Apple celebrates its 30th WWDC.The annual WWDC 2019 conference was held at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose in the early hours of June 4, Beijing time.
In this conference, Apple's original four major systems (Mac OS, iOS, TV OS, Watch OS) were all updated. Not only that, Apple also brought a separate system for iPad, and Apple's fifth major system has been born since then.
Apple Watch gets an App Store
Ever since its birth, the Apple Watch has been on a quest to become more independent and less reliant on the iPhone.In 2017, Apple released the Apple Watch Series 3, a cellular version that can detach from your cell phone and make calls independently, so you don't have to take your cell phone out with you anymore. But to download new apps for Apple Watch, you still have to go through your iPhone to do so.
Now, the Apple Watch can finally download apps on its own.
This is a major revamp after more than four years of Watch OS. Watch OS 6 introduces the App Store, which allows users to download and install apps directly on the watch. As a result, the Apple Watch will have a separate, more robust ecosystem for developers to create standalone apps for it.
Health has always been the main focus of the Apple Watch. According to Apple, the new system has upgraded the measurement of movement function, adding walking speed, heartbeat conditions, and the microphone can be used to detect the size of the sound, so as to determine whether or not to protect the hearing. Of course, Apple still goes out of its way to emphasize its protection of privacy: this feature will ensure the user's privacy, and Apple will not save your audio files.
The Apple Watch also has a new feature that tracks menstrual status, allowing users to get a reminder that their next period is coming. The feature can be synchronized in iOS as well.
For the first time, the iPad has its own operating system
Of Apple's three major mainstream hardware, the iPhone and Mac have their own operating systems. But after the birth of the iPad, there is no such treatment, but share the operating system of iOS with the iPhone
This time, Apple is also bringing a separate system to the iPad: iPad OS, separating the iPad from the iPhone operating system for the first time.
The iPad OS system will support multi-window functionality, where using the same app for different operations can be split into more than two windows displayed in parallel. This makes it easier for Apple to multitask on iPad.
In addition, the new system also enhances the file management function and provides Mac-like operation. iPad OS sets three browsing modes: list mode, shrink mode and column mode. And it supports three sharing modes, including iCloud folder sharing, embedded file sharing and USB device sharing. In other words, you can plug in a USB flash drive to import files directly into iPad, which is very similar to Mac.
The iPad OS pin also optimizes the Apple Pencil by reducing its latency from the previous 20 milliseconds to 9 milliseconds, doubling its responsiveness. Moreover, Apple Pencil drag and drop can realize the screenshot, and after that, you can also use Apple Pencil to mark.
As you can see, these new features turn the iPad into a powerful little computer, another attempt by Apple to turn the iPad into a more efficient productivity tool since the introduction of the larger-screen, higher-performance iPad.
New Mac OS splits iTunes into three apps
If the Watch OS update and the creation of the iPad OS are exciting, the Mac OS may be slightly lamented by some older fans.
Because the biggest change in the new Mac OS is the splitting of iTunes into three apps: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV. this also announces the official retirement of iTunes.
In early 2001, Steve Jobs unveiled iTunes at Macworld, and in the fall of the same year Apple released its companion music player, the iPod. 2003 saw the launch of the iTunes Store, which sells songs for 99 cents a pop. It has since revolutionized the music market.
Yes, as a PC-based application, iTunes declined along with iPod with the advent of the smartphone era. At the same time, the functions of iTunes also overlapped with the later launch of Apple Music and Apple TV, and the value of the existence of iTunes became smaller and smaller. Now, iTunes, which has gone through 18 years of spring and fall, has finally been replaced by its "descendants".
In addition, the new version of Mac OS adds a new feature, Sidecar, which turns the iPad into a second display for the Mac for more complex operations.
iOS and TV OS General Updates
Compared to the iPad OS and the Watch OS, the iOS updates are a bit more modest. In the latest iOS 13, the Maps app adds more detail, and the 3D Street View feature allows you to see the entire street.
In addition, iOS 13 will bring a new system color to the iPhone - dark black, which Apple named "Dark Mode". This mode protects your eyesight at night and allows devices with OLED screens to save on battery consumption. Third-party apps will also be able to support Dark Mode if they are designed according to Apple's guidelines.
It's worth noting that Apple has brought a number of privacy features to iOS, including location sharing controls and reporting, WiFi and Bluetooth protection. Apple has also added a new "Sign in with Apple" feature, which allows users to sign in with their Apple account and also FaceID authentication, so Apple users don't have to use their Google or Facebook accounts anymore.
The update to the Apple TV system has been uneventful as well.The TV OS has redesigned the home screen and will support 4K.Most importantly, Apple has introduced a multi-user interface. Everyone in the family has their own recommendation list, and each person can listen to different music and watch different movies according to their preferences.Apple Music is also integrated into TV OS, and lyrics and music are synchronized.
Not only that, TV OS also extends beyond Apple's ecosystem, with Xbox One and PS 4 game consoles supported in the future. Unfortunately, for now, Chinese users can't enjoy the experience that TV OS brings.
On top of the four major systems, Siri has also been upgraded. With the help of Siri, Apple's headphones AirPods can help users read new information. Two iPhones can easily share music and transfer it to each other with a single touch.Siri can also help recognize the voice of different users in HomePod to provide personalized service for different users.
Additionally, Apple has released its ARKit development tools.ARKit 3 can capture people in real time, combining them with avatars.
This time WWDC hardware is here
There were no hardware releases at last year's WWDC, leaving some fruit fans slightly disappointed. But this time around, Apple didn't disappoint, releasing the new Mac Pro.
The Mac Pro is a desktop computer released by Apple in 2013. The new Mac Pro comes with up to 28-core Intel Xeon CPUs and 1.5TB of system memory. Featuring a 32-inch 6K Retina display that supports 6 megapixels-per-second processing, it can handle three 8K video edits or twelve 4K video edits at once, and a lot of 3D modeling software will be able to run on the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro, which is said to be the most powerful ever, starts at $5,999. Apple also announced a new version of its Apple Pro XDR display, sized at 32 inches with 6K resolution and starting at $4,999. Both will be available this fall.
