A LIST OF
The 7 Impressive New Features in All the WWDC 21 Updates
Now I’d like to “eat” that half-Apple
Apple always keeps its promises.
The recent WWDC 21 has gave us a glimpse of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, MacOS Monterey, and WatchOS 8. Every WWDC, they make it seem there’s nothing more a smartphone user could get. And again in the next WWDC, they repeat, “This, is the best iPhone ever!”, “This is an amazing update”.
Bringing up to code for the contemporary needs, every year, Apple introduces truly productive features which just make the residents of Apple nation patriotic for their brand.
Here I’d like to put 7 of the best features we’ll be getting in the upcoming iOS 15, and others.
№1: Privacy is — — — rupled:
Apple cares for our privacy more than we care for ourselves.
We already got much familiar to:
• Privacy dots 🟠⊥🟢:
The orange dot indicates the microphone is in use by an app. And the green dot indicates the camera and/or mic is in use by an app.
• ATT (App Tracking Transparency)👣:
Companies like Facebook and Google target your online activity for recommending you personalised ads. If you perceive this as a privacy threat, you can choose not to get tracked. It will mask your IP address to trackers, thereby not allowing them know who you are, and what you like.
You’ll find improved versions of these features in the next iOS 15.
Here’s another big privacy step-up:
📩 Hide My Email:
As you already know, senders could know if their newsletter has been opened, or the links are clicked on or not. This is possible by invisible pixels that come along with the email.
Now Apple’s privacy would thwart marketers from knowing it, and restrict their access to your IP address and location. You’ll need iCloud+ subscription☁️ for this. Plans starting from $0.99 (₹75) /month.
With that, you’ll also be able to get a unique, random email address (like [email protected], as seen in Zollotech) which forwards mails to your personal inbox. So you don’t need to reveal your personal email to anyone.
№2: AirPods: A New Version:
🗼Conversation Boost🗼:
Now Apple’s bringing ‘Conversation Boost’ to use AirPods in a better way. This is extensively for people with hearing disabilities. But can also be used by you. You’ll appreciate it more after the pandemic ends.
It helps you listen to person speaking in front of you and amplify their voice ignoring all the noise. This way, you need not take your AirPods off your ears to talk to people. Just flaunt them your way.
Only AirPods ≥3 Generation support this feature. Also, sorry AirPods Max 🎧.
📍Find My ‘AirPods’:
Now Apple provides Find My location tracing capability to your AirPods Pro and AirPods Max.
So now you can stay a bit less careful.
№3: Health⚕️:
An Apple update a WWDC keeps your doctor more and more away.
We all have a role of our Apple devices in tracking our health. Right? Just wearing Apple Watch or holding iPhone is enough. The Health app starts tracking our data, like pulse rate, steps, speed, and calories.
- It calculates your walking angle, and informs you if your gait is perfect or unbalanced.
- It constantly clues in tips for your overall well-being.
- If it perceives a fall while running, it notifies you beforehand, which would greatly help people with artificial legs.
Assistive Touch ⌚️:
With the new WatchOS 8, you get ‘Assistive Touch’, which enables you to control your Apple watch with finger gestures.
Snap your fingers, get something done. Fold your fist, get something done. Move your index finger, get something done.
It’s highly helpful for individuals who only have a single hand.
You can use it while you’re eating, if your other hand is dirty, or if you’re lazy. Kidding.
Mindfulness🧘♂️:
WatchOS brings Mindfulness app along. It’s an extension of Breathe app. The app gets a revamped UI, of which colours and animations facilitate inner peace.
It would teach us popular Tai Chi and Pilates workouts.
№4: 👋 It’s FaceTime!
Since the advent of the pandemic, Apple has kept on jazzing up its video calling feature ‘FaceTime’. Sharing links in video calls is one of its new lineaments.
FaceTime on Android and Windows:
Now comes sharing links of video calls.
With iOS 15, an Apple user need not download Google Duo or Zoom to spend virtual time with his non-Apple family. He could just share FaceTime link and they can attend the call from the browser. That too, with most of the FaceTime features.
The stream and audio is made sure to be ‘alive’. The ‘Spatial Audio’ feature makes it as if our beloveds are in the room we’re FaceTiming in.
This means the audio from the person at the right side of the screen comes from right-side speaker. And the same holds for left too. You know it already — the background could be blurred.
But here’s a FaceCatch❗️
Windows and Android users can only attend FaceTime but cannot create a meeting themselves. They can only join by a link from an Apple user.
Is Apple forcing people to jump into their ecosystem?
