WWDC 2016 live blog
Team TechRadar is in San Francisco for Apple’s WWDC 2016 event, where we saw a range of announcements from the Cupertino-based firm.
The event is all over now, but we’ve done the honorable thing and tidied up everything that was uttered on stage to give you all the information just as it happened – broken down by subject too. So read on to hear all about the biggest software launch from Apple yet… you can even delete the Stocks app now. Finally.
— WWDC 2016 live blog (all times in PDT) —
12.01 – That’s it! Thanks so much for sticking around for two hours (and getting through the dodgy Wi-Fi at the start). We’ll be cleaning up this live blog into more readable news soon, and stay tuned for our new Talking Points… giving you the information behind the launches.
Thanks all!
11.59 – The CEO is doing a wrap up now – talking through watchOS, tvOS, macOS Sierra, iOS 10. He called the last one ‘gigantic’ – which is odd given it seemed the same as before. It shows that Apple is all about augmenting its own platform, adding in elements from one place to another and making the current apps more like the competition.
Swift Playgrounds – coding lessons for all
Swift Playgrounds is a new app that’ll be offered both as part of iOS 10 and a standalone option later this year, designed to help the world learn to code.
It’s a simple app that brings lessons and real-world uses of basic coding to give children (and adults) a deeper understanding of coding.
11.55 – Tim Cook: “We hope that this gift to kids around the world will help make recording a part of the school day. That is Swift Playgrounds.”
11.54 – Swift Playgrounds will be going when iOS 10 ships in the fall, but also it’ll be free. It’s going to come to the App Store, and will be part of the public betas and developer previews that are coming today or in July.
11.49 – It’s very basic, but all the lessons are very simply set out. It’ll be interesting to see how this helps kids move forward and work out coding in the real world. I’m more worried that we’re into ‘Loops’ and I’m already lost. I’m going to be so out of touch soon.
11.46 – Swift Playgrounds – coding on your iPad – has been launched. To this room of developers, they were pretty excited indeed.
Cheryl Thomas is onstage now to talk through it. Challenges, lessons and fundamentals are all part of the process. It looks very animation-based… but I’ll be honest, I’ve always wanted to code and this looks about my level. Moving a little blob-dude around the screen with words? I can do that. Just.
11.45 – He’s talking about the love for developers (Apple has paid them $50bn already) – Swift is being talked about. Open source released in December, and Cook is happy with the uptake so far.
11.44 – Tim is back!
iOS 10 gets launched with 10 big features
iOS 10 has finally been shown off – and it’s got a bevy of new features. We’ve discussed these in more details over in our iOS 10 hub of info, so check that out to see the full run down.
However, this is all about incremental refinements to the look and feel of iOS – the lockscreen is imbued with more abilities, spilt view of two web browsers at once is now available on the iPad, iMessages is getting a huge upgrade with loads of options for sending messages, and all manner of things – from Siri to Messages – is being opened to developers.
It’s out now for developers, in July for the public beta and the Fall for the rest of the world.
11.43 – The developer preview goes live for iOS 10 today, and the public beta will be coming to all in July… and all the software will be landing properly in the Fall. AGAIN.
11.42 – Apple has a professor talking about how the brand is a ‘clear leader’ in privacy among technology companies… will that be enough to convince users that Apple has their best interests at heart?
“Incorporating differential privacy broadly into Apple’s technology is visionary, and positions Apple as the clear privacy leader among technology companies today.”
11.40 – Chatting about privacy again now. FaceTime and Messages and HomeKit are all end-to-end encryption, all deep learning are being done on the device rather than in the cloud. This is a pretty obvious comparison to rivals in making it clear that Apple doesn’t snaffle up your data… although what that means in reality is hard to work out from this launch.
11.39 – That’s all from iOS 10. Notes collaboration is coming, conversation view across devices, live photos have digital image stabilisation and can be edited… and SPLIT VIEW ON iPAD! At last. I had to use two apps just to do that.
