Apple at WWDC 2015, previewed watchOS 2, the first major software update for Apple Watch. watchOS 2 brings new smart applications, watch faces, support for transit in maps, Digital Touch and more.
WatchOS 2 will let users to make watch faces out of their favorite photos. You can also view your favorite pictures from the photo album with every rise of your wrist. There is a Time-Lapse watch face, that shows animations from major cities, depending on local time. You get to choose for a selection of time-lapse videos shot over 24 hours in locations including New York City, London or Shanghai. The new Time Travel feature lets you scroll with the Digital Crown to check upcoming or past events, temperature for the week, upcoming flight information and more.
WebOS 2 also provides easier and creative way to communicate. You can respond quickly to a mail using dictation, Smart Replies and emoji. You can create multiple friend screen, each can hold up to 12 friends. With Digital Touch, you can
draw and send sketches with multiple colors on the same canvas
Other features include:
-
Nightstand Mode that transforms Apple Watch into a bedside alarm
clock, with the Digital Crown and side button serving as snooze and off
buttons for the alarm
- the ability to use merchant
rewards and store-issued credit and debit cards with Apple Pay, which
can be added to Wallet;
- support for Transit in
Maps, so you can view detailed transportation maps and schedules,
including walking directions to the nearest stations with entrances and
exits precisely mapped;
- workouts from third-party fitness apps contributing to your all-day Move and Exercise goals;
- using Siri to start specific workouts, launch Glances and reply to email; and
-
Activation Lock, which lets users secure their Apple Watch with
their Apple ID, preventing another user from wiping or activating the
device if it is lost or stolen.
In addition, Apple is giving developers tools to build faster and powerful apps for the Apple Watch. The WatchKit for WatchOS 2 will allow developers to take advantage of hardware features of Apple Watch including Digital Crown, Taptic Engine, heart rate sensor, accelerometer and microphone.
WatchOS 2 for Apple Watch will be released this fall which is around September. The WatchKit for webOS 2 is now available for members of iOS Developer Program at developer.apple.com/watchkit.
Source : Apple Press
At WWDC 2015, Apple announced the new version of OS X dubbed El Capitan. It builds on last year's Yosemite with improved system performance, better window management, built-in apps and Spotlight search making daily activities from launching apps to accessing email faster and more responsive. Apple's Metal graphic technology is also integrated into El Capitan.
One of the visual enhancements to El Capitan is the change of system level font which is now San Francisco, first introduced in Apple watch. The font is touted to make reading easier for the eyes. For multi-tasking, Mission control now displays everything that is opened on the Mac in a single layer making it easy to find the window your looking for. To create new space you can simply drag a window to the top of the screen to access the new space bar.
Apple has introduced a new Split view feature that automatically position two app windows side-by-side in full screen so you can run both the apps. This feature is also available in iPad. Apple has also added a neat gesture to El Capitan that comes handy when you can't find cursor on the screen. You need to shake your finger on the trackpad, and the cursor will magnify in size, making it easier to be spotted.
As for the built-in apps, Safari adds a new Pinned Sites feature, that lets you pin frequently accessed webpages to the left of your tabs bar. There is a new mute button to silence the browser audio on any tab.
The all-new Notes app gets a checklist feature and lets you add PDFs, videos, photos and URLS. You can also save content from Safari and draw sketch. The new Attachment browser, organizes the stored information in one simple view, with separate tabs for photo, videos, sketches, URLs and more. You can sync the note app across your devices via iCloud.
Mail app gets Smart Suggestion, which recognizes names or events in a mail message and prompts you to add them to your contacts or calendar with a single click. It also gets a full-screen support and gestures. When composing an email the window can be minimized letting you search for attachments or look for text to copy and paste. Mail also gets new Swipe gestures, allowing you to swipe left to delete a mail or swipe right to mark the mail as read or unread.
In photos app, you can add location to a single image or an entire moment and sort albums by date or title. You can access third-part photo editing app directly within the photos app.
The Spotlight search gets even smarter, showing results for weather, stocks, sports, transit and web video. The Spotlight window can be resized to display more results. It also recognizes natural language to find documents and files on your Mac based on created date or sender name. For example : "email from John in June" brings up relevant results.
Apple's graphics processing technology will be made available on OS X El Capitan. Metal speeds system level graphic by up to 50 percent and efficiency by up to 40 percent resulting in faster graphics performance.The draw call performance is also 10 times faster for a fluid gaming experience and pro apps.
OS X El Capitan is now available to Members of Mac Developer Program. The Public beta will be available for Mac users (www.apple.com/osx/elcapitan-preview/) in July and the final version will roll out this fall which could be around September.
Apple announced that it will hold it's 26th annual Worldwide Developers Coneference 2015 (WWDC) from June 8 till June 12 at Moscone Center West in San Francisco,
California. The invite reads "Epicenter Of Change".
Registrations is open to members of the iOS Developer Program, iOS Developer Enterprise Program or Mac Developer Program. Developers can apply for tickets at $1599 via WWDC website through Friday, April 17 at 10am PDT. Tickets will be issued to through a random selection process and developers will be informed by Monday, April 20 at 5pm PDT.
For developers who are unable to attend Apple will be streaming select WWDC sessions live via the WWDC website and WWDC app.
Apple is expected to preview the company's lastest operating system - iOS 9 for mobile and tablet and OS X 11 for desktops. There are also rumors that Apple could unveil new versions of its their Apple TV set-top box a new music service.
Source : Apple Press
