Apple WWDC 2020 Special Event Keynotes: Major Announcements

iOS

Posted on 24 Jun 2020 5 min read Share On:

Apple kickstarted its virtual Worldwide Developers conference connecting developers and mobile enthusiasts and across the world. One of the most-watched and highly-awaited events, Apple WWDC 2020 event was held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic. Tech giant announced a host of new features and upgrades for some of its iconic products and operating systems such as Mac, iPhone, iPad, iOS and Apple Watch. This event is also used as a launching point for several hardware products exclusive to Apple.

New software for its highly popular products such as iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch.
Macs in future will use chips made by Apple instead of Intel.
Focused on speed and performance, Safari gets its most significant update ever with an all-new start page and support for extensions.
iOS 14 will see sweeping new changes to iOS home screen and for the first time, the capability to set default email and browser apps for the first time.

Here are Apple WWDC 2020 Event announcements in detail

iOS 14

iOS 14 will witness massive changes with an all-new designed Home Screen and redesigned widgets. App clips aim at improving the ability to handle different tasks quickly. On the other hand, App Library organizes apps automatically to find apps faster. This update will help users do much more with iOS 14 and offering a personalized experience.

Widgets on the Home Screen
Completely redesigned Widgets to give information at a glance. With several sizes available widgets to the home screen.
App Library
Organize apps into a simple, easy‑to‑navigate view to sort by category to get the most frequently used apps at a click.
Group Conversations Features
iOS 14 comes up with several ways to ensure connectivity improves and keeping track of group conversations.
Pinned Messages
Don’t miss out on any important information with the ability to pin messages for upto contacts for easy recall.
Group photos
Give group conversations a visual identity by adding a photo or Memoji, or choose an emoji.
Mentions
Simply type a direct message by typing a name. This feature will highlight names in the conversation. Option to customize settings in such a way that you receive from an active group only when your name is mentioned.
Memoji styles and stickers based on age options
Twenty new emojis reflecting age options and headwear styles to reflect hobby, job and personality.
Cycling Routes
Good news for all cycling enthusiasts. Get new cycling directions in Maps to know about streets and its business and know the stairs possibility along the route.
Developer API
Developers can build widgets with a new API to leverage redesigned widgets that lets them take advantage of the redesigned widgets, and put them on the home screen.
Siri gets Compact
Siri gets compact design mainly to check the information on screen and launch your next task. The moment you type a request on screen, Siri appears at the bottom of the screen from nowhere just like a notification to give all information in a sleek and compact layout.
Voice Translation
Apple has come up with a new translation app, called Translate to facilitate the real-time translation between two different languages. An iPhone with translate app provides Advanced level of on-device intelligence allows translation from one language to another. App provides translation in target language in audio. Languages which have been downloaded can be translated without internet connection and provides translation without internet connectivity.
Augmented Reality
ARKit: Location Anchors: Now get views of some of your favorite places across the globe with ARKit Location Anchors. AR experiences can be placed at specified geographic coordinates along different cities and landmarks.

iOS14 Compatibility:

iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone X
iPhone 8
iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7
iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 6s
iPhone 6s Plus
iPhone SE (1st generation)
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPod touch (7th generation)

ARKit: Extended face tracking support

Even more users can delight in AR experiences accessible only via the front camera, with expanded support for face tracking on all devices with the A12 Bionic chip and later.

watchOS 7

This feature shows Apple’s responsibility to fight the pandemic with its wearable Apple Watch. In a highly innovative step, Apple Watch has introduced an timer. Now if the watch detects hand wash it will initiate a timer of 20 seconds. If the wearer does not complete the time, Apple Watch will prompt the wearer.

Sleep Patterns
Taking a unified approach towards the importance of sleep patterns, Apple introduces sleep tracking with features such as devising pre-bedtime routine and idle hours of sleep for users to meet their sleep goals.
Watch Faces
With this feature, Apple Watch users can experience personalization and customization of watch faces to the next level.
Stricter Controls
Now the added feature in watchOS 7 to manage an Apple Watch for a child with a parent’s phone.
Home Kit-enabled cameras
Apple TV users can access HomeKit-powered video cameras and accessories with Siri and Control Center. Now users can get notifications on the large screen with live feeds. Just imagine the thrill of feeds on the TV.

Apple says Goodbye to Intel for its own Chips

This news is expected to change the performance of Apple device Mac. While iPhones, iPad, Apple Watches and Apple TVs use Apple’s own chips, it is not the same for Mac. Apple has finally said goodbye to Intel chips and will be using its own chips. Macs in future will use Apple’s own chips to run iPhone and iPad software. Dubbed by Tim Cook as “leap forward” this step will have a significant impact on the performance of Mac with less power.

Finally

These Apple WWDC 2020 Event announcements will likely change iOS app development in different ways. Stay tuned to this section for more updates on iOS.