11.37 – By adding in apps, you can do things like order food right from within the app itself. JibJab is being demonstrated now, and you can add faces to a bunch of scenarios… it’s pretty cringeworthy but I know certain family members that will love this. Dammit. They’re going to be putting my face on everything.
11.35 – The slightly judder demo aside, the new messaging changes look pretty slick. If a lot of your friends are in one group, that could be big. iMessages is being opened up to developers – and there’ll be a drawer at the bottom to see which ones you can add in.
Stickers, GIFs, sounds – everything can be added into the messaging app. Apple is clearly going hard on this app… it has to be coming to Android, right?
But then again, would those apps work as well on that version – the Google-based phone would have to be able to read the stickers or whatever that were sent over.
11.31 – You can like, love or do other things to pictures people send, and they can also scribble all over them to let you know what you’re thinking about when taking the snap.
And if someone sends you a link through Apple Music then you can play it within the chat. The demo is showing that everything you can do now has more animations, more stickers and videos all playing in one place.
The demo is going a little wonky but they’re just about getting through it…
11.26 – Bubble effects are coming in – this looks a bit like the font size changes in Google’s new Allo app – but at the same time, these look a lot more slick. Invisible ink lets you slide across the message or a picture to uncover it – it’s not important, but it looks nice.
You can also send handwritten notes – as if the cursive shown on stage would ever look that good in real life. And there’s also full screen effects in the background too – looks nifty. Again, nothing mind blowing but adds to the slickness of Apple’s iMessage. If this comes to Android, that’s going to be a BIG draw.
11.25 – Camera and photos is being updated, letting you add in camera and photo stuff into your transcripts, with videos autoplaying in the middle of the conversations. And emojis are three times bigger – and emoji predictions that go beyond what we’ve seen before. When you finish the message, you can tap the message and see which words can be ’emoji-fied’.
11.22 – Voice calls are getting involved – voicemails can now transcribe your messages without needing to do anything, and new services can let you know when spam is coming by searching an unknown phone number.
11.21 – Apple TV can be a ‘secure point for remote access’ – so on the go you can control the house without needing to be there. And it’ll set geo-location, so if you roll in up the drive, the garage will open and the coffee machine can start.
Apple Watch and iPad will be getting Home support too.
11.20 – Scenes will basically do what IFTTT does, setting up a selection of actions by just saying ‘Goodnight’ – as Siri is baked in already. That’ll shut your blinds, turn off the lights, lock things up and lower the thermostat.
11.18 – Craig is back, talking about HomeKit. Apple, unsurprisingly, is making a play into new areas, with new brands and things that it can do.
Builders in the US and China are building houses with Apple built right in… that’s a little creepy, buying an ‘Apple House’.
And there’ll be a new app in IOS 10 called Home, giving you the view of all your accessories in one place. This, THIS is the kind of thing we need to make the smart home work easily and simply.
11.16 – We’re still going with Eddie Cue – iOS 10 is bringing big changes to News. Taking all the stories into sections, making them easier to follow. Top Stories, Trending and all the topics you follow – and News is smart now, creating topics on things it reckons you’d like. And there’s the top stories where the editors are picking stuff for you.
Ooooh, subscriptions is coming to the portal too. That’s going to be an interesting delivery method… if it works, it could be a big uplift in revenue for those titles if they’ve got a more engaged audience (and you even get notifications on them too.
11.13 – Now we’re talking about the ‘For You’ section – it’s got all the suggested playlists you’d be expecting surfaced at the right time. Browse brings you the latest songs, as well as Radio too. It doesn’t seem to be anything big right now… Apple Music with some easier discovery mechanisms and a much nicer lick of paint on top.
If you want to listen to non-stop music, you can just choose a genre and get it going… I’m not really sure if anything new was really added in, but it’s got the same universal design across your devices.
11.10 – Apple Music is being redesigned ‘from the ground up’ – and we’re seeing a demo now. Artwork is being upgraded… and big change, there’ll be lyrics in there too! That’s something I didn’t think we’d see give it just got taken off Spotify.
