And if you want more in-depth views of what’s happened today, I leave you in the capable hands of my colleague Samuel Gibbs, with a run-down of everything new coming to iPad and iPhone and the explanation of what “Apple Silicon” actually is.
And now a quick list the things Apple buried, or just didn’t mention:
- You will be able to change your default email and browser apps in iOS. Personally speaking, this is the single biggest announcement of the night.
- Voice Memos are getting noise cancellation, favourites and folders.
- Live photos are getting video stabilisation.
And something else Apple buried: Microsoft is closing down Mixer, its attempt to build a videogame streaming platform to rival Amazon owned Twitch. Such a coincidence that it announced that bad news during the biggest tech event of the season!
Apple reveals Apple Silicon, macOS 11 Big Sur, and the future of iPhones
And that’s it! The show ends with a disclaimer that all the clips were filmed while adhering to social distancing, and we’ll end here with a round up of the biggest announcements of the evening:
- Apple is making the chips at the heart of its Mac computers for the first time ever, with a new venture called Apple Silicon. It’s rewriting macOS from the ground up to support the chips, and putting an end on the 20-year-long reign of “Mac OS X” with its new release, macOS 11. Macs with Apple Silicon chips will be able to run iPhone and iPad apps straight from the App Store.
- “App Clips”, new mini-apps that can be installed from a QR code, are coming to iOS, to make it easier to install a single purpose app to pay in a shop or hire an eBike.
- “Translate” offers private, offline machine translation, as Apple tries to take on Google Translate where it’s strongest.
- Apple Pencil will be able to perform handwriting recognition.
- The new BMW 580i becomes the most expensive Apple accessory to date, as the first car that can be unlocked with just a tap of your iPhone.
- Apple Watches are getting sleep tracking and a new “go to bed” mode, as well as support for dancing and core training work-outs.
Updated
Back to Tim Cook for the timeline: “we expect to ship our first Mac with Apple Silicon by the end of this year, and we expect the transition to take two years. We expect to release new software for Intel based Macs for years to come, and in act, we have new Intel based Macs in the pipeline that we’re really excited about.” The software itself gets the standard vague “fall” release date.
But no new computers today, unless you’re a developer. The Developer Transition Kit, shipping this week, is for developers only, and contains the new chips inside a Mac Mini. The idea is that there’s a few apps, at least, rewritten for the launch of the new computers.
And there’s another implication: you’ll be able to install iOS and iPadOS apps directly on to Macs. That’s going to be a mixed blessing for users: there’s a lot more apps available, but most of them won’t exactly be a pleasant experience to use with a keyboard and mouse.
Macs running Apple Silicon will be able to use apps that haven’t been rewritten for the new processors, thanks to Rosetta 2: this technology (again, Apple has already had a thing called “Rosetta”) will rewrite apps as they’re installed to try and keep performance high.
It looks like it works fairly well: the company demonstrates the very performance-intensive Maya 3D modelling tool working perfectly, and then plays through Shadow of the Tomb Raider, a popular game, in real time. “These new macs, they are fast!”
A huge point buried in a screenshot: macOS Big Sur is not macOS 10.16. It is macOS 11. After twenty years, we’ve finally hit the end of OS X.
A crucial detail: Apple is letting developers ship “Universal 2” apps. It’s a clunky name, because it’s already used “universal apps” before now for something else, but what it means is that one download can work on both the new Apple Silicon Macs and older Intel machines.
And Microsoft and Adobe have already done that work, Craig Federighi says. So we get some demoes of Office. It looks like Office. That is good!
And finally, we get Tim Cook back again, declaring today a “historic day”. “It’s time for a huge leap forward for the Mac: today is the day the Mac is transitioning to our own Apple Silicon.
“Having a world class silicon design team is a game changer,” Cook says, before introducing a very silly video transfer to an “undisclosed location” where Apple’s SVP of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srugi, explains the company’s history of building its own chips: firstly the A-line chips from the iPhone, then the AX chips for the iPads.
“The first thing this will do is give the Mac a whole new level of performance,” Sruji says. “You want to deliver the highest performance at the lowest power consumption. Our plan is to give the Mac the highest level of performance while using much less power”. Power use, he explains, doesn’t just matter for battery life: it also affects heat, which affects cooling and thus the physical constraints of the entire machine.
