Apple’s monster developers conference earlier today featured a parade of software announcements, Apple employees excitedly discussing their “big” karaoke potluck, and Drake. We obsessively liveblogged the whole event, but these are the keynote highlights below.
iOS 9: Everything You Need To Know
iOS 9 is here. But what we saw on stage at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference was more than just a yearly update to Apple’s mobile OS. It’s a glimpse at how Apple’s operating systems are being unified as it builds out new devices and platforms. iOS has never mattered more.
Apple’s OS X El Capitan Finally Catches Up to Windows’ Full Screen Apps
Apple has announced their new OS X: El Capitan. Yes, El Capitan is that famous mountain in Yosemite National Park. The best features? New smarter Spotlight and the (elegant) new way they manage full screen apps now — taking a page (read: lifting) from Microsoft’s Windows user experience.
Apple Music: Streaming Tunes From Apple and Beats At Long Freaking Last
We’ve been waiting forever for Apple Music: A real streaming music product straight from the heart of Cupertino. Will it work? Or is this just the latest crap.
iOS 9 Just Made the iPad More Work Friendly With Multitasking
At last, Apple introduced multitasking apps on iOS 9 for iPad, which means you can work with more than one application at once. This is a godsend for iPad users.
Apple Pay Is About to Be Everywhere With a New Square-Built Reader
Get ready to pay with your iPhone at the flea market, because the company just announced a mobile Apple Pay reader built by Square. Apple also announced a whole host of new big box stores that will accept Apple Pay. And to top it all off: Passbook is now called Wallet.
The Apple Watch May Actually Become Useful With Native Apps
Six weeks ago, people began getting Apple’s latest piece of luxury hardware, the Apple Watch. Reviews have been mixed, but the company aims to change that by giving developers a chance to develop more apps for the new Watch OS — which means users will soon have a ton of apps to choose from.
Apple Axes Newsstand and Creates News, a Reader You Might Actually Use
Looks like Apple’s Newsstand has officially gone the way of most actual newsstands. The content-sharing service has been axed, but it’s being replaced by something new: The simply-named News.
Apple Music Is Coming to Android for $US10 a Month
Apple is so hellbent on dominating the streaming music game, it’s doing something I never thought I’d see: Bringing its first app ever to Android. Starting this fall, Apple’s new Beats-fuelled streaming music service will be available on Android phones. Apple Music is the first native Apple app to bust out of Apple’s walled garden.
HomeKit Will Let You Access Your Smart Home Via iCloud
Slowly but surely, Apple is been threatening to creep into the smart home market. The company just took one more small step by announcing that it’s HomeKit software will give you access to connected home devices from anywhere in the world by using iCloud. And the software will finally work on a whole bunch of products.
FINALLY Apple Maps Adds Transit Directions
It’s the day we’ve all been waiting for — well, those of us who prefer not to drive. Apple finally acknowledges that a huge portion of its audience rides buses and subways by adding transit directions to Maps. Let’s hope they actually work.