№5: 💻 Many Apples is One Apple:
‘Universal Control’ in MacOS Monterey — Another magical feature.
I see this often on my LinkedIn.
Savvy coders run their programs on two different machines and then it feels as if they’re a single machine. They’d simply drag a file from one and drop it in another, and the file then gets transferred really quick by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
This saves time of inputting the path where you want to save the file.
This feature works between a Mac and a Mac, or a Mac and an iPad.
SharePlay ⏯:
SharePlay brings Apple users much closer. Now you can watch TV shows, listen music with your friends together in a FaceTime call. Additionally — You can sync the playback. You can also share your screen on FaceTime calls.
All the members on the call have equal access to playback options and volume.
This feature works among iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.
№6: Ditch the Wallet & Keys 🔑:
Carry an iPhone
We’re busy humans, and there’s certainly a day when we forgot the key and returned back to the place. Right?
iPhone users are getting lucky with iOS 15 — They can now replace critical items like keys, ID cards, licenses with their mobile. The iPhone could now unlock supported locks using secure NFC. You could install them at your home, office or hotel.
Apple has partnered with Hyatt hotels, which has agreed to put on this feature for their rooms in 1000+ hotels. Just as you register for a room in their hotel, a digital key will appear in your Wallet app. Walt Disney is also among the partnered companies, which already made code to add Park passes.
№7: Multi-Task:🧠
“If Snapdragon & MediaTek chips can multi-task, why can’t my powerful chips do?”, thought Apple lately.
Apple’s now bringing the ‘Split Screen’ feature in iOS and iPadOS. You can now split screen and use two apps simultaneously. Play jokes on your boss in WhatsApp while listening to him on Zoom, like I do.
The new OS’s are getting decorated with many more productive features you can’t resist utilising!
Widgets 📱:
The widgets have become not only more attractive, but also bigger.
Notes 📝:
Notes is now more notable.
Notes provides many new features in iOS 15. Here are a three:
- Tags: 🏷 Tags provide a faster and flexible way to sort your notes. Just like #hashtags, you could now tag your notes with, say #office, #groceries, or #agenda, so they don’t get jumbled and mess your day up.
- Collaboration: 👨💼 Apple gets inspired from Google docs. In iOS 15, you could collaborate with people in the Notes app. You can give access to edit, you can mention them, and view the revision history.
- Live text: 🔍
Say you wanna jot down an interesting point from your boss’s ppt. Just as you’re about to type, he shifts the slide. Damn.
That’s exactly what a 20ᵗʰ century fox does. Let’s now update to 21ˢᵗ century.
Now, you could see a camera button in Notes. Click on it, and point your iPhone towards any text in the real world. It uses OCR technology to recognise the text and you could then copy or translate it.
Quick notes 📝:
Now you could access ‘Quick Notes’ feature in iPadOS 15 and MacOS Monterey. With a simple gesture, you could open a resizable quick note widget which hovers around the screen as you type something.
Swift UI Playgrounds👩💻:
The latest version of Swift allows developers to learn, create, and submit their final apps to iPad and iPhone App stores, even if they don’t own a Mac.
🍪 Few other cool features:
1. On-Device Intelligence:🤖
Using this new capability, iOS 15 could arrange notifications by their priority, with most relevant ones appearing at the top. The priority is based on the time of the day, work hours, and deadlines.
2. The new Weather app:🌤
With full-screen maps, and adapting UI, Weather app now looks more attractive.
3. Unlimited iCloud — If you’re upgrading:☁️
Apple now grants unlimited iCloud storage for three weeks if you’re upgrading to a newer version of iPhone or iPad, even if you’re on a free 5 GB plan of iCloud.
This allows you to get a backup of all your old data and transfer it to your newer device.
4. 3D Globe in Maps:🗺
Just like we play on Google Earth when bored, now you could search for new places on Apple Maps by spinning and zooming in the planet your way
5. Siri is now local: 🔻
In India: Now, nine Indian languages are supported by Siri. I was longing to talk to Siri in my mother tongue Telugu. Here comes my day!
On Device: Now Siri processes speech on-device. This saves time, and comforts people who think Apple’s listening them. Siri could now obey your commands offline that don’t actually need network — like calling, messaging, setting alarm.
So there ends a long list of notable updates announced in WWDC 21.
🎭 Conclusion:
When Apple announced iOS 14, I thought there’s not much improvement left for iOS 15, but Apple dispelled by belief with the awesome update
It announced a lot of changes on all its ecosystem which literally blew my mind. Now I could flaunt my iPhone like never before.
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