Apple WWCD 2016

WWDC 2016 Wrap-up

This year we have partnered with Tech Guru and Global Editor in Chief at Tech RadarDarren Murph to get the inside scoop and his take on the upgrade announcements from the Apple WWDC 2016.

WWDC Apple Keynote

Each year, Apple hosts thousands of developers in San Francisco for its Worldwide Developers Conference. This summer the keynote presentation opened the week of coding courses with announcements chock full of updates for its entire product line. The 2016 edition of WWDC saw news on every major line, from Apple Watch to iPhone to Mac. We know you’re busy, so we’re recapping the biggest announcements below.

Apple Watch

There’s never been a better time to own an Apple Watch now that watchOS 3 is on the horizon. The new software, which will be available to the masses this fall as a free update, essentially turns the Watch into an entirely new product. Apps will launch 7x faster, and you can now scribble text right on the screen while the Watch transcribes it to text. The Activity app now includes the ability to share, compare and compete, as well as enabling wheelchair users to close their Activity rings. (In other words, fitness competition between you and your friends is about to get real.)

As you’d expect, Apple’s throwing in a few new faces (Minnie Mouse!), and the all-new Breathe app “encourages users to take moments in their day to do short deep breathing sessions.” Because, honestly, we could all stand to just take it down a notch.

iPhone

iPhone 6 and iPhone 5 owners have something big to look forward to this fall: iOS 10. The free software update will finally allow Siri to dictate third-party apps, though support will be limited at first. Perhaps the biggest inclusion is the new Home app, which seeks to control every connected device in your home and enable them to work in tandem with one another.

If you’re an avid texter, you probably spend an inordinate amount of time in Messages. Lucky for you, as Apple is adding larger emoji and intelligent text-to-emoji conversions. In other words, your texting sessions are about to get a lot more animated.

Mac

The entire Mac Pro, iMac, and MacBook lines will get a fresh coat of paint once macOS Sierra lands this fall (again, at no charge). The most notable difference will be the addition of Siri for Mac, which will allow you to talk to your Mac as you would your iPhone. We know many Twelve South users own both a Mac and an iPhone, and if that’s you, copying and pasting between devices is going to get a lot easier as well. With Universal Clipboard, the contents of your clipboard are available across all your Apple devices via iCloud. You can easily copy and paste text, images, photos and video between your Mac and your iPhone and iPad.

For a complete breakdown of WWDC 2016, take a peek at TechRadar’s on-the-ground coverage.

WWDC Apple Keynote

So, what was your favorite announcement from the show? Let us know @TwelveSouth!