WWDC 2017 is happening now and had a tremendous opening this year on day one with lots of surprises and announcements from Apple. It’s a packed event this year and Apple has specifically made 6 major announcements including new and upgraded hardware in iMac, MacBook and iPad Pro but also some major upgrades and redesigns in its OS division. Here we are covering some OS improvements and updates this year.
tvOS
Apple only had one thing to say about tvOS: The Apple TV is now partnered with a big new content source, as Amazon Prime Video is coming soon to Apple TV and Apple’s new TV app. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced more updates for tvOS later this year.
watchOS
Apple announced watchOS 4, the new version of the OS that powers the Apple watch with a few new interesting features.
It has now a new Siri watch face which uses machine learning to give proactive updates throughout the day and customize the important content to the right side of the display including meetings, health tips, traffic information, smart home controls etc, all with a just tap-and-go UI. It has a new kaleidoscope watch face which symmetrically changes throughout the day. Mickey and Minnie have been a big hit on Apple watch and new we have some new toy story watch faces characters including Woody, Jessie and Buzz.
It also includes some new fitness features including integration with certain gym equipment which allows real-time data exchange with the equipment. watchOS also supports native core Bluetooth in the watch which helps you in monitoring blood glucose levels straight from Dexcom devices. You’ll also be able to use the watch face as a flashlight or blinking light during runs.
macOS
Apple is not rolling out a major macOS update this year. It is giving some performance improvements and some optimizations and named the version High Sierra. This includes updates to Safari, including autoplay video blocking and “intelligent tracking prevention” to cut back at ad trackers; much improved Photos app supporting detailed photo editing and organization; and a faster new file system: Apple File System (APFS).
Apple is bringing Metal for VR for High Sierra, a stronger updated graphics engine that supports VR development and support for the commercially acclaimed game engines Unity and Unreal. Apple is also working with Valve Corporation to bring SteamVR SDK to macOS.
iOS
Apple has released the largest update of iOS for iPad till now in the form of iOS 11. Here we are giving a sneak peek of what’s been updated and what’s new.
iMessages
iMessages is now improved and can synchronize your messages better between your all devices from iCloud and will free up storage space by offloading things like old photo messages to the cloud.
Apple Pay
Apple Pay now supports person-to-person payments, all well integrated straight into your iMessages app.
Siri
Siri has been improved to a whole next level. It can now translate your queries into French, Chinese and Spanish and more will be supported soon. Siri uses on-device machine learning to find your likes and dislikes and suggest new topics according to that with an end-to-end encryption.
Camera
iOS 11’s Camera app is now using more efficient algorithms to capture quality-rich, low-light photos using Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), True Tone Flash and High Dynamic Range (HDR) capturing.
App Store
Apple is redesigning the App Store for the first time, and it looks pretty similar to Apple Music, big promo art, a tab for games, and more visibility into in-app purchases.
ARKit
Apple has introduced ARKit, its native AR development kit with core features like fast and stable motion tracking, plane estimation and boundaries, ambient lighting estimation and scale estimation and supports leading development platforms including Unity, Unreal and SceneKit. Apple is claiming this kit to be the “largest AR platform of the world”.
Safety Driving Mode
There’s a totally new “don’t disturb while driving” safety mode, which will put your phone in silence mode and auto-answer with an “I’m driving!” message while you’re driving.
iPad-specific features in iOS 11: A new app dock, a new multi-app view for multitasking, drag-and-drop support and a new Files (file management) app. It’s also easier than easy to mark up the screenshots and documents with the Apple Pencil. Also, using “combinational” neural networks, iOS now try to understand your handwriting in the Notes app so that you can search the text.
iOS 11 will ship this fall, with a public beta opening by the end of June 2017.