What Apple Announced in Yesterday's WWDC16

Apple announced a lot of new and exciting news in its WWDC16 keynote yesterday, June 13.  There were a lot of updates to almost all of the operating systems of Apple, from iOS, tvOS, watchOS to the Mac operating system, OSX.

Here is a summary of the major updates we will see in the coming months.

iOS 10

The operating system running your iPhone and iPads is going to have a major update, bumping it to version 10, according to Apple, this is their biggest release for iOS yet.  Here are the notable features Apple announced:

• You will now be able to write messages in your own handwriting, the recipients will see an animated message just like it flows on paper.
• Customizable bubbles, you can now choose how the bubbles in your conversations will look.
• The screen in messages will now come to life, with your greetings filling up the whole screen.

• You can now send a lot of personalizations, the messages app really comes to life with iOS10.  Personalizations may include fireballs, sketches, heartbeats and more.  And now you can draw over your videos.

• Following the success of stickers in Viber, iMessage now has stickers available from the App store, you can send these stickers together with your message.
• iMessage apps - you can now access various apps right from iMessage so you don't have to leave the app so you can share content and pay bills while writing your message.
• Siri is improving a lot! Siri will now work with a lot of apps from the App Store, so you can ask Siri to book a ride through Lyft or send money to someone with Square.
• The Maps application for iOS will also be improved, it will be integrated with a lot of popular apps like Uber and OpenTable.  Maps gets smarter, it will give you proactive suggestions on where you're most likely to go and the quickest way to get there.
• iOS 10 is getting started on the Smart Home initiative, the new Home App will allow you to connect to smart devices in your home and allow you to turn on lights and unlock doors.
• The music app in iOS 10 has been redesigned, it now has the feature of viewing lyrics while listening to your songs.
• No need to press the home button to wake up your phone, just raise it up and the iPhone gets activated, with all your notifications shown.
• You can now view photos and videos and also reply to a text message right from your notifications screen.
• The News app also gets a redesign, giving you a cleaner look for when reading your favorite articles.

macOS Sierra

We move next to the operating system on your Macs, the macOS.  The next major version is now named Sierra and here are the significant changes we are excited about:

• As expected, Siri now makes its debut on the Mac.  Siri will be able to help you do multi-tasking on your Mac, so you can concentrate on doing your own work.  For example, you can ask Siri to send a message to your co-worker while finishing up your report.  Siri can also assist you in searching for files on your Mac, all just by talking to Siri.  All the familiar features of Siri on iOS and more, now on your Mac.

• Photos.  The Photos App gets new features like Memories, this will let you turn your photos into unforgettable experiences called memories.  The face recognition in Photos has also been improved and now lets you display your pictures on a world map and the ability to search photos by the objects and scenery in them.
• Apple Pay is now integrated in Safari.  Online shopping is now more secure and convenient than ever.  Look for Apple Pay in most of your favorite online shopping sites, and you can just complete your purchase with touch ID on your iPhone or double clicking on the side button of your Apple Watch.  The best thing about this is that your credit card details are never shared.
• Auto unlock with Apple Watch.  If you're wearing your Apple Watch, you no longer need to type your password to open your Mac.  The Mac will detect your Apple Watch and be ready to work for you.
• Universal Clipboard.  Now you can copy images, text or video on you iPhone and paste them right into your Mac and vice-versa.
• Optimized Storage.  If your hitting the maximum capacity of your storage on your Mac, macOS Sierra can keep track of your rarely used documents and store them in the Cloud, freeing up valuable space on your Mac.
• Similar to the updates on the messages app in iOS, the messages app in macOS also gets the emojis and gets all the features to let you be more expressive in your messages.
• iTunes.  Music in iTunes gets revamped, with this, hopefully, it would be easier to find existing songs and discover new ones.
• Tabs comes to the applications on your Mac.  Similar to the tabs feature in Safari, with macOS Sierra, you can have multiple documents open in different tabs so you can avoid the desktop clutter with many documents open at a time.
• Getting a cue from the picture in picture feature in iOS, videos on the Mac can now be floated and put in any corner of your desktop so you can watch videos while working on some other thing.

watchOS

No new Apple Watch yet, but this watchOS upgrade bring a lot of new functionality and speed to your existing Apple Watch.

• The new watchOS will allow apps to launch instantly.  This is probably because of the common feedback from most Apple Watch owners that it takes some time to open Apple watch Apps.  Now apps will launch instantly with updated information.  The new watchOS will also feature an all new dock which you can access just by clicking the side button on your Apple Watch.  And now, swiping from the bottom of your watch face brings up control center for your most used settings.
• Another update probably due to popular demand are the new Apple Watch faces, new set of faces to choose from.
• Activity Sharing.  Now you have the ability to share your Activity rings with family and friends.
• Breathe App.  The all new Breathe app will guide your through a series of deep breaths that can help you manage everyday stress or just settle you down for a moment.
• You can now also write messages with your own handwriting on Apple Watch, similar to the new feature on iOS.

• The Apple Watch gets connected to your Smart Home too! You can now control your Smart devices in your home right from the Apple Watch Home app.
• Emergency Calls! Press and hold the side button and no matter where you are in the world, SOS initiates a call with local emergency services.

tvOS

As this refers to tvOS, the previous Apple TV generations are out of luck, this update only applies to the latest Apple TV with Siri version.

• As with all the coming updates, Siri on the Apple TV gets smarter, a lot smarter.  Siri will be able to interpret multi criteria searches like "Show me spy movies from the 1960's" or just say what you want to search for in YouTube.
• Single Sign-On.  With single sign-on, you can enter your cable or satellite subscription credentials on Apple TV and immediately, you will be able to access all the options and all the apps that your subscription package allows.
• You can now choose the look and feel of your screen, you can choose light or dark options and make the effects of the icons different.
• The new Memories feature also comes to the Photos App in Apple TV.
• The revamped Music App also gets updated in the Apple TV.
• Apple TV Remote App.  You can now command Siri right from your iPhone using the Apple TV remote app.
• As part of Apple's overall Smart Home initiative, you can now also control your Smart devices in your home from the Apple TV.
• Apps now sync between your iPhone and Apple TV.  When you download a universal app on your iOS device, it automatically downloads the same app to your Apple TV.

So there you have it, pretty exciting new features from Apple coming this fall.