Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook may have introduced and closed out the opening keynote of the 2021 edition of its developer conference (WWDC 2021), however, most of the action was handled by Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, with assistance from his colleagues. The keynote introduced most of the software updates coming to Apple products: iOS 15 (iPhone), iPadOS 15 (iPad), macOS Monterey (Mac), watchOS 8 (Apple Watch) and tvOS15 (Apple TV).
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Starting with iOS 15, FaceTime will receive a lot of new features including the ability to schedule and send invites to join calls, Spatial Audio support and support for Portrait Mode during calls. The ‘Focus’ feature will use on-device intelligence to filter notifications based on user’s preference and this extend to other connected Apple devices when activated. The Photos App as well the Wallet, Weather and Maps also get several features.
Most of the iOS 15 features will be available on iPadOS 15 alongside the new Multitasking menu for ‘Split View” or ‘Slide Over View’ and Shelf feature similar to those found below open apps on macOS. Also coming to iPads is App Library and for the first time on iPad, users can now place Widgets on the Home Screen. There would also be system-wide translation and users can learn coding whilst also building apps on their iPhone and iPad with Swift PlayGrounds.
The highlight of macOS Monterey is Universal Control, a feature which allows up to three Apple devices (iPad, Mac laptop and desktop) placed next to one another controlled with one trackpad or mouse. Like iOS 15, watchOS 8 will bring ability to unlock cars, home and hotels using the wallet app. It also gets Portrait watch faces and new Mindfulness app to replace the Breathe app. As for tvOS 15, Apple TV users will now be able to select the HomePod mini as default speaker.
Watch the full WWDC 2021 Opening Keynote on Youtube.