Home » Apple Unveils Mind-Boggling Array Of Updates At Its Annual Worldwide Developers Conference

23 June, 2020

Apple Unveils Mind-Boggling Array Of Updates At Its Annual Worldwide Developers Conference

Think your iPhone is more indispensable than your partner, children or dog? Well, new features just unveiled by Apple will have its products pervading just about every part of your life, if they don’t already.

The updates, announced at Apple’s annual three-day Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 20) yesterday, should have the company’s phones, watches and laptops intruding even more into your wealth, your health and your living room.

Attendees usually pay about $US1600 to attend the annual conference held in Silicon Valley, but this year the entire event is being held online and all for free due to reasons we don’t need to remind you about.

We’ve now had apps for 10 years now and realising we all might have become a little fatigued by the gazillion of unused little squares on our phone, the company has unveiled App Library which automatically organises the apps on your home screen so you don’t have to scroll through several pages to find the one you’re after.

The company also unvield Apple Clips that enables users to discover and access new apps without having to download – and pay for – the acual app. They’re smaller in size and integrate with Apple Pay that enables users to easily download if they want the full version.

And forgot your car keys? No worries! The new Apple iPhone will come with a feature that enables you to unlock your car. Initially, only available to anyone who purchases the new 2021 BMW 5 series, the company said it hoped to roll out the initiative to other compatible vehicles soon.

Alongside advancements to the iPhones’ all-important camera, WWDC 20 revealed that incoming calls will no longer take over your screen on iOS devices, including the iPad and iPhone. Instead, they will appear as a banner on top of the screen.

Picture in Picture allows users to keep watching a video while switching to other applications, such as iMessage. Users can move the video around the screen too, or hide it but continue listening to the audio.

Another development announcement was that the company would move away from using Intel chips in its devices and start using its own self-built ones nicknamed “Apple silicon”. This, it claims, will improve a device’s performance, battery life, give Apple more control over updates and better compatability between other Apple products.

“Macs built with Apple silicon will be able to run iPhone and iPad apps directly. Starting day one, users can download these apps, right from the Mac App Store and most apps will just work with no changes from the developer,” said Apple senior vice president Craig Federighi.

Apple also announced it will update its now-famous AirPods which will more seamlessly switch between devices and audio. A new “Pro” version will now have a new feature called “spatial audio” that aims to replicate a surround sound or movie theatre experience.

Apple Maps will include dedicated cycling directions including bike lanes, busy roads and stairways, however this won’t be available for Australia yet. New York, San Francisco, LA – and to entice Chiese consumers – Beijing and Shanghai are the only cities to get the feature at this stage.

It will also offer driving directions for electric cars that incorporate recharge points.

Forgot to wash your hands? Well, Apple Watch users will get a gentle reminder every time they pass a sink. Prompted by the sound of water and the way your hands are moving, the watch will give you a countdown to ensure your digits are squeaky clean. If you pause too early, it will prompt you to keep washing.

It was also announced at WWDC 20 that Apple users will be able to choose to only share their approximate location with apps. And in the App Store, users will be able to see highlights of privacy information from an app before downloading it.

Apps will now come with privacy “nutrition labels” showing how much or how little data they collect, such as financial information, browsing history or contacts. Each developer will be made to self-report their privacy practices.

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