WWDC Apple event - as it happened : iOS 15, AirPods, Maps and privacy features announced

Apple unveils ‘Legacy Contact’ that allows users to access data of deceased

Apple has held one of its biggest events of the year: the Worldwide Developers Conference.

The WWDC21 conference – and the keynote that kicked it off – serves as its annual reveal of all of the software updates it has been working on.

As such, there was a new iOS 15 for the iPhone introduced, updates for the Mac, and new features on the Watch. WWDC is unusual among Apple events in that every one of its software platforms gets an update of some kind, and that they are available to download for free – though most users will have to wait until later this year to get access to them.

Rumours that new versions of the MacBook Pro could be on their way, including a more powerful version of the company’s already powerful M1 chip, did not prove to be true.

As with every Apple event held over the last year, it was held entirely virtually.

You can view the live stream of the WWDC keynote right here, and view all the major updates as they happened below.

• Apple just revealed iOS 15, the future of iPhone
• Apple just added a load of new features to the AirPods
• Apple redesigns how the iPad works with new software update
• Apple launches new operating system for Mac

[7 June 2021 19:21 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Onto Apple Home...

Apple has created a new smart home interoperability standard called Matter, which will mean different smart devices like doorbells and thermostats will be able to better communicate with each other.

[7 June 2021 19:22 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Apple Home updates in full

Here’s a broad rundown of all the major updates for Apple Home:

(Apple)

[7 June 2021 19:26 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

‘Let’s talk about MacOS

Craig is back to tell us about the “truly magical” experience of the updated MacOS.

One of these new features is called Universal Control, which essentially links an iPad and Mac to make them a dual screen device when they are placed next to each other.

Files can be dragged and dropped between the screens, and it even works with more than two devices.

“You can be more productive and focus your energy on the task at hand,” he says.

It will look something like this:

(Apple)

[7 June 2021 19:29 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Apple MacOS Monterey

You can read all about Apple’s new MacOS Monterey operating system right here:

[7 June 2021 19:34 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

There are some minor updates to Safari being announced now, like a new grouping system for tabs, but it feels like we’re through the guts of the announcements.

Unless there’s a “one more thing”?

[7 June 2021 19:36 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

MacOS Monterey

Here’s Apple’s tableau featuring all the major features of MacOS Monterey:

(Apple)

[7 June 2021 19:42 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Onto the developer side...

Developers are going to get a host of handy new tools, like AR image capture, as well as big updates to Apple’s Swift programming language.

All this back-end stuff will be the main focus of the rest of the WWDC conference, which gets underway properly as soon as this virtual keynote is over.

They’ll be working to serve the 600 million people who use the App Store, and get a chunk of the $230 billion Apple has so far paid out to developers.

[7 June 2021 19:49 · Anthony Cuthbertson]

Tim Cook says goodbye

Back to Tim Cook to wrap things up and say goodbye.

All the software updates announced will be available to developers from today, and will be launched in public beta from July. The full release will come this autumn to all users.

“Thank you for joining us,” he says. “Let’s have a great week.”

(Apple)

[7 June 2021 20:08 · Anthony Cuthbertson]