WWDC 2019: 6 Apple announcements and updates that affect you

Apple hosts several events in a year. However, only two of them are the biggest and most anticipated ones—The keynote where new iPhones are unveiled, and WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference). The latter is mostly on software (evident from the name) and announcements made can be major game-changers, be it for you, the user, or the developers. We had the pleasure of attending WWDC 2019 in San Jose, California and there were a lot of announcements made. If you haven’t already, you can get a quick catch-up of the event on our Instagram Stories. Otherwise, read on as we round up the Apple updates coming your way.

1. iOS 13

wwdc 2019 ios 13 features

• iPhone users will soon be saying, “Hello” to Dark Mode, which will come in handy especially under low-light environments. Not only will it work for native apps but Apple is making it available to third-party app developers to integrate it into their own apps.
• Categorising photos and videos by day, month or year (with autoplay for videos) means it’ll be even easier to browse through past snapshots.
• Most photo editing tools will be available for video editing, including crop, rotate and applying filters, all via the Photos app.
• Sign in with Apple—you’ve seen apps and sites that let you sign in with your Facebook or Google account. Apple is extending your options with their version, which promises to protect your privacy. For example, even if the service requires a name and email address, Apple will give users the option to keep them private and instead generates a unique random ID/email address.
• QuickPath allows one-hand typing by just swiping through the letters of a word on the iOS keyboard.
• Memoji gets even more customisation options, from new hairstyles to makeup to piercings and accessories. With that, Memoji will be integrated into your system keyboard so you can insert it even in Mail or other apps.
• iPhone apps and updates are now smaller in size, resulting in faster app launches.
• Apple Maps is getting a complete revamp, which includes the introduction of Look Around that gives you a 3D look of the place. However, it will roll out first for the US this year-end, and select cities to follow.
• Siri on AirPods will now read out your messages so you don’t have tor reach out for your iPhone. In response, you can also tell Siri to reply the message.
• Want to share the song you’re listening to (or a video you’re watching) with a friend? If you both have AirPods, simply tap your iPhones/iPads together.
• Siri will now sound way more natural as her voice will be completely computer generated.
• iOS 13 availability: This fall for iPhone 6s and later, and will be available with iPadOS for iPad Air® 2 and later, all iPad Pro models, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 4 and later.
• For more information, visit apple.com/ios/ios-13-preview.

2. iPadOS

wwdc 2019 ipados features

• The Files app. Essentially, it allows the iPad to do a few more things that make it almost like a laptop. For starters, iPadOS supports USB drives, SD cards and logging into file servers. It also has a new Column View to let you preview the file and view more info, as well as offer support for Quick Actions. You can also zip and unzip files.
• Desktop-class browsing with Safari. Finally. Safari is more powerful but iPadOS takes it further by automatically presenting the desktop version of websites, optimising it for touch and offering a download manager.
• Work on multiple files or documents from the same app—made even easier in Split View—just like a laptop.
• New gestures—select text with a swipe, for starters, and three-finger pinch for copy and paste.
• Similar to iOS 13, you can Sign in with Apple, reduced sizes for iPad apps and updates, a new Photos app, and of course, Dark Mode.
• iPadOS availability: This fall for iPad Air 2 and later, all iPad Pro models, iPad 5th gen and later, iPad mini 4 and later.
• For more information, visit apple.com/sg/ipados/ipados-preview.

3. watchOS 6

wwdc 2019 watchOS 6 features

• Track your hearing health with the Noise app. According to the World Health Organisation, a decibel level of 90 decibels and above can strongly affect one’s hearing after four hours per week of exposure. When it gets to that level, the watch will notify you.
• Cycle Tracking app. Essentially, a period and fertility tracker, which will also be available within the Health app on the iPhone with iOS 13.
• App Store is coming to Apple Watch. Browse and download your desired apps straight from your wrist.
• New apps from your iPhone now coming to Apple Watch: Voice Memos, Audiobooks and Calculator (which can calculate tip and split bills).
• watchOS 6 availability: This fall for Apple Watch Series 1 or later, paired with iPhone 6S or later, running iOS 13 or later.
• For more information, visit apple.com/sg/watchos-preview.

4. tvOS 13 (for Apple TV)

wwdc 2019 tvos features

• Multi-user support so you can easily switch between family members for each individual personalised experience. This applies to Apple Music on tvOS 13 as well. P/S Apple Music will also offer onscreen lyrics timed in sync with the song (applicable on your macOS as well).
• New Home Screen and stunning screen savers.
• Apple Arcade is coming to Apple TV 4K, which means unlimited access to over 100 new and exclusive games with a single subscription (available across iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac as well). Even better, tvOS 13 will support Xbox and PlayStation game controllers (Xbox One S and PlayStation DualShock 4).
• tvOS 13 availability: This fall for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD.
• For more information, visit apple.com/apple-tv-4K.

5. macOS Catalina

wwdc 2019 macOS Catalina features

• Yes, iTunes is gone. In its place: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV.
• Sidecar—need an extended display for your Mac? Sidecar lets your iPad be that, and with Apple Pencil, you can do even more, especially video editing on Final Cut Pro X, drawing with Adobe Illustrator and more.
• Accessibility adds Voice Control—Users can control their Mac (also available on iOS and iPadOS) with just their voice thanks to Siri speech recognition technology.
• Screen Time comes to the Mac.
• Expect more apps for the Mac as macOS Catalina gives developers the tools and new APIs to bring iPad apps over to the Mac.
• macOS Catalina availability: This fall for Macs introduced in mid-2012 or later.
• For more information, visit apple.com/sg/macos/catalina-preview.

6. Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR

mac pro and pro display xdr features

There were two hardware products that were announced but as stunning, jaw-dropping and powerful as they are, the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR are for the industry professionals. Think music composers, video editors, photographers and the like. It is indeed the most powerful Mac they’ve ever created. In a nutshell, the Mac Pro features Xeon processors up to 28 cores, a high-performance memory system with a huge 1.5TB capacity, eight PCIe expansion slots and a game-changing accelerator card called Apple Afterburner, which enables playback of three streams of 8K ProRes RAW video simultaneously.

The Pro Display XDR too. You know HDR (High Dynamic Range). XDR (Extreme Dynamic Range) is many steps above that. The 32-inch Retina 6K display is indeed gorgeous, works in either horizontal or vertical orientation, and offers an unbelievable 1,000,000:1 contrast ration. It’s indeed a true-to-life viewing experience unlike any.

The Mac Pro starts at USD$5,999 while the Pro Display XDR starts at USD$4,999. Both will be available to order in the fall. If you are indeed interested, find out more via apple.com/sg/mac-pro and apple.com/sg/pro-display-xdr.