11.09 – Maps is being opened up to developers too, with things like Uber being baked in (shown off in this demo) to let you navigate with a taxi within the app.
11.06 – Eddie Cue is onstage, talking us through Maps. Searching for restaurants will give you new information on different kinds of food types with a simple swipe… nothing major there.
Similarly navigation is getting a very similar look to Google Maps – you get traffic baked into the routing and even see what’s around in terms of restaurants when you’re on the move. Looks slick though.
11.04 – Apple’s going big on ‘memories’ here – allowing you to recreate and re-use photos in little movies. It’s almost exactly the same as HTC Zoe – it’s uncanny.
11.01 – Ultimately, Apple’s doing things that other brands have been doing for years – simple memory updates, grouping people together in albums or from a single place.
But this is what Apple does: takes something that someone else has done for a while and join the party… and make it simpler for its users as it’s ingrained natively. Google Photos only has the same thing on the HTC 10 at the moment (and some smaller phone brands) – if Apple can do it even just as well, then it’ll be ahead thanks to its massive user base.
10.59 – Next up is photos – now you can see all your photos on a map. Welcome to Flickr from years ago. But this time we’re getting facial recognition within the phone, so it can build albums for the people on the go.
It’s all about ‘Deep Learning’ – 11 billion computations per photo working out what’s in it. Apple’s been criticised over the years for not doing enough of this, working with AI, to work out what’s what. But given the headstart Google has, is it too late?
10.57 – And Siri is coming to the keyboard. You can ask it to do things on the go – so you can ask to find a contact or pick up a location, and work out what you’re typing to intelligently update forms and schedule stuff and type in different languages.
10.56 – That means you can ask your phone to send a message through WeChat, WhatsApp, Slack, book a taxi through Lyft, and even start and pause your workout on things like Runtastic and MapMyRun.
Want to send money with your voice? Simple with a chat – and with CarPlay you can send messages and make internet calls all without taking your hands off the wheel.
That’s a pretty big deal.
10.54 – Siri is being opened up to developers! They’re losing their mind!
10.52 – It’s time for iOS10 and Craig is talking us through it. And there are some nice tweaks too. Firstly you can simply raise the phone to see any notifications, and use 3D Touch to find out what’s really happening without unlocking the phone.
You’ll also be able to clear all the notifications with a simple tap, and Control Centre has been overhauled to make it easier to change settings on your phone.
It’s also getting interactive notifications and widgets without even unlocking the phone. You can see loads of information and even see live video if the app’s enabled it – so imagine getting football highlights without even having to open your phone.
I assume you’ll have to enable this in your privacy settings of course.
macOS Sierra is launched… no more OS X
The next level of OS X is here – and the name is gone, so welcome in macOS, and this one is called Sierra. You can check out all the big changes in our macOS Sierra hub, so head there for the maximum information.
Apple Pay is coming to the internet in more forms, you can tab together windows and Siri is now a part of the Mac experience. There’s more integration and continuity with your iPhone as well, making your Apple devices talk together more freely.
Coming to developers today, it’ll be available to all in the Fall.
10.49 – Siri works as you’d expect it to – controlling playback of the music, write a message and show you files tagged as you wish.
Sierra will be available to developers right now, with the full update coming… you’ve guessed it… in the Fall.
10.47 – Hey everyone, Siri is here! It’s on the Mac. And of course she’s being smart straight away. When asked how she liked being on the Mac: ‘Pretty awesome, lots of space, aluminum body was, and no complaint about the lack of Windows.”
10.42 – Couple of big features here as well – with iCloud Drive you can now put your documents on the cloud to make them available across your systems… not just iOS devices. And your desktop is now available on any other Mac or other iPhone – people love that.
And Optimise Storage – this is where the Mac will keep older files in the cloud so you can clear space locally. Better hope you’ve got some good storage online though…
10.41 – Apple Pay is coming to the Mac too – some long and hard thinking here and a CLASSIC FEDERIGHI move of showing someone trying to pay for things on the go by carrying a massive Mac around and tapping it on the terminal.
