Image Source – Apple

WWDC conference that was held on 22nd June, unveiled the new and exciting features and updates of the Apple software – iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS.  We’ll try to provide you the details of each one of them while being concise.

iOS

The much-awaited software updates of the year are here. Apple has improved a lot of inbuilt dynamics of the software and pinned in some of the new ones in iOS 14 to provide a seamless experience to its users. It looks brand new and makes the apps you use more personal, more intelligent, and more private. Let us take a closer look at them

• Improved experience and Personalized Home Screen

The widgets have taken a new stance and are easily readable to provide you highlights to your most used features. You can resize them and rearrange them the way you like. You can also activate the Smart Stack feature that is curated by your preferences. The App library is handier than ever, better organized and your favorite apps are a tap away.

Now the call screen won’t hinder your work, it is compact and you’ll still be on the screen you were working on. Your videos and facetime won’t stand in the way to check your important messages or look something up, iOS gives you access to picture-in-picture experience.

• Messages

The most important thing in any smartphone is to stay connected. With the new version of iOS. You can now pin your important conversation at the top of the list also now your group conversations have a whole new identity by adding a photo or a visual picture. With the new feature, you can also mention somebody to clarify, or send exclusive messages on the group chat, and alter your setting to get notifications when your name is mentioned. With replying to a specific message, you can also view replies as their own thread and of course, the memojis have gotten more styles and stickers.

• Maps

It is easier to find your favorite places and most convenient routes with iOS maps. Your cycling experience will be more burnished than ever with proper course giving you details such as elevation, busy streets, stairs, steep roads, and charging points. It has also collaborated with trusted brands and partners to recommend the best places to dine, hang out, shop, and explore and they automatically update when new places are added. You can also save your Guides if you just love the recommendations.

• Translate

Apple has introduced a whole new Translate app with over 11 languages to provide natural and easy conversations. You can download the languages you need to have access to them when offline. The sentences or phrases can be translated by clicking on the microphone button while conversing. Your conversations and translations will remain private without needing to switch off the internet connection. The added advantage you have with this app is that you can view the history of your translations. Your translated text gets enlarged on the landscape screen to gauge more attention.

• SIRI

SIRI is now smarter than ever with a more compact design. The screens will no longer be switched when you want SIRI’s assistance. You can easily send voice messages and search web answers. 

• Home App

The home app provides a suitable and easily controllable method for all your home appliances. When you add a new HomeKit accessory, it’ll suggest you the best-suited adjustments. The new iOS also highlights the accessories that need your attention. The people who are at your doorbell can be easily identified and notified to you from your Photos app. You can also adjust your home cameras to the zones where you want any activity to get detected. Your lights too will adjust the color temperature based on the time of the day. 

• Safari

The new Safari can translate web pages for you in seven different languages. It is the fastest browser in the world, 50% faster than chrome and other browsers. Safari now provides you information about how the website is using your information and monitoring your activities and protects you, which makes it more secure.

• CarPlay and Car keys

The relationship between CarPlay is getting more enhanced with the ability to unlock and start your car. You can share your keys and revoke them too. This feature will be initially supported by BMW. You can also choose from your favorite wallpapers for CarPlay.

• App Clips

With the new AppCLips, you can easily access any app from the store when you need it and focus on a specific task, like renting a bike, ordering food, paying for parking, and so much more. They load faster because they are small in size, you can always, however, download the full version of your app from the store.

• Privacy

iOS 14 gives you more control over the data you share and transparency into how it is used. The store will give a short summary of the privacy policies of the app you want to download so that you know how they will use your data. An app using your microphone/camera will be notified at the top of your screen. You can also check which apps have used your microphone/camera in the Control Center. Your sign-in options have also been upgraded to sign-in with Apple when logging into other participant apps, and you can continue your already existing account as well.

With this new version, you don’t necessarily have to share your exact location, but you can just permit the proximity of your area. This helps with news apps and other related apps.

Compatibility

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• iPhone 11
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone Xs
• iPhone X Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7
• iPhone 7 plus
• iPhone 6s
• iPhone 6s plus
• iPhone SE (1st generation)
• iPhone SE (2nd generation)
• iPod touch (7th generation)

For further details visit the Apple website.

iPadOS

Image Source – Apple

iPadOS which is built on the same OS offers some features exclusive to it. Having said this, it has almost all the updates from iOS, and App Clips with powerful and intuitive updates on Apple Pencil, augmented reality, apps and so much more.

• Experience

The new iPadOS offers similar customizations as iOS on the Home screen with new app designs that consist of compact toolbars and sidebars providing you easier access to options without leaving the screen. The search bar has also become more compact to provide you faster and relevant results without exiting the app/screen to avoid loss of context experienced in switching the screens. 

• Scribble

The users of the Apple pencil often cannot seem to put it down. To provide you a smooth experience with it iPadOS has made some major updates. Your handwritten text can automatically be converted into typed text. You can write a quick message or search something up in Safari and it will be converted into typed text. Moreover, you can now scratch a part of the text to delete it and circle it to select it. The features of the Apple Pencil comes in handy with Apple Notes.

• Notes

Your handwritten notes now have the same advantages that come with the typed ones. You can easily select the scribbled notes and paste them to another app where they will be pasted in a typed format. Notes can also identify phone numbers and addresses to facilitate your selection. The new benefit of the app is, suppose if you draw a pentagon, it will change it to the appropriate form from the scribbled form. It now works, it enables shape recognition.

