In its keynote address, the company finally revealed that it is rebranding OS X as macOS. The next version will be known as macOS Sierra. The beta version will be released in July and the polished product by the end of the year. Sadly, not much has been revealed about the new OS at the moment.
Talking about some features of the new macOS, now you will be able to unlock the Mac through your Apple Watch. It will now come with a universal clipboard that will work with every device. It will have the ability to sync desktops between different Mac machines. A new file syncing option has been given to save space. Apple Pay and Siri for Mac are some of the new features that have been made part of macOS. Now with the help of this voice-based virtual assistant, users will be able to do a lot more than just searching files on their MacBook. Siri has also been integrated with apps like Apple Music and Apple Pay, which means it will now be possible to command them through voice.
The biggest announcement today was about iOS 10. The new version of Apple’s mobile and tablet operating system has been released to developers. The first beta version will be introduced in July and it will be available to the general public by the end of the year.
The company has called it the biggest iOS release till date. Apple has given 10 new features in iOS – a redesigned lock screen with more notifications, the ability to communicate faster with apps and the expansion of 3D touch. Voice-based virtual assistant Siri has been opened to third-party developers. In the coming time, users will be able to use this feature in apps and services other than Apple. Siri has been improved. It will now also be available with native keyboard.
Many major improvements have been made in the iOS 10 Photos app. It will now be equipped with facial, object and scene recognition features. All these actions will now happen on the mobile device itself.
There has been a big change in the look of Apple Maps. Apart from suggesting places, it will come with the ability to search during the route, better user interface and traffic information. The new Maps feature will also be brought to CarPlay. Apart from this, the company announced that the platform is also being opened for developers. Now users will be able to search for restaurants and book Uber cabs within the Maps app itself.
A huge upgrade has been released for the Apple Music app. In the new design, tabs like Library, For You, Browse, Radio and Search will now be at the bottom. A new lyrics pane has also been given in it. The interface of Apple News has also been redesigned. New features include new lock screens for subscriptions and breaking news notifications.
The new features of iOS 10 include a new Home app with improved HomeKit. With the help of this app, users can control all HomeKit devices from one place. New features include voicemail transcription, phone spam and more. Finally, Apple has also improved its Messages app. Link previews, better camera integration, bigger emojis, emoji suggestions, new bubble effects, Apple Music integration and finally the addition of iMessage app are the new features of this app.
Now, let’s talk about watchOS. Apple is claiming to have made several improvements in watchOS 3, such as the ability to pre-cache apps and open them instantly. Apart from this, the ability to update app information in the background. The side button will now open the dock. Control Center has been included which can be accessed by swiping up. Improved message replies and the ability to scribble which converts handwriting to text. Several new watch faces have been introduced. Users can change them by swiping.
Reminders and Find My Friends have been introduced to the Apple Watch through watchOS 3. It also has a new SOS feature. If the user presses and holds the side button, it can call the designated emergency number. It works through a smartphone connected to Wi-Fi or data. Finally, let’s talk about tvOS. The new version introduced with the third generation Apple TV comes with many changes. There are now 6000 apps and 1,300 video channels on this platform.
There is a new Apple TV Remote app that is integrated with touch, Siri and motion controls. The company is also rolling out a sign-on feature that will make it easier for users to sign on to cable TV networks.