NOT REALLY. It’s a ‘pay with Apple Pay’ button online – and using Continuity, if you’ve got an iPhone or Apple Watch nearby you can pay with a fingerprint or a Watch tap.
10.37 – Let’s get into the new features. Instead of having to keep logging into the Mac with a password – with a single flip of the cover, using something like the Apple Watch (which is definitely linked to you) to make sure you’re the right person nearby.
We’ve also got Universal Clipboard (and that’s got people pretty excited here) – upshot being you can copy and paste stuff from you iPhone to your Mac without having to mess around with tapping around and sharing it… it’s all instant.
10.35 – Craig Federighi is on stage – and he’s making a big change to the name of Apple’s desktop operating system. It’s now going to be called macOS. There’s a surprise… And it’s also called Sierra, but there’s less of a chat about the ‘finding of the name’ this time around.
Upgrades to tvOS and Apple TV
10.31 – Now we’re talking about tvOS and Apple TV – there are now 1300 video channels, and over 6000 native apps in seven months.
The Apple TV Remote app has been upgraded, although on of the main features from that (chatting to Siri to find new movies and shows) will now be available on your phone – and you can use the accelerometer and gyroscope to play games – and enter text with the keyboard.
Plus you’ll be able to search movies by topic through Siri, as well as single sign on allowing you to not have to sign in time and time again when you go to different video channels.
The developer preview is coming right now, with the full thing coming in the fall.
Apple Watch 3 is unveiled
It’s all changed with Apple Watch, with the watchOS 3 software bringing a raft of new changes. You can check out all the new bits in our watchOS 3 hub, so if you don’t want to see it as it happened, we’ve rounded all the info there for you.
The main differences are to fitness and the speed of using the Watch, as you can now launch apps in a heartbeat thanks to improved background management. Talking of heartbeats, you can drop yours with new ways to help you meditate as well as stand up a bit more, and there are new emergency contact methods and support for wheelchair users.
The button on the side of the Watch is now used to your favorite apps and handwriting recognition – and all these new features will be coming to your wrist in the Fall, with developers able to try it out right now.
10.26 – Apple Pay support within apps on the Watch has been added, along with background workout features. Lots more API inclusions for developers to get their teeth into, giving them more flexibility. The preview release of Watch OS 3 is available today for developers. The upgrade for all Watch users will arrive this fall.
10.24 – Breathe is a new deep breathing app. Sessions are aimed to help you calm your mind and relax your body, with reminders letting you know it’s time to chill.
10.20 – New features for wheelchair users too, with new trackers to gauge their unique motions to ensure more accurate readings. “Time to stand” notifications are changed to “Time to roll” and the activity rings are optimized for wheelchair pushes.
10.19 – Apple’s adding a new features to the fitness app to Watch OS 3. Introducing activity sharing. This lets you see not only your own activity rings, but also those of family and friends. You can sort the list in a variety of ways, allowing you to see how you compare to others. You can also message people – with voice notes, and even a reading of your heart beat – within the app, which is verging on the creepy side.
10.18 – There’s an emergency feature too called SOS, allowing you to instantly call emergency services, and then the Watch will alert your key contacts and display your medical information on screen. It works internationally, allowing it to call the emergency services relevant to the country you’re in.
10.15 – We’re getting a live demo of Watch OS 3 – the key focus is on how easy and quick it is to do simple tasks such as set timers, view lists and using find friends.
10.13 – New Minnie Mouse watch face! Cue applause. There’s an easy watch face switching feature too – just swipe across the screen to switch between faces. Other new faces include activity, making it easy to see your rings to make sure you’re on track to hit your goals.
10.12 – Replying to messages in now more powerful, with an easy to hit reply button. Stock messages don’t always say what you want, so Apple’s new Scribble feature lets you write words with your finger.
10.11 – There’s a new app dock on the Watch, allowing you to access your favorite apps from anywhere on the Watch by using the side button. Control Centre has also been added – swipe up from the bottom to get to your quick settings.