Apple pushing its translation feature hard: Safari now has (Google-style) in-line translation for pages in languages you don’t speak.
Safari is seeing “the biggest update since it was first introduced”. Updates here really matter: Safari is the only browser engine allowed on iOS, which means Apple and Google are basically the two companies that decide how the web works.
So what’s new? “We want to give users even more visibility into the ways sites track them, and how safari is protecting them.” Every site will get a little name-and-shame window showing all the creepy things Safari has blocked.
“If you love tabs, you’re going to love the new Safari”, as well. “The tabs get smaller.”
A very nerdy update, but: a huge swathe of changes are coming to Catalyst, the tool that Apple offers to let developers easily port iOS apps over to Mac. Which explains why Messages and Maps are so like the iOS version, Craig explains: they were made with Catalyst.
Continuing the “loans from iOS” theme, Messages gets an update that is… mostly bringing features over from iOS, and Maps gets an update that is… mostly bringing features over from iOS.
One notable iOS loan: Control Centre. The menu bar is now getting an iOS-style panel for controlling things like volume, screen brightness, and other commonly-used settings.
And, completing the circle of life, macOS is getting widgets, a feature that it first received in 2005 and lost for good in 2018.
I’m going to throw up my liveblogger hands here: Apple is running through every design change it’s making in Big Sur in one rapid-paced video, and it’s honestly too quick for me to keep up with it. Overview: it looks a lot more like iOS in terms of visual design now.
Updated
But firstly, a very silly video for introducing the name of the new version of macOS. Continuing the California theme, it’s going to be macOS Big Sur.
They did not play The Thrills hit, so I’m going to instead.
And finally, the headline event of the day: macOS, and the end of Intel.
An Apple TV+ announcement, now: the first trailer for Apple’s original adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Will it be good? Who knows. Apple TV+ does not have a stellar track record. The trailer looks suitably epic, but possibly the wrong side of silly. Coming in 2021.
Updated
Yah Cason up to talk about Apple’s smart home goals. The Home app is getting a redesign, that lets you focus on important information (like “door unlocked”) that you might not want to be buried down a menu somewhere.
Apple’s introducing facial recognition into its smart doorbell feature, so that you can be told who is at the door. Bizarrely, given how soon this has come after the Privacy section, there’s… nothing said about the privacy implications of this.
Updated
Those new privacy features, then:
- You can now “upgrade” from a normal log-in to a Sign-in with Apple one.
- You can opt to share only “approximate” location with an app.
- You can see every app that has accessed your camera or microphone in the last day.
- You can refuse apps permission to track you across the web.
- And you can see all the data apps want to know about you direct on the app store, with a new “nutritional label”.
A special segment now on privacy. Which, Craig Federghi reminds us, “Apple considers a human right”.
If you’ve got bored of singing happy birthday twice, good news: Apple Watch will now automatically recognise when you’ve started washing your hands, and start counting down to give you the full 20 second timer. As well as a “polite notice” if you just rinse and run…
Apple Watch gets sleep tracking
Big new feature coming to the Apple Watch: Sleep tracking. But more than just tracking, the company is trying to introduce a “holistic approach to improving your sleep.”
For instance, one new feature, Wind Down, lets you automatically start turning off notifications as you head towards bed-time.
Then, when you are asleep, the watch will begin tracking when you’re awake and asleep, offering a view of your sleep trends over time.
“We know you’ll enjoy using your watch throughout the day, and now, throughout the night.”
Updated
Julz Arney introduces a few new workout types: Core Training, Functional Strength Training, Cooldown and Dance. Some of this is very silly. It feels like Apple is pitching the concept of dance. But they’re making the case that it is hard to measure the fitness impact of dancing.
Apple Watch next. First up: the ability to have multiple complications for a single app. That means that one weather app can, for instance, offer one complication for temperature, and another for UV index.
Next: Face Sharing. This is the closest we’re going to get to third-party watch faces, I think. The feature lets you share your watch face, replete with complications and cosmetic settings. So a really die-hard Apple Watch user can do the hard work of making their watch face useful and pretty, and you can copy them. Great!
Well, I can’t find my Apple Pencil. So let’s move on to… AirPods. Ah, good, cycling through all the most losable Apple products.
