These updates were announced by Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives on Monday at the 27th edition of the company’s World Wide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
A First Look At Apple's Big iMessage UpdateApple gave BuzzFeed News a first look at the next-generation version of iMessage. Here’s what we saw.
Posted by BuzzFeed Tech on Monday, June 13, 2016
1. Siri comes to Mac
Siri will now be available in Macintosh as well. Siri in Mac can pull up specific files or general folders, search the web, pull up videos, and will function in the background.
Siri is officially coming to Mac with osMac pic.twitter.com/xqfZYvAPVD
— Daniel Howley (@DanielHowley) June 13, 2016
2. Raise to wake
Pick up your phone and it will wake up immediately.
3. Swift Playground
This new app allows users to learn coding. This is intended to be an easy way for children and adults to learn coding using Apple’s open source language called Swift.
4. Memories
In iOS10, you will now be able to see photo memories from certain days, events and years. You can also pull out memory photo collections of people from your Photos app. The facial recognition feature makes it possible for iOS to identify people in your photos by name. All of these features are privacy protected.
5. Smart HomeKit
You can connect your smart-home devices to your iPhone and access them all from the Home app, including any non-Apple devices. You can also interact with the devices when you are not at home. An interesting update is geo-fencing, which can detect it when your car pulls into the driveway to open the garage door automatically.
6. Continuity
Mac can detect your Apple Watch and unlock the desktop without entering a password. There will also be a universal clipboard feature, which allows you to copy text on your iPhone and paste it on to Mac. The continuity feature allows seamless connection between Apple devices across the board.
7. Apple Pay
Apple Pay is now coming to the web and is open to developers, so on checkout from a merchant website, you can select Apple Pay as your payment method. Continuity feature will open the Apple Pay feature on your iPhone or Apple Watch to authenticate the purchase.
— Daniel Howley (@DanielHowley) June 13, 2016
8. Maps and Music
Maps on iOS is now being opened to third-party developers, which means you can now book a table or a cab without leaving the app. Music updates include a new music interface which is easier to navigate. Updated options include ‘Recently Played’ and a library section with recently downloaded songs and added playlists. The new Radio tab allows you to listen to shows on demand or play non-stop music based on genre.
9. Scribble and 911
On the Apple Watch, you can write to Siri on the watch screen using the Scribble feature which is available in English or Chinese. You can call 911 for emergencies by holding down the side button on the Apple Watch. When the call is made, it will also show your medical ID card.
10. Messages
iMessages in iOS is looking to be a do-it-all messaging platform with rich links, stickers, emoji predictions, ability to play music sent via message and the digital touch option. People can send you messages written in ‘invisible ink’, which will reveal itself only when you slide your finger over the message.
These updates will reach customers in the fall, which is when users can actually try them out first-hand.
