All set up for virtual #WWDC21 with a lot of virtual friends
Not a fan of the concept video concept, but Tim walking onto a virtual stage full of avatars is cute. #WWDC21
Anyone remember when OS upgrades cost money for accounting reasons?
Lots of new FaceTime features:
• Spatial audio
• Voice isolation or wide spectrum mic modes
• Grid view
• Portrait mode
• Facetime links for scheduling -- CAN be used by Android/Windows via Facetime WEB
• (Facetime WEB!)
• Shareplay - listen/watch/screen-sharing
Apple continues to tighten its hardware and software ties: iOS15 makes AirPods into hearing aids (Conversation Mode - this will genuinely impact hearing aid sales), TV companions (spatial audio on tvOS), and harder to lose (FindMy). #WWDC21
Apple is borrowing from everywhere (webOS, Windows, Samsung S-Pen) and adding its own ideas to make iPadOS 15 multitasking better. Hopefully this makes it possible to use the full power of the M1 iPad Pro. Can't wait to test this.
iPadOS summary slide, including the one feature devs always said limited iPad: you couldn't build apps on it. Now you can. #WWDC21
Privacy: Apple taking the Safari privacy report and making one for apps.
Siri now does voice processing on the device rather than in the cloud. Amazon has started moving in this direction, too on the Echo Show 10 (using its own silicon co-designed with MediaTek). More secure/private, but also faster. #WWDC21
iCloud+ - Apple has invented a VPN!
All snark aside, VPNs are useful. Also spoofed email addresses for consumers. No price increase (don't worry investors, people will just use it more and have to move to higher tiers). #WWDC21
Oh, this is very cool: @Apple is using your phone sensors to help assess risk of falling. Health App explains your lab results. It will track trends (and presumably nag you). You can share with doctors using EHR securely/privately and create family groups. #WWDC21
Why am I transcribing this? Here's Apple's Health #wwdc21 summary pic:
I hate the Breathe app. Now there's a Mindfulness app, too. Why won't Apple Watch let me enjoy my Dangerous Stress app?
Apple says that the Photos face is the most popular Apple Watch face. New Portrait Watch face, richer Photos apps on WatchOS 8 with sharing.
Some significant home updates:
HomePod controls AppleTV, can be used as soundbar (though you're going to want a subwoofer. Apple doesn't have one).
Siri for third party devices with queries going to HomePod, not an intermediate cloud for security
Matter support in iOS15 #wwdc21
macOS getting Universal Control, which is Apple's bid to sell you an iPad if you've already bought a Mac. #wwdc21
Still no way to flexibly use an external monitor's real estate with just an iPad Pro (you can mirror, but it's just the iPad screen embiggened). Multitasking in iOS15 looks much better, but you're effectively stuck with 12.9". #wwdc21
macOS summary pics. Shortcuts are hard to explain to iOS users, but they're going to be *great* on Macs. #WWDC21
Code samples -- #wwdc21 is a developer conference after all! Time to stretch.
App Store: devs can have multiple product pages for different users, try out different pics and see which get the best results.
In-app events.
No change in rates. #wwdc21
xCode Cloud - Apple working to catch up with Microsoft's team development tools. Remote test deployment. Testflight for Mac. #WWDC21
That's it for the #wwdc21 keynote. Lots to digest - I'll have a highlights report up tonight? Tomorrow? Soon.
Dev betas for all the new OS's today. Public beta in July. Production this fall.
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Dolby Dimension is Dolby's first consumer product, headphones designed for immersive binge watching (or other audio) while staying connected with what's around you. It's contradictory, but I've been testing a pair, and it works. investor.dolby.com/news-releases/…
It's also very expensive ($599) and you'll need to go to a b8ta store if you want to try them out before buying. But there's nothing else quite like it on the market. Watch Game of Thrones on your tablet, keep your kids from hearing it, and still hear and talk to the kids.
There are plenty of headphones with noise cancellation/isolation that allow you to hear your environment, but the sound quality suffers, or the outside environment sounds like a wind tunnel. @Dolby Dimension makes this work somehow.