often included on that page. I am afraid that section is now gone for ever.
In any event, I am looking forward to trying this out and as long as they don't screw up the For You suggestions and Siri too much, I will continue to use the service.
2. Apple Watch
Of all the announcements, the Apple Watch announcement was the most exciting. The ability to "keep favorite apps in memory with background updates" is a game changer. They are saying that "favorite apps" will load about 7 times faster, so if it takes less than 14 seconds to load, it will now take less than 2 seconds.
The new "scribble" feature will allow you to type by using your finger to draw every letter. They also have new watch faces. The one I am most excited about is getting the ability to add "complications" on my own photos/faces. I occasionally want to put a Memphis Grizzlies face on my watch when my team is playing, but I lose Carrot Weather in the process. This will make it much more likely that I will use my own watch face.
The one thing they didn't discuss in much detail is exactly what "Speaker Audio" might bring to the Apple Watch. They specifically mentioned that "audio and video can be embedded right inside your app UI". I am hoping this means that we will soon be able to play podcasts through the speaker on the watch.
The new "scribble" feature will allow you to type by using your finger to draw every letter. They also have new watch faces. The one I am most excited about is getting the ability to add "complications" on my own photos/faces. I occasionally want to put a Memphis Grizzlies face on my watch when my team is playing, but I lose Carrot Weather in the process. This will make it much more likely that I will use my own watch face.
The one thing they didn't discuss in much detail is exactly what "Speaker Audio" might bring to the Apple Watch. They specifically mentioned that "audio and video can be embedded right inside your app UI". I am hoping this means that we will soon be able to play podcasts through the speaker on the watch.
3. AppleTV
leThey added Sling to the AppleTV, but that is not what I am excited about. I am happy to see a new Remote app. The new Remote app will have all of the features of the Siri Remote. This means that the gyroscope and accelerometer will be able to be used in games. For my large hands, the little Siri remote was difficult to control for racing games, but with the much larger iPhone 6s Plus, I will have much better control than I had in the past. I am hoping that third parties, like Simple Control app, will have the ability to control Siri on the AppleTV in the near future.
Another awesome feature is "Single sign in". This means you sign in once instead of signing into every app individually. Much more convenient. It will also automatically load compatible apps on the AppleTV when you download them on iOS.
Another awesome feature is "Single sign in". This means you sign in once instead of signing into every app individually. Much more convenient. It will also automatically load compatible apps on the AppleTV when you download them on iOS.
4. macOS
Instead of needing a password, the Mac will now automatically sign in when you are wearing an Apple Watch ("Auto unlock"). Siri is also now added to the Mac (about time)!
Universal Clipboard looks pretty awesome. It will allow you to copy from iOS and paste to the Mac. I am sure this will require newer Macs, so my 2011 Macs probably won't have this ability, but it is pretty cool to be able to copy images, for example, from the iPhone to the Mac.
Optimized storage seems to be a cloud solution that helps you get more local space on your Mac. This seems like it will make a lot of people go over their current iCloud plans, so I wonder how many people will ever use it.
You can now buy stuff on the web with ApplePay on the Mac and you can authenticate with an iPhone or Apple Watch. Pretty cool and it may help other vendors compete with the convenience of Amazon without giving up security to more retailers. Another cool feature is the picture in picture that looks similar to what we already have in iOS.
Universal Clipboard looks pretty awesome. It will allow you to copy from iOS and paste to the Mac. I am sure this will require newer Macs, so my 2011 Macs probably won't have this ability, but it is pretty cool to be able to copy images, for example, from the iPhone to the Mac.
Optimized storage seems to be a cloud solution that helps you get more local space on your Mac. This seems like it will make a lot of people go over their current iCloud plans, so I wonder how many people will ever use it.
You can now buy stuff on the web with ApplePay on the Mac and you can authenticate with an iPhone or Apple Watch. Pretty cool and it may help other vendors compete with the convenience of Amazon without giving up security to more retailers. Another cool feature is the picture in picture that looks similar to what we already have in iOS.
5. iOS 10
They have redesigned the lock screen. They now make the lock screen available by just lifting the phone. Now you can see a lot more information without ever logging into your iPhone. Do we really want this? I am not sure I want to have the ability to respond to messages without ever logging into the phone. In other words, I am sure they will make it easy to select which apps you want to use with this feature, but personally I use TouchID so that my phone is secure when I am not around.
They have added new, much more useful ways to use 3D Touch. They have also opened up Siri to developers for messaging, ride booking, photo search, workouts, payments, and VoIP Calling.
There are big updates to Photos. I realize that some of the features are similar to what is already available in Google Photos, like being able to detect other objects in the photo, but for me it is best to have this in Apple's app because of privacy reasons and the ability to get quick access to the photos right in the Photos app on the Mac.
Some people are skeptical about how good Apple will be at this "detection" process, but then again, I haven't had that much luck with Google Photos, especially with the fact that it thinks my dogs are cats about half the time. I could excuse them for my pup that has larger than normal ears that stand up, but it also thinks a cocker spaniel with sagging ears is a cat. Not to mention that it thinks my parents Pomeranian is a bear. There is actually one incident where it thinks my dog photo is a flower...yes, folks, this is the much raved about benchmark by which Apple will be judged. If this is what "Big Data" gets you, bring on Apple's "Deep Learning" via on device, privacy protected, artificial intelligence.
There are also big updates to the News app, navigation, messaging, home kit, etc.
They have added new, much more useful ways to use 3D Touch. They have also opened up Siri to developers for messaging, ride booking, photo search, workouts, payments, and VoIP Calling.
There are big updates to Photos. I realize that some of the features are similar to what is already available in Google Photos, like being able to detect other objects in the photo, but for me it is best to have this in Apple's app because of privacy reasons and the ability to get quick access to the photos right in the Photos app on the Mac.
Some people are skeptical about how good Apple will be at this "detection" process, but then again, I haven't had that much luck with Google Photos, especially with the fact that it thinks my dogs are cats about half the time. I could excuse them for my pup that has larger than normal ears that stand up, but it also thinks a cocker spaniel with sagging ears is a cat. Not to mention that it thinks my parents Pomeranian is a bear. There is actually one incident where it thinks my dog photo is a flower...yes, folks, this is the much raved about benchmark by which Apple will be judged. If this is what "Big Data" gets you, bring on Apple's "Deep Learning" via on device, privacy protected, artificial intelligence.
There are also big updates to the News app, navigation, messaging, home kit, etc.
To Wrap Up
As usual, lots of new features in the next operating system updates. I am mostly looking forward to the Apple Watch updates and the Apple Music update, but I think all of the updates should enhance the experience for a lot of people in Apple's ecosystem.
As a side note, Apple has essentially doubled down on privacy and security, so I will be anxious to read more about "Differential Privacy" which is their way of keeping individual user information private while still being able to use data analytics to deliver a better user experience. This is huge departure from what Facebook and Google are doing right now, so I think it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years. As I have mentioned before, I prefer Apple's approach, so we will just have to wait and see if there is a huge price to be paid by those that care about their privacy.
As a side note, Apple has essentially doubled down on privacy and security, so I will be anxious to read more about "Differential Privacy" which is their way of keeping individual user information private while still being able to use data analytics to deliver a better user experience. This is huge departure from what Facebook and Google are doing right now, so I think it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years. As I have mentioned before, I prefer Apple's approach, so we will just have to wait and see if there is a huge price to be paid by those that care about their privacy.
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