First in the software updates: Automatic switching. Airpods can now automatically switch to whatever you’re using right now, from iPhone to iPad to Mac and back.
That will come to all Airpods; for Airpods Pro, there’s another feature: spatial audio, creating “an immersive surround-sound experience” for users watching films.
(This is… remarkably impressive: Apple is paying attention to the accelerometers on both the iPad/iPhone and the AirPods, to ensure that the surround sound is always correctly oriented according to where the screen is.)
A much-requested upgrade to Apple Pencil: “This year we’re going to make handwriting just as easy and just as powerful as typed text:” handwriting recognition!
You can handwrite into any text box with your Apple Pencil, and then automatically turn it into text. You can also leave it as handwriting, while still being able to select words, cut copy and paste. “We think this will make note-taking with the Apple Pencil easier than ever.” Now, if only I could find mine…
A nice quality-of-life upgrade: Incoming calls will no longer take over your entire screen, on iPhone or iPad. Instead, they pop over the top, just like any other notification.
Perfect if you want to ignore an annoying friend while still hatescrolling their Instagram feed. Or whatever you do, I’m not saying I do that, that would be weird.
Whew. Craig Federighi runs upstairs (?) to begin the iPadOS overview.
“This year, iPadOS delivers unique, made for iPad designs that take advantage of the larger display,” he says. “We’re extending the design language of iPad to make apps more streamlined and more powerful.”
Great. What does that mean in practice? It means we should have fewer iPad apps that feel like iPhone apps stretched out over a larger screen. Photos, for instance, receives a sidebar (oooh), as does Notes and Files.
“We’ve also streamlined the toolbars,” says Apple’s Scott Schaeffer. Basically, iPad apps look a bit more like Mac apps now.
On to the App Store. (😬)
Apple is launching “App Clips” – “a small and simple version of an app”. Find a service that needs its own app, tap your phone on the NFC reader, and up pops the clip; press Open, and it loads up then and there. It’s perfect for things like eBikes: rather than downloading and installing a new app just to ride one bike, say, you can open and use the App Clip. Those clips must be less than 10Mb, with Apple Pay and Sign in with Apple to make everything as streamlined as possible.
“We want to be able to use app clips everywhere, including smaller spots, which may not have their own apps,” Fed says, which is why you’ll be able to set up an app clip for your cafe’s Yelp page (say).
Cycle directions may launching be in just five cities, but don’t worry – CarPlay is available in 80% of new cars sold, Craig Federighi says. It’s getting some updates too: new wallpaper options, as well as three new types of app: parking, EV charging, and food ordering (?!).
The bigger car feature, introduced by Apple’s Emily Schubert, is an iPhone-based car key. Just tap your phone on the handle to unlock the car, then place it on the wireless charging mat to enable ignition. You can even text the key to other folks! If you have the one new BMW that currently supports this feature.
“We’re also enabling this feature in iOS 13, so customers can use their new car keys even sooner,” Craig says. Thanks.
Craig Federighi comes back, to introduce “features that will help us explore the world again” once everything starts to open up. Firstly, Maps.
Apple’s been rewriting its Maps app for the past year or so, and finished the US rebuild recently. Now, it’s coming to the UK, Ireland and Canada – that means we get “rich detail and improved accuracy”, as well as features including Apple’s street-view competitor Look Around.
Also coming to Maps are human-curated guides to various cities and locales. It’s a very Apple way of competing against Google: why use big data and AI, when you can just… pay people to write content?
And, finally, Apple Maps will support cycling. Cycle-friendly routes, avoiding busy roads, stairs and steep climbs. In… five cities: New York, LA, SF, Shanghai and Beijing.
If you have an electric vehicle, Apple Maps will also start working charging into its route planner, bringing you past chargers as you need them on long distance routes.
From Siri on to Messages, with Apple VP Stacey Lysik.
(If it seems this is moving pretty fast, it is. Probably partially a function of not having to wait for audience applause, and partially rushing through the iPhone updates to hit the Mac at the end.)
Memoji gets an update, with more age options and face coverings; Messages lets you pin a particular chat to the top; and Messages gets WhatsApp-style inline replies and mentions, smoothing out some of those unwieldy group chats.
