As is the traditional cycle, technology behemoths Apple and Google recently had their developer conferences. Now that the dust has settled after Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) and Google’s I/O, let’s have a look at where technology is heading over the coming year.
The biggest theme throughout both of these conferences was a consistent user experience across multiple devices. We live in a multi-screened world, with televisions, desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets and wearables making up just some of the more well-known devices we interact with on a daily basis.
So let’s start with Apple’s WWDC and all the treats the Cupertino based company released for their developers and users:
Mac OS X Yosemite
The update to last year’s Mavericks was expected, but the brand new look and feel might not have been, considering it’s been a while since Apple updated their OS’ look. Everything has been tailored to look and act more like iOS, to create a seamless eco-system for Apple users. Widgets and notifications have received a revamp, Spotlight has been tweaked, and the native internet browser, Safari, also received a number of visual and functional updates.
iCloud has always only functioned in the Apple eco-system, and it was announced that for the first time, this would change – enter iCloud Drive. iCloud drive operates similarly to Google Drive, Box and Dropbox, but the biggest news by far regarding iCloud is that it will also be available on Windows machines! So for the first time Apple users will have a native Apple cloud storage solution that is really useful.
Handoff was also announced and it’s the process that will allow continuity across devices. This means you will be able to start typing and email on your iPhone, while picking it up and finishing it on your Mac. AirDrop was also improved as users will also be able to share files between iOS devices and their iMacs or laptops. iOS users will also be able to use Instant Hotspots more easily, and you will also be able to respond to SMS and phone calls from any of your Apple devices.
iOS8
Of course Apple’s mobile OS, iOS, was a big part of the conference, and there are a number of very interesting and exciting changes coming. The biggest change in my opinion is the evolution of iOS’ notifications, which finally offer the same kind of convenience as their Android counterparts.
Another first is that in iOS8 users will be able to use a number of different keyboards as default, and choice is always good. Messages also receives some improvements, most notably audio and video chat functionality. iCloud Drive is fully integrated into iOS8, so you can access those files on any of your devices, again, super useful.
Healthkit was hotly tipped beforehand and as expected was debuted. It’s an app that will track your personal health and fitness data. So iPhone users can look forward to an easy-to-digest hub where health data and fitness numbers will be stored for analysis and record keeping.
The photos app has been completely redesigned, Siri is now hands free and family members can now share an iTunes purchase across up to six iOS devices. Apple also released a brand new development language, Swift, as well as Androidesque features like extensions, widgets and inter-app communication. Extensions will allow third party apps to share chosen information, let’s use a photo as an example. Say you want to share it to a WhatsApp contact. The process to follow is to select a WhatsApp contact and then select an image to share via WhatsApp. Now you can send it straight from from your gallery. Widgets might not be available for your homescreens, instead they will live in the notification dropdown. So iOS8’s homescreen will still look largely the same, an infinite amount of icons.
HomeKit was another announcement made, and the app will allow users to control smart home devices, like garage doors, lights, security cameras and the like, all from an iOS device. So as you can see Apple definitely took some massive strides at WWDC, not to mention the fact that they opened up a staggering (for Apple) 3000 APIs to developers. I would definitely call WWDC a success and I think that Apple users should be excited for the launch of both iOS8 and OS X Yosemite.
What are your thoughts on the announcements, and which new features are you most looking forward to?
