Apple’s WWDC 2018: What to Watch For

Apple has unveiled software upgrades that will change the way you use your iPhone. “For some of us it’s become such a habit we don’t even recognise just how distracted we’ve become”.

Apple’s macOS operating system gets a big update this year with a great new feature that users have been clamoring for. iOS users, we mean. But for now, look for Apple to continue to push the Watch as a health and fitness device and introduce new features.

Mac users will now be able to make use of a feature Windows 10 users have enjoyed for almost two years now, and swap their blinding white UI for a dark one. According to Apple, iOS 12 has been optimized to launch the Camera 70% faster, reveal the keyboard 50% faster, and to make apps launch twice as fast. Reports also tracks what apps are sending you the most notifications. Finally. Yes. This is not a drill. The phone’s screen can also be set to dim automatically just before bedtime. You will also be woken up to a new screen that gives you a summary of your day. She will order your coffee using the mobile order feature in a coffeehouse app, start navigation directions and play the podcast you want.

For heavy users, iOS 12 will provide weekly activity reports for how a user spends their time on their iPhone and iPad – including how often you pick up your device and which apps consume most of your time. Coming with the update are four new characters – a tiger, a koala, a T-Rex, and a ghost – as well as Memoji. There will also be a tongue detection feature that will make the Animoji more expressive. Then they can manage how long children use specific apps on their phones. Kind of like Snapchat. “Houseparty for Mac makes lightweight group video chat accessible to more users than ever before”, said Ben Rubin, co-founder and CEO of Houseparty.

Group FaceTime calls are also being introduced with iOS 12. FaceTime will support animoji and filters, too.

Apple also overhauled its virtual assistant Siri to control third-party apps without users having to open them. All powered by on-device machine learning.

One of the more interesting features that no one really asked for, but seems super useful nonetheless, is an app for measuring things.

Siri Shortcuts is an app that lets you execute a chain of commands with a simple Siri invocation.

Apple is also giving the iBooks app a major revamp and calling it Apple books. Apple also showed off a new AR tool, Measure, that turns your phone into an $800 ruler. The new file format will be supported natively by Adobe in Creative Cloud.

Measure: A new ARKit app that lets users easily measure things in real world, kind of like the MeasureKit app. You can now search for your favourite channels, news sources, and more.

Apple has updated the Apple News app with a slightly revamped interface.

New features help protect users’ anonymity online. But this year, don’t expect news about new gadgets.

There are some big considerations involved, of course. iOS apps aren’t used to dealing with trackpads, for example, or all of the varying hardware that the average Mac or MacBook uses. A new gallery viewing option for Finder shows a huge preview version of a photo or document, with thumbnails scrolling below.

watchOS 5 is available to registered developers now and will launch to the public in the fall.