• Augmented Reality

We all know what augmented reality stands for. It basically supports scenarios that might not be possible in actual circumstances or impractical. Well, now iPadOS allows you to test it in specific geographical locations around the world.

With this iPadOS provides and facilitates the updates in the Home App, Safari, SIRI, Messages, and Privacy enhancements introduced in iOS.

Compatibility 

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• iPad Pro 12.9 inch (4th generation)
• iPad Pro 11 inch (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9 inch (3rd generation)
• iPad Pro 11 inch (1st generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9 inch (2nd generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9 inch (1st generation)
• iPad Pro 10.5 inch
• iPad Pro 9.7 inch 
• iPad (7th generation)
• iPad (6th generation)
• iPad (5th generation)
• iPad mini 
• iPad mini (5th generation)
• iPad mini 4
• iPad Air (3rd generation)
• iPad Air 2

For further details visit the Apple website

macOS Big Sur

Image Souce – Apple

The new macOS is offering you some bold new experiences to a new level of power making it the most advanced desktop operating system. It also has announced a Mac transition to Mac Silicon.

• Experience

The new updates give a whole new level of ease. In addition to all the iOS updates, it also has added a sidebar and a refreshed toolbar to the apps to give you access to tools without having to leave the screen. The sizes of the apps are more uniformed and consistent to give a sleek design. The Control Center for Mac is back to easily give you access to your brightness, WiFi, sound, and much more at one platform. With custom-sized widgets, giving you ingress to your favorite podcasts and calendars.

• Safari

The new Safari provides you a highly customizable homepage. Not just that it suggests you the extensions of preferred developers from the app store and now allows extensions from other browsers. You can also set your own permits related to the extensions limiting their check on the various websites you are working on. The new design also provides an amalgamated taskbar where all the tabs you open are visible. Like iOS and iPadOS, you can translate the web across 7 different languages. Intelligent Tracking Prevention allows Safari to protect you from unnecessary checks and data reading from third parties, the results of which can be provided to you every week via a Privacy Report.  It dispenses more battery power than any other web browser to stream videos and shows.

• Messages

Much like the iOS, the messages are now to furnish better conversation experiences. With macOS, you can also insert trending GIFs and images and search literally anything from your conversations.

• Maps

With the new updates as mentioned in iOS, Maps in the MacBook also provide a more inclusive experience that allows you to view cities in an immersive 3D form. You can also check out the indoor maps of saying a stadium to find out the nearest exit.

• Privacy

With newer and more advanced ways based on machine learning, to secure your data from unnecessary background checks and following from websites. With all the Privacy updates already mentioned in the iOS Privacy section.

Compatibility

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• MacBook 2015 and later
• MacBook Air 2013 and later
• MacBook Pro 2013 and later
• Mac mini 2014 and later
• iMac 2014 and later
• iMac Pro 2017 and later
• MacPro 2013 and later

To check further details visit the Apple website, all devices do not support all features.

watchOS 7 

Image Souce – Apple

The new watchOS 7 provides you with astonishing new features oscillating with day and night to not just make your day better but also monitor your sleep patterns. Let us take a look at the new and exciting features of the new watchOS.

• Watch Faces

Watch Faces are what defines your preferences. watchOS 7 provides you with more watch faces than ever that are highly customizable facilitated by chronograph pro. You watch face can imbibe several complications and shortcuts from your favorite apps. You can look for watch faces from the App Store created by our team to look it up online. You can also share your watch faces with your friends.

• Sleep App

We often find our sleep schedules messed up because of our workload and addiction to smartphones. Finally, watchOS provides you the software to monitor your sleep. You can easily set your bedtime and morning time and it’ll help you stick to it. Your watch turns off and puts on the DND mode. It alters your devices’ settings parallelly whilst giving you access to your shortcut apps that’ll put you to sleep like meditating app, music, etc. The accelerators in your apple watch record the subtle movements in your breathing and waking states to provide you your sleep charts. It’ll remind you before bedtime and wake you up with a sweet morning remark.

• Fitness

The new fitness app, along with functional strength training, core training, and post-workout cooldown, also offers you to track your dance moves. It helps you coordinate, makes you stronger, and is good for your heart. You can easily keep track of all your data, viz. All the calories you have burnt, and share it with others as well.

• Maps

It helps you find the best cycling routes and rest stops. It’ll provide you clear instructions as if you need to dismount your bike and take the stairs.

• Handwashing

Owing to the current events, watchOS will also monitor your handwashing breaks. When you start washing your hands its motion sensors will automatically put on a 20-second timer and advice you to complete the duration. It can also remind you to wash your hands when you get home.

• SIRI

SIRI can now translate your content in 10 languages. It is more knowledgeable and fuels on device dictation and shortcuts.

• Hearing Health

The new Noise App will help you monitor your hearing health by keeping your volume restricted as per the WHO levels. You can also manually set a maximum sound to help prevent exposure to high volumes. And with a weekly listening summary, check how long you have listened to high decibel sounds.

Compatibility

watchOS 7 requires iPhone 6s or later with iOS 14 or later and one of the following Apple Watch models:

• Apple Watch Series 3
• Apple Watch Series 4
• Apple Watch Series 5

AirPods

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With the whole new spatial sound experience, air pods are ready to give your theatre feels. It provides a seamless experience when you shift from and to various devices, it smoothens the entire process. It tunes in with your Apple TV and accommodates sounds pertaining to their softness and loudness and individually on phone calls, music, etc. You get notified about the battery status. The surround system delivers you magical listening experience.

This is just a glimpse of the updates and features of the new Apple software and device, there is so much more.