Apple’s huge WWDC 2015 keynote is over and done with, and you can finally take a moment to gather yourself and collect your thoughts. There were plenty of rumors heading into this year’s event and as always, they nailed just about everything Apple announced on stage during its presentation. The real fun is in the details though, and we can take some time to digest them all now that everything has been flushed out.
OS X El Capitan
The keynote began with Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi saying that over 55 percent of active Mac users are using Yosemite. He also announced the name of the latest OS X 10.11: El Capitan.
El Capitan will host a plethora of new features but will be portrayed as a refurbishing of Yosemite. These features include new gestures, such as shake to enlarge mouse cursor, and a new way to pin websites on Safari. The browser will also add a speaker icon on the URL bar to mute music coming from any tab opened.
Spotlight is also getting more contextual. Instead of looking for files by name, you can now describe what you’re looking for, such as “Files I worked on last June” to bring up documents last edited at that time. El Capitan will also allow users to split their screen into multi-tasking windows. Maps, Mail and Mission Control have also got upgrades.
iOS 9
Federighi started the iOS 9 segment off with Siri’s upcoming improvements. Siri will now have context sensitive features. It can now detect an unknown caller through your saved mail contacts and also suggest you with people who can be invited for meetings. Apple also unveiled an API for search to help developers deep link their apps from mobile Spotlight searches. All of your searches and suggestions are not linked to your Apple ID or shared with third parties.
A new app for iOS 9 called News was also announced that will provide personalized news content and update anytime the user launches the app. The Flipboard-like app include graphics that adapt based on the news source’s site aesthetics, and allow users to browse publishers for top stories.
iOS 9 will also have new gesture functions and also borrow features from El Capitan like multi-window support. The best part is, unlike iOS8 which took 4.4 GB, iOS9 will take only 1.3GB of disk space.
Apple Pay
Jennifer Bailey, head of the division, announced that Square will launch a new reader that that supports Apple Pay. She also said that the recently-announced Pinterest buyable pins will be compatible with Apple Pay on iOS.
watchOS
New watch faces are headed to watchOS 2, such as a Photo Album face to rotate through your pictures in the background. Users can rotate their digital crown to “Time Travel” and see ‘future’ data, such as appointments later in the day and what the weather will be like at that time.
Other updates include the ability to respond to emails, watch videos and make FaceTime audio calls straight from the Apple Watch. You can also tell Siri to start the Workout app without ever touching the watch. The aforementioned Wallet and live transit data via Maps are headed to Watch, too.
Apple Music
Tim Cook ended the keynote with the announcement of Apple’s streaming music service, Apple Music. Users can search their content on “My Music,” or find song recommendations in the “For You” tab. It’ll also show you the song that’s coming up next to prepare your ear drums.
To power “For You,” Apple Music will ask about your musical preferences to source songs, artists and playlists. You can also browse “Hot Tracks,” “Recent Releases,” “Top Charts” and even ad-free music videos.
Siri will also work with contextually with Apple Music when you prompt for things like “Play me the top songs from 1982″ or “Play that song from ‘Selma.’”
Beats’ Jimmy Iovine and rapper Drake too joined Cook on stage to explore the possibilities of Apple Music.
With WWDC 2015 behind us, the future looks bright for Apple fans. Apple is surely targeting many major players by coming up with rival apps and features. The software war just got a little hotter!
