Written by Cihat Gündüz Feli Bernutz

Description: The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off with exciting news, inspiration, and new opportunities. Join the worldwide developer community for an in-depth look at the future of Apple platforms, directly from Apple Park.

New Macs

• MacBook Air 15" with M2
• Mac Studio with M2 Max & M2 Ultra
• Mac Pro with M2 Ultra + 6 PCI-Express (Gen 4) slots & 8 Thunderbolt ports

iOS 17

• Contact Card with "Poster" (design similar to Lock Screen)
• Live Voicemail: Text transcription, e.g. use when in a meeting
• Facetime: "Leave a message"
• Check-In when going home for safety
• AirDrop improvements, e.g. large file sending continue over internet
• Keyboard: Uses transformer models for better autocorrect & prediction support, better dictation
• Journal app "later this year", suggestions for easy post creation
• Standby: Landscape stand for the night or during sport events with Widget support
• No "Hey" needed, just "Siri" triggers Siri
• Offline Maps support in Maps
• Named Dogs & Cats support in Photos

iPadOS 17

• Interactive Widgets
• Lock Screen like on iPhone, supports Widget (on left in landscape)
• Health app now on iPad
• PDF: form detection, signatures, PDF files in Notes app, syncs through iCloud on collaborated notes
• Stage Manager improvements
• Freeform "Follow along" someone elses focus

macOS 14 "Sonoma"

• tvOS screensavers now also available on macOS, including desktop background photo
• Widgets can be placed anywhere on the desktop
• iPhone widgets directly visible – even if no Mac app installed (?) (e.g. Apollo app)
• New "Game mode" gives game higher system priority, doubles bluetooth frequency for less controller latency
• New "Game Porting Toolkit" to help game developers port their games
• Hideo Kojima: Death Stranding coming to Mac
• Video Conferencing: "Presenter Overlay" with different shapes
• Video Conferencing: Gestures (like double thumbs up) can cause animation effects
• Passkeys can now be shared
• Safari gets Profile support (for study, work, private) – separated cookies
• Add websites to your dock (like to Home screen on iPhone) – removes address bar on open

Audio & Home

• More intelligent Adaptive Audio for AirPods: Personalized Volume, Mute Button, faster transition
• AirPlay in Hotels: Scanning QR code automatically connects to WiFi & AirPlay
• SharePlay in the Car to allow fellow passengers to make music wishes
• Redesigned control center on tvOS
• Siri Remote gets Find My support
• Memories from Photos app can be used as Screen Savers on Apple TV
• Facetime on Apple TV through Continuity Camera (via iPhone Stand)
• Continuity Camera APIs available to 3rd party apps

watchOS

• Digital Crown scrolls through widgets, like smart stacks
• Widget for Complications provided by Apple
• Some redesigned apps, like world clock, uses corner icons for activity
• New vertical page views (easy to adopt in SwiftUI)
• 2 new watch faces: A colored one and Snoopy
• Improvements for cyclers: Bluetooth sensor connectors, FTP power zones, new Map view
• Workout API, e.g. allows Golf / Tennis apps hand position detection & workout plans

Health

• Mental Health: Mindfulness app for tracking mood / emotions
• Clnical assessments for assessing risk of anxiety
• Apple Watch can time outside through daylight sensor (for kids >80 min/day important)
• iPad can measure distance to screen and warn kids (to help reduce risk for Myopia)

"One more thing ..."

Apple Vision Pro

• Enter the era of "Spacial Computing"
• New operating system called "visionOS"
• Supports apps through SwiftUI, RealityKit, and ARKit
• Inputh through eyes, hands, and voice
• Can run any apps, allows resizing any window, high resolution display
• Disney cooperation for rich media content
• Button for taking 3D photos or videos
• Autostereoscopic (3D without glasses) outside display renders eyes
• 2 hrs battery with external battery pack
• M2 chip + R1 chip for sensors
• Scans face on setup to create "Persona" for Facetime calls
• App demos: 3D heart (education), Formula 1 cars (sports), spatial DJ, Planetarium, Microsoft Office
• Supports "AirPlay" for Mac screens, allowing to code with Xcode on Mac (using keyboard & mouse) with Vision Pro
• iPad & iPhone apps available
• Unity apps / games available
• "Optic ID" to replace Touch/Face ID (Iris scanner)
• More than 5,000 patents during development of device
• $3.499 starting price
• US release early 2024, more countries to follower later in the year

Part of this note was originally published at fbernutz.github.io.