Apple’s new iOS 12, tvOS 12, watchOS 5, ARKit 2.0, macOS Mojave come with several improvements over the previous generation software. Read to know key aspects of the Cupertino-based company’s latest creation.
American technology Apple kicked off the annual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2018 at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California on June 4.
As rumoured, the Cupertino-based company did not unveil any new hardware but announced a slew of software upgrades and more with special attention to its Augmented Reality (AR) tools for the loyal programmers.
The main attraction at the WWDC 2018, was the new iOS 12 with several upgrades over the iOS 11 to get the best out of the all the iPhones, iPads and iPods. Unlike the previous years, where one or two devices get left out of the eligible list of products to receive new software, the company revealed that all the devices running the current iOS 11 will get the iOS 12. But, we have to wait until September for the final version.
Interested users can get the new iOS 12 for enrolling into Apple developer programme and get it now. Or if you are a public beta tester, you will able to get it later this month.
The new iOS 12 comes with Activity Reports to enables users with insight into how they are spending time with apps and websites, Screen Time creates detailed daily and weekly Activity Reports that show the total time a person spends in each app they use.
App Limits and new Do Not Disturb, a time management tool helps people stay in the moment during times of studying as well as during a class, meeting or dinner. The new Notifications control is designed to help customers reduce interruptions and the Screen Time, to help users manage themselves and their children so that they can concentrate on important things of the day.
Most importantly, the iOS 12 has been optimised to make the iPhones to perform faster than before. Once upgraded to the new software, apps will load 40-percent faster, camera launching 70-percent quicker and the keyboard will open 50-percent faster.
Several other new features coming in iOS 12 include Group FaceTime (up to 32 people), fun Memoji for iPhone X users to create their own cartoon face to share it on messenger apps and a new way to photo sharing and grouping and improvements to privacy and security of the iPhone and iPad users.
The company’s new PC software macOS Mojave for Apple MacBook and PCs come with a new Dark Mode, which is promised to transforms the desktop with a dramatic new look that puts the focus on user content. It also comes with the new Stacks feature organises messy desktops by automatically stacking files into neat groups.
With macOS Mojave, popular iOS apps such as the News, Stocks, Voice Memos and Home, are now available on the Mac for the first time.
Like the iOS 12, Mojave brings FaceTime with support for group calling, and also the Mac App Store gets a full redesign featuring rich editorial content and the addition of apps from top developers, including Microsoft, Adobe and others.
First generation ARKit came with feature-rich tools and it received an overwhelming response from the developer that led to flooding of AR apps in Apple app store. Now, the company has announced the ARKit 2 with several new improvements. Apple says that the ARKit 2.0 allows developers to integrate shared experiences, persistent AR experiences tied to a specific location, object detection and image tracking to make AR apps even more dynamic.
Apple also unveiled the Measure app for iOS, which uses AR to quickly gauge the size of real-world objects, as well as a new open file format with iOS 12, Universal Scene Description (usdz). It is optimized for sharing without sacrificing 3D graphics or animation quality. It will also help developers to deeply integrate AR throughout iOS and make AR objects available across the ecosystem of Apple apps.
The company also adds that ARKit 2 also extends support for image detection and tracking, making it possible to detect 3D objects like toys or sculptures, and adds the ability to automatically apply reflections of the real world onto AR objects. This makes the AR experience an even more realistic mix of the virtual and real world.
Apple Measure is a new app in iOS 12, which uses AR to quickly gauge the size of real-world objects similar to a tape measure. The new app automatically provides the dimensions of objects like picture frames, posters and signs, and can also show diagonal measurements, compute area and allow users to take a photo and share it with accurate dimensions right from their iPhone or iPad.
Another new app Quick Look makes use of usdz to allows users to place 3D objects into the real world to see how something would work in a space. It will find use-cases in online furniture shopping for the home. People can place the virtual chair or table right inside the home and see if it fits the place and if satisfied, place the order.
The company also previewed the latest tvOS 12 for Apple TV. It is touted to be the powerful operating system which takes the cinematic experience of Apple TV 4K to the next level with support for Dolby Atmos audio, convenient new features to easily access the shows and movies you love and breathtaking aerials shot from space.
Additional tvOS 12 features for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV (4th gen) make it even easier for customers to access the shows and movies. Also with iOS 12, users can securely AutoFill passwords from iPhone and iPad to Apple TV to easily sign in to Apple TV apps.
The Apple TV Remote will be automatically added to Control Center on iPhone or iPad for Apple TV users, giving users quick access to Apple TV controls.
The company also said that the Home control systems like Control4, Crestron and Savant can be used to control Apple TV, including using Siri for voice search and control.
The company’s new watchOS v5.0 brings new features to Activity Sharing, which enables users to invite another Apple Watch wearer to compete in a seven-day Activity competition, earning points for closing Activity Rings, while receiving coaching notifications to help stay engaged and win the week.
It also brings auto-workout detection, which provides an alert to start the correct workout and gives retroactive credit. This feature also offers a reminder to end workout sessions after a period of inactivity if the user forgets.
A surprising new feature of watchOS 5.0 is the Walkie-Talkie.