10.10 – Watch OS 3 brings seamless updates to applications running on your Watch, meaning you don’t have to wait for updates to display in app – they’ll already be there.
Tim Cook tells us what’s to come
10.08 – Oh wait, Tim’s talking about four OSs – Watch OS, TV OS, Mac OS and iOS. We’re kicking off with the Watch and the new Watch OS 3 software update.
10.06 – Apple has a busy morning planned, but first Tim Cook is going to explain why Apple does what it does. We’re going to be told about four Apple platforms – FOUR!
– Macintosh
– iPhone
– iPad
– Apple Watch
– Apple TV
Hang on Tim, that’s FIVE, not four. BONUS STUFF! 😀
09.45 -The room is filling up nicely. The tap tapping of keyboards fill the air, the smell of sweat and anticipation fill our nostrils and the sound of Beats 1 provides the undertone of Apple control.
09.30 – WHEN I SAY ‘BE’ YOU SAY ‘TA’…. ‘BE’…
Fine, don’t join in, but by the end of proceedings today Apple may have a Beta you’ll want to get involved with. It’s Beta Software Program site is currently down, a website it used to issue public betas for iOS 9 and OS X El Capitan last year, which could mean we’ll get similar access to early builds of iOS 10 and Mac OS X 10.12.
09.25 – Lucky enough to be attending WWDC 2016? Then hunt down our Editor-in-Chief Darren Murph who says on Twitter “I came to give hugs” – and damn fine hugs they are.
09.00 – Are you sitting comfortably? We are. Just an hour to go, and Apple hasn’t taken its site offline. A hint that there won’t be any significant hardware announcements today? Let’s hope not. #showusthenewAppleWatch
08.45 – Queue. What queue? We’re inside. Suck it!
Well, we’ve not quite made it to the auditorium, but the holding area is where all the cool kids hang out, right?
08.40 – “Oh dear lord, there are a lot of people here #WWDC2016” – Gareth Beavis, 2016
08.30 – There’s a big queue for badges outside the Bill Grahams Civic Auditorium. It looks a bit like a castle, don’t you think?
08.00 – Two hours to go, and our WWDC newbie @mattswider is hoping he gets spotted on the livestream, tweeting “Look for me, mom and dad ;)” – you can join in with our “Where’s Matt sitting” game using this handy selfie from the man himself.
05.40 – The sun is rising in San Francisco as we wait for WWDC 2016 to kick off in just a few hours time. While we let Cook grab his morning coffee and breakfast – he’s likely to be up, he’s a renowned early riser – whet your technology appetite by taking a look back at what Apple announced at last year’s event. Yummy!
03.35 – Want to watch Cook and co. while following our in-depth analysis and commentary? We’ve got you covered.
03.00 PDT – Will iOS 10 sport a new dark mode? And will you be able to control the setting via Siri? A new response from the personal assistant seems to suggest just that. That could mean better power usage on iPhones and iPads, but it could also hint at Siri coming to Mac which already sports a dark mode.
01.00 PDT – Next door to the Bill Grahams Civic Auditorium, City Hall is looking splendid in a rainbow splash of color to remember those lost in Orlando.
12.00am PDT – The Bill Grahams Civic Auditorium in San Francisco is ready for WWDC 2016. Are you?
Welcome – Another year, another WWDC. Apple’s annual developer conference is always a big draw, with announcements surrounding the new versions of Mac OS and iOS the key highlights.
But they’re not the only things we expect to see during Tim Cook’s keynote – Apple may have a whole bunch of goodies up its sleeve.
As well as news on Mac OS X 10.12 and iOS 10, we’re also looking out for the Apple Watch 2 with updated Watch OS 3 software, a new 15-inch MacBook and possibly updates to Apple CarPlay and Apple Music.
For those of you who like to dream, there’s also talk of an Apple Car and Apple’s own movie streaming service – although these two are a little bit more left field than the rest. We might even see iMessage get Android support – fingers crossed!
Source: techradar.com