Apple goes dark
WITH the dawn of another June came another Apple World Wide Developers Conference.
The iPhone-maker hosts a huge conference each year where it reveals its software plans in a keynote address and allows app-makers access to its engineers.
And as usual there wasn’t a corner of the Apple software ecosystem left untouched. And that wasn’t the half of it – new hardware was forthcoming, too, when Apple boss Tim Cook took to the stage at WWDC19. Here is all the news that you need to know about.
IOS 13
THE next version of the iPhone operating system will introduce a new “dark mode”. Lots of apps have gone down this road already, with white text on a black or grey background the main feature. Some people prefer it, and it’s a bit easier on the eyes when it’s dark in the room.
Aside from the change in look, there are new features coming in iOS 13, too – especially in perhaps the most popular apps, Photos and Camera. The new Camera app brings new controls to the lighting effects in Portrait Mode (you’ll be able to adjust the intensity of the effect). Photos sees big changes, with new smart ways to view your images under the Photos tab, and a redesigned editing system with control over a wider number of elements. In iOS 13, almost all the editing tools you can use on photos will also be usable on video, too.
Other apps seeing changes include Maps, which will introduce a new ‘Street View’-style mode in select places, and a new ability to build lists of favourite places, or places you plan to visit on trips.
Reminders gets a complete re-write, with smart-lists to organise your tasks better, a new control bar to quickly add photos and attachments to reminders, and new contextual reminders in the Messages app, which will tell you if you need to communicate some info to the person you are currently messaging.
Other new things in iOS include a new keyboard you can swipe across to spell out words instead of tapping out individual letters, new ways to edit Memojis, and an Apple-hosted sign-in system for websites and apps that prioritises your privacy so you don’t have to use social network sign-ins that reveal personal info from your accounts.
MAC PRO
WWDC19 wasn’t all about software – Apple also released details of a new computer and monitor for serious users – the Mac Pro and the Pro Display XDR.
The Mac Pro is a powerhouse computer that Apple says is almost infinitely customisable – so you can prioritise speed or storage, graphics or video – or a combination of everything. The system itself is a beast, housed in a machined aluminium enclosure that comes right off to allow 360 degree access to its insides.
At the heart of it are eight PCI Express expansion slots, into which you can plug various modules to add capabilities – you can, for example, add up to four of the most powerful graphics cards out there, or a special new module called Afterburner which helps with processing video.
The capabilities are unheard of – the Mac Pro can potentially run up to three streams of 8K video.
The new display also takes things to a new level, offering a 32in 6K resolution panel with unparalleled brightness and contrast.
This new power comes at a price though – UK pricing will be revealed closer to the autumn launch, but in the US, the Mac Pro will start at $5,999, and the Pro Display XDR will start at $4,999 – and that’s without the display’s stand, which itself will cost an extra $999.
WATCHOS 6
THE next version of the Apple Watch operating system will shine new light on your health and fitness, with a new way to view your activity and progress over time, rather than just day-by-day.
Women get a way to track their menstrual cycle with a new app, while the watch will now also keep an eye on the noise levels around you and warn if things get too loud.
Add to this a new App Store for watch apps that works right on the watch avoiding the need to download apps to your phone first, and you have a sound upgrade.
MACOS CATALINA
THERE’S a new version of the Mac operating system coming, too – macOS Catalina. The big news in this version of the OS is the end of the line for the iTunes app. It has had so much functionality added to it over the years that it has become somewhat unwieldy. Its features will now be spread out into three simpler apps, Music, Podcasts and TV. Anyone still synching devices via iTunes will be able to do so via the Finder.
There are the usual updates to the built-in apps, like Photos and Reminders, which bring the new features available on iOS to the bigger screen. If you have an iPad, you’ll be able to use it as a second screen for your Mac in Catalina, and even use Apple Pencil to manipulate your Mac apps on the iPad screen.
IPADOS
FOR the first time, the iPad gets its own operating system, and will gain some new multi-tasking features.
There’s a new way to manipulate text with simple gestures, as well as the ability to see two screens from the same app side-by-side.
The iPad also gains a “dark mode”, the new QuickPath swipeable keyboard, and a redesigned Apple Pencil palette that will be available to developers system-wide.
It’s a big upgrade to the iPad system, making it a more capable device with features that will help users who want to switch from a notebook computer to something even more portable.
AR AND MORE
THERE were lots of features above and beyond the core platforms that Apple revealed updates to, and some of them were aimed at developers, like a new framework for building AR into apps, which was shown off at WWDC with a demo of Minecraft World – a new AR app which will take users into their Minecraft creations.
There were lots of new tools to help developers make even better apps, which means we’re in for another great year in the Apple ecosystem, with much to look forward too.
The new software for Apple devices will be released in an open beta in the summer, with the final versions coming for free in the autumn. You can find out more about the new software and hardware at apple.com