Apple WWDC 2019 update

Apple WWDC 2019

GadgetGuy presents a curated and brief overview of the Apple WWDC 2019 conference – an event for developers.

In this edition

  • tvOS 13 for Apple TV HD and 4K
  • watchOS 6
  • iOS 13
  • iPadOS
  • macOS Catalina
  • New Technologies for App Development
  • Mac Pro
  • Pro Display XDR

Apple WWDC 2019 conference is over while the focus was on Apple developers it portends the future of the Apple ecosystem. This is a highly curated overview – just the facts mam! You can read more here.

tvOS for Apple TV – developer preview, not available yet

In brief: New Home screen; multi-user support for customers to access their TV shows, movies, music and recommendations; support for Apple Arcade; Xbox One S and PlayStation DualShock 4 support; and new undersea 4K HDR screen savers.

Apple WWDC 2019

watchOS 6 – developer preview, not available yet

In brief: Menstrual Cycle Tracking (also on iOS 13); Noise app (measures dB and sends alerts >90dB); Activity Trends (long term activity tracker and key metrics); App Store on the Wrist (view and install apps without an iPhone); new watch faces; new developer tools; new watch bands including LGBTQ choices

Apple WWDC 2019

iOS 13 – developer preview, not available yet

In brief: Dark Mode colour scheme for iPhone; new ways to browse and edit photos via machine learning, recognition and categorisation; sign in with Apple to apps and websites (no more Facebook or other sign ins); and new map database, 3D photography and more POIs. iOS 13 is faster and more responsive with optimisations across the system that improve app launch, reduce app download sizes and faster Face ID. 

Apple WWDC 2019

iPad OS – developer preview, not available yet

In brief: A spin-off (fork) from iOS specifically for the iPad with a larger display. Support for multiple windows (split view and slide over); Apple Pencil (if the iPad model supports it); USB for external drives, SD cards or log into an SMB file server; iCloud Drive support for folder sharing; desktop version of Safari; Dark mode; custom fonts; and performance improvements.

macOS Catalina – – developer preview, not available yet

In brief: iTunes out, Apple Music/Podcasts/TV in (support for existing music purchases and playlists); sidecar to use iPad as a second mac screen or tablet input device (over Wi-Fi network); voice control using Siri; new security and individual app permission, Find my Mac app; screen time (digital health)

New Technologies for App Development

In brief: New migration tools for iOS apps to Mac; new SwiftUI incorporates most new features and enables one app for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS; Xcode 11 graphical design tool; ARKit 3 Augmented reality kit; Core ML and create ML for real-time machine learning; Apple watch apps that don’t require a companion iPhone; Apple ID sign in; new APIs for Pencil, Map, Siri, Metal apps for iOS ad iPadOS.

Apple WWDC 2019

Mac Pro – available ‘Spring.’

In brief: No more waste paper basket – enter the uber cheese grater. Expect to mortgage your first born for the full kit.

Features up to 28-core Xeon processors; 1.5TB memory capacity in 12 slots; eight PCIe expansion slots (64 PCIe lanes); Apple Afterburner accelerator card for up to three streams of simultaneous 8K ProRes RAW video playback; 300W power and thermal architecture; Radeon options from Pro 580X to dual Pro Vega II, featuring up to 14/28 teraflops of compute performance and 32/64GB of memory with 1TB/s of memory bandwidth or add another two via a second MPX module.

 Pro Display XDR

In brief: 32-inch, 6016 x 3384 (6K); P3 and 10-bit (dithered) wide colour gamut; polarised anti-glare coating for off-angle viewing; 1600 nits peak brightness (1000 typical); 1,000,000:1 contrast; narrow bezels, counterbalance stand rotates to portrait; Thunderbolt 3 connection for daisy chain up to six displays.

Apple WWDC 2019