Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference kicked off today, June 13th, with a keynote at 10 AM PST. The conference is held annually each year to showcase new technologies and software for software developers, and also to give interested users a sneak preview of what’s to come in the following months. This year, Apple touched base on updates for all four of their operating systems: watchOS, tvOS, macOS, and iOS. However, out of all of these, the update we were most keen on here at PhoneDog was (naturally) iOS.
Notification and Lock Screen
The first thing announced for iOS 10 is enhanced usage of the Notification and Lock screens using 3D Touch. You can now interact with notifications on the lock screen such as checking Calendar events, viewing and responding to messages, and more. Control Center has also been redesigned. It now separates Music to include album art and additional options, as well as separating additional widgets with a swipe to the left. Accessing the camera has also been changed with a new swipe gesture.
Siri
Apple announced that Siri will be open to developers in iOS 10, and will be able to work with third-party apps. In addition, Siri technology will soon be included with QuickType. Siri will be able to create intelligent suggestions, current locations, contact information, calendar availability, and more as you type or dictate text.
Photos
Photos receive some love with iOS 10 as well. You’ll now be able to see all of your photos on a map depending on where photos were taken. Apple is also incorporating Face and Object & Scene recognition. This will allow you to do some “powerful searching” on your device when looking for photos. Photos will also include a new “Memories” feature, where the application can group similar photos and turn them into a summary of highlights from a certain day or trip, and will generate a short movie and suggestions for related memories. You can even choose the setting for your movie (such as “happy”, “epic”, etc.) to change the music and setting of the movie.
Maps
Apple Maps will be updated with an all new design by being more proactive and updating the way you search for nearby places. Navigation will now provide more information, such as traffic on route. "Search along route" will allow you to incorporate stops along the way (and updates the time it takes to get to your destination). This will also be included on CarPlay. Apple announced that they will also be opening Maps up to developers, so you’ll be able to do more without ever leaving Maps.
Apple Music
Apple Music also receives a redesign. Apple claims that the new design “makes it clearer”, “more intuitive”, and “easier to navigate”. The new Playing Now screen includes lyrics. The update will also come to Android.
News
iOS 10 seems like it’s all about redesign, and News is also included. A new intuitive redesign comes to Apple News, as well as the addition of Subscriptions. News will also come with Breaking News Notifications.
HomeKit
HomeKit receives updates in what Apple claims is the “Next Big Step”, starting off with a new app called Home. The new Home app allows you to customize different accessories in your home individually, or you can control them all at once (turning all applications off or on depending on whether you’re going to sleep or waking up). You can also control your Home from Control Center, so you don’t actually have to open the app if you don’t want to. Home is available for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
Phone
Voicemail transcription comes to the Phone aspect of your smartphone (what’s a phone?). Tencent Security will be able to screen for potential spam callers.
Messages
Messages receives a horde of updates as well, starting with the addition of Rich Links, which give you a visual preview of links. Live preview of the front-facing camera is now included when you bring up photos, and emojis are three times bigger. Apple makes using Emoji easy by highlighting your “emojifiable” words so you can replace real words with pictures. You can also make text smaller or bigger, and you can use “invisible ink” for surprise texts and photos. Stickers, similar to those in the Facebook Messaging app, will be included. Handwritten messages are now supported directly through iMessage, as well as Digital Touch. Full screen effects make a debut, which uses the background of a chat thread for big effects. Apple Music will be supported within iMessage, so you can even share music to your friends.
iMessage will also be open to developers as well, so truly iMessage has gone through – and will continue go through – a major transformation with iOS 10.
As we can see, there are a lot of updates and changes coming to iOS in iOS 10, all of which seem like great enhancements. Unfortunately, no mention of Dark Mode or iMessage on Android yet. Developer preview begins today, and public beta begins in July. iOS 10 will officially be available starting this fall to eligible devices.
Readers, which updates are you most excited to use in iOS 10?