Apple launches Google Translate competitor
Apple’s also launching a Siri-driven Google Translate competitor, with a whole new app.
Updated
Next up, Siri. First new thing? It doesn’t take over your entire screen when you activate it; now, you’ll only have a small pulsing dot at the bottom:
And finally, picture-in-picture comes to iPhones, letting you keep a video playing while you carry on navigating the rest of your phone.
Next up: Widgets. iOS already lets you have these single-serving visualisations on the “today” view, a little-used pane that most of us forget is hiding behind our notifications. But now, users will be able to add widgets directly to their homescreens. Yes, Android users, don’t laugh – this hasn’t been possible on iPhones until now.
First up: the App Library, a new screen at the end of all your pages that automatically organises all your downloaded apps by category and frequency of use.
On top of that, the top left block in the app library will be “suggestions”, always showing you (or trying) the apps you need.
“We’re doing more on our iPhones than ever before,” Federighi says, “so we’ve rethought some of the key ways we work with them.” He introduces a video that seems to suggest the biggest shake-up in the iPhone homescreen since the introduction of folders.
Craig Federighi up next, to talk about iOS. Interestingly, all these segments were shot in Apple’s HQ – a shift from some other corporate events, such as Sony’s PS5 launch, which had executives filmed in the safety of their own home.
Cook kicks off by addressing “the pain felt by our black and brown communities, especially after the killing of George Floyd.
“We’re inspired and moved by the passionate people around our nation and around the world who have stood up to fight for our ideals”, Cook says. Apple two weeks ago announced a $100m donation to help boost diversity in the tech sector.
Cook then turns to Covid-19. “We’ve seen the profound impact our products have had. People are relying on them more than ever to connect to family and friends, to express creativity, to entertain and to entertain others.
“Throughout history, great challenges have been met with great creativity, and led to enormous breakthroughs.”
And we’re off. A little video beams us into an empty Steve Jobs Theater at the heart of Apple’s Cupertino Campus, where Tim Cook promises “a great show” with banks of vacant audience seats behind him.
There’s one major thing we’re expecting today, which is our first glimpse at the future of Apple without Intel. The company has been ramping up production of its own chips for some time, starting with iPhones and now, finally, coming to Macs.
The Intel processors in the heart of the company’s computers use too much power, and create too much heat, for the uses Apple wants to put them to. Worse still – if you’re Apple – they force the company to be beholden to someone else, and that simply will not do. So we’ll see our first hints at how Apple plans to switch the whole Mac line over to processors designed by the British company ARM.
What we don’t know is how this switch will occur. Will it require developers to rewrite their software? (Probably.) Will there be an emulator, so that you can run old programs on newer machines? (Maybe.) Will it come to top end macs first or start with the cheaper, smaller machines? (Probably the latter).
If you want to watch along at home, here’s the livestream on YouTube:
This year’s conference comes under a bit of a dark cloud.
Obviously there’s, well, All Of This happening, which means that WWDC is online-only for the first time ever. That won’t affect the keynote all that much, though it should mean fewer slightly wonky live demonstrations of new features. But it will thoroughly change the dynamics of the wider conference, typically a time for Apple’s developers from around the world to network, share ideas, and receive direct advice from the company on how to tackle some of the thornier problems in programming for mac, iOS, and Apple’s other platforms.
On top of that, the keynote arrives as Apple faces some of its biggest pushback from developers in company history. It has long ruled its App Stores with a firm hand, having all but invented the concept over a decade ago, but in recent months, its grip has started to tighten further: developers who thought they were abiding by the rules have been asked to hand over 30% of their revenue for the privilege of shipping apps to Apple’s users. That culminated last week in a double whammy of an EU investigation, and open rebellion from one developer that snowballed into significant unrest.
Don’t expect that latter problem to be addressed on stage, though. But it might leave a bitter taste in the mouth of some developers who will be watching the company show off about the amount of money the App Store has pulled in over the years.
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live blog of Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference. We’ll be kicking off at 10am Pacific Time – that’s 6pm UK time, and 3am in New South Wales if you’re staying up for all the latest news.
If you want to watch along live, Apple is streaming the event on its website. Otherwise, stick around here, and we’ll keep you up to date with the important news, translate the technobabble, and just quietly ignore the advertising over the next few hours.
Updated
