Apple held its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose on Monday and threw a lot of new stuff at us, including a Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR, iOS 13 with a dark mode, MacOS Catalina, an operating system just for the iPad called iPadOS and new features for Watch fans. WWDC 2019 was a lot different than the single-OS conference of 20 years ago and a new experience for some.
If you just want to cut to the chase, here are some highlights:
- Apple iOS 13: New Siri voice, camera tools, Dark Mode for iPhone
- New Mac Pro makes its debut, starts at $5,999
- Apple gives the iPad its own OS
- Apple's new MacOS opens up to iPad apps in the fall
- All the latest from WWDC
As the conference started, Tim Cook gave us:
- A preview of the new Apple TV Plus show, For All Mankind,
- News that Apple TV's TVOS is getting multiuser support,
- and native support for Xbox One S and DualShock controllers, which will work with Apple's forthcoming Arcade gaming service.
He also addressed the big "Is Apple a monopoly" question in an interview with CBS News.
If you want a written play-by-play recap of the entire event, check out our liveblog.
Mac Pro and Apple Pro Display XDR
- The cheese grater is back for 2019 -- but it's modernized, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.Â
- Thanks to the magic of AR, you can see what it will look like on your desk.
- It's beastly, and here are the specs to prove it. Apple's also introduced a custom video accelerator card, called Afterburner, designed specifically for video editing acceleration to support native ProRes and ProRes Raw in 8K. Hello, 1.4 kilowatt power supply. But: optional wheels!
- The rumored 32-inch HDR display (that Apple dubs "XDR") is real as the Pro Display XDR; Apple intends it to replace both reference and working monitors for video editors. It's got a matching cheese-grater back that's also a huge heat sink. The panel has 6,016x3,384 resolution, is true 10-bit, and incorporates a polarizer for better viewing angles, etched glass and a large array of blue LEDs with lenses and local dimming. It supports 1,600 nits peak and 1,000 nits sustained and high contrast.
- The monitor stand costs an extra $1,000, which did not go over well.
- Apple's new Mac Pro with monitor costs $12K, so here are 10 cars that cost less.
IPad now runs iPadOS
- It wasn't announced, but it looks like iPadOS is getting mouse support
- Splitting the operating system lets Apple take better advantage of the bigger screen. It lets you pin widgets to the home screen, provides a better multitasking interface, permits multiple windows in apps with split screen, and has App Expose.
- Now there's a column view in Files, more metadata and quick actions. Also, folder sharing finally comes to iCloud Drive, and you'll be able to attach to network servers.
- It adds support for USB thumb drives and the ability to import photos directly from a camera.
- Safari on iPad will pull the desktop site resized for its display and optimized for touch input.
- There's support for custom fonts from the big foundries, as well as better text selection.
- Apple Pencil has lower latency and is better for doing markup, and Apple has opened the programming interface to other software developers.
- All these changes mean the iPad is more like a laptop than ever.
Coming to the iPhone: iOS 13
- PSA: Your iPhone may not be compatible with iOS 13
- Dark mode is a-comin'. Here's why you should use it.
- It's got a lot of new features, and you can install the beta right now.
- Safari, Mail and Notes get some updates, but the big rewrite is in Reminders; also more detailed maps will arrive in Maps by the end of 2019.
- Apple has cracked down on some privacy tracking including Apple tracking-free single-sign on, and random email addresses with forwarding -- it will also be on the web. Here's how Sign In with Apple works.
- HomeKit security is also improved, and Apple now has a HomeKit-in-routers partner program.
- And, of course, some Memoji upgrades for personalization;Â here's how it works. Now there are automatic sticker packs of your Memoji.
- Portrait lighting effects and an improved editing interface in Photos, as well as the ability to rotate and filter videos. Plus, a new automatic organization of your Camera Roll.
- Siri can read and reply to messages via your AirPods, HandOff to your iPhone is coming to the HomePod, and more personalization across loads of HomePad capabilities.
- iOS 13 will let you share music with an AirPods-equipped friend from one iPhone.Â
- CarPlay has a new dashboard with expanded partner apps.
- Siri's voice sounds a lot more natural, since it's completely procedural rather than pieced-together recorded syllables, and has learned to read incoming Messages.
MacOS Catalina
- The new version of MacOS, version 10.15 or "Catalina", has an iTunes replacement dubbed Music, less-intrusive iPhone integration, a Podcast app with indexing for easy finding, and Apple TV with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support.
- There's a new app called Sidecar that lets you use the iPad as a second display.
- It adds assistive voice control.
- An Activation Lock and Find My comes to MacOS for locking access to your MacBook from thieves.
- Project Catalyst (formerly Marzipan) is only for iPad apps; it permits developers to now easily port their iPad apps to MacOS.
- For developers, RealityKit and Reality Composer updates to ARKit (with built-in motion capture) made Minecraft in the real world possible, and that's just for starters.
- Swift programming language has a new framework to make programming easier.
WWDC 2019: A quick visual recap of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote
See all photosApple Watch and Watch OS 6
- Voice memo and calculator are now on your wrist.
- There are new watch faces for Apple Watch: gradient face, digital face, California Dial and a Solar face with a 24-hour sun path.
- The Apple Watch app store is coming to the device, letting you browse, purchase and install right on the watch.
- There's a redesigned Health app, hearing monitoring app called Noise, and fitness-tracking updates are coming. Also, menstrual cycle tracking is coming to both the Watch and the iPhone.