Unveil

Apple unveils its latest operating systems and features, including iPhone car keys

Wednesday, June 24, 2020 by Snacks
_Settling in for a week-long conference_

Settling in for a week-long conference

Sounds like a pro wrestling match... WWDC 2020 is Apple's annual developers conference, where it shows off its latest software goodies. App developers eagerly await the week in June, crossing out days on their iCals. Apple says there are now over 1 Trillion ways to customize your identity with Memoji. But there's only one way to hold a massive event during a pandemic: online.

iSpy some changes... Meet the new iPhone operating system: iOS 14. Some of our Snacks highlights:

  • Defaults: You can now set a default mail app (hello Gmail) and a default browser (goodbye Safari).
  • Home screen fun: The "App Library" automatically organizes apps into sensical folders. You can also drag big widgets (like a Weather page or Calendar day) and pin them on your screen for real-time updates.
  • Picture-in-Picture: Keep watching Apple TV or Facetiming while scrolling — the video keeps playing in the corner of the screen while you multitask. Only works for Apple apps, for now (no Netflix/YouTube).
  • App Clips: Tiny apps that have specific functions, for when you need to do something like pay a bill or rent a scooter (but don't want to download the actual app).
  • Slack’ified group messaging: You can now reply inline (in a thread) and mention people in group messages. Also, you can choose to only be notified when you're @'d.
  • Digital car keys: Unlock and start your car via iPhone. You can also share keys with others through iMessage (and deactivate whenever). The 1st car to support this will be the 2021 BMW 5-series.
THE TAKEAWAY

The "new new" hype is crucial... to Apple's sales growth. It obviously doesn’t want us holding onto our Macs for 5+ years. Apple had to pay a $500M fine over a lawsuit that alleged it was purposely slowing down older iPhones to make you buy a new one. But these annual shows are a positive way for Apple to stoke enthusiasm over its latest products. The novelty factor is key. TBD if Apple can come up with cool new features indefinitely.

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