TeaThe belle of the ball at the 2023 Worldwide Developers Conference in California was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Apple Vision Pro. But along with this sci-fi-esque mixed reality headset our favorite makers of shiny, expensive things have been lovingly crafting for nearly a decade, we were treated to a new Mac Pro and Mac Studio, both from Apple The latest speed demon, the M2 Ultra chip. Oh, and also the first ever 15-inch MacBook Air because why not? Yet, at the end of the grand spectacle that is WWDC, it was a humble software conference that quietly stole the spotlight.
So, while everyone and their dog is talking about the Vision Pro, let’s not forget the unsung heroes: the subtle but excellent software update that’s sure to make using your iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, iPad, and Mac even more enjoyable. Promise use.
I’m not wagging my tongue here based on the slick demos Apple rolled out. I’ve experienced these updates firsthand, after bravely installing the developer preview of iOS 17 on my iPhone, watchOS 10 on my Apple Watch, and iPadOS 17 on my iPad, which I’m using right now as I write this Many pillars. I was reluctant to install macOS Sonoma, a major software update for Mac computers, largely due to lack of time. But from the sampling I’ve sampled so far, I can tell you it’s a pretty impressive spread. And it’s all done in Apple’s distinctively understated style, probably so as not to steal thunder from their new headset.
Diving into iOS and iPadOS 17
Let’s talk about Apple’s two main mobile platforms: iOS and iPadOS, the lifelines of the iPhone and iPad.
Starting with iOS 17, it may not seem like a showstopper at first glance, mostly because Apple whisks through updates faster than a mouse. But there are a slew of changes that I think will make the iPhone even more gratifying to use, and may convince more people to join the iPhone club. For starters, Apple’s Phone app has been developed for the first time in a decade. Your call history can now remember more recent calls, and there’s a voicemail transcription feature that, outside the US, will be as useful as a chocolate teapot. iMessage also gets a slight facelift with live stickers, an improved search interface and live check-ins so you can let your loved ones know you’ve safely reached your destination – great for worried parents and spouses a blessing. You can also show your phone’s cellular signal level and battery life to selected contacts.
Then, there are contact posters. Talk about cool. You can design a poster featuring a photo or Memoji against a nifty background with beautifully formatted text. There’s also NameDrop, a feature that lets you use AirDrop to send your contact details to other iPhone users. No more hassle of entering details manually.
SharePlay has been extended to CarPlay, meaning other iPhones in the car can control the music, not just the one paired with the vehicle. Remember when Apple killed the headphone jack and, by extension, the auxiliary cable in the car? Well, it’s their wireless solution that solves the ever-so-frequent problem.
The iPad also gets some interesting new goodies. The latest keyboards, for one, are the bee’s knees. It’s about 30-40 percent more accurate, even in developer beta stage. Thanks to the use of Apple’s advanced Transformer language model, which can efficiently understand languages and generate human-like text, the keyboard’s accuracy is through the roof. And it learns the way you type – so if you’re about to punctuate your sentences with a colorful array of profanity, it’ll adjust accordingly and not autocorrect your “what the duck”. However, the keyboard looks the same, and you still can’t resize it. But never mind, eh?
Siri also had a slight makeover. You can now say “Siri” instead of “Hey Siri,” which is a bit of a relief. Voice dictation is better, probably because of those clever Transformers models.
Speaking of iPadOS, we now have adaptive and responsive widgets. There’s a new PDF tool that’s so advanced it’ll probably put many of those more expensive apps in the App Store out of business. The lock screen system has been redesigned based on the updates Apple introduced to iOS last year.
In addition, there’s a new Health app on iOS 17 that provides more detailed and relevant information on your personal fitness. The new Wallet app supports third-party credit cards as well as Apple Card, although this may not be of much use to Indian users. Soon, there will be a ‘journal’ app that uses artificial intelligence to suggest when you should write down the day’s events, gradually working on your mood and mental health. Apple has also announced some significant improvements to accessibility, enabling people with speech problems to train their voice on the iPhone and iPad to generate speech in their own voice.
Read also: Steve Jobs’ TV dream died with him – until Apple revived it with the futuristic Vision Pro
watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma
The updates to watchOS 10 are truly transformative. Apps now appear as scrollable stacks of widgets, saving you the hassle of using the tiny digital crown to navigate through tiny iOS icons floating around like planets in a solar system.
We’re treated to new watch faces, including one for fans of Snoopy and Woodstock. The core apps have been updated, and the Cycling app has more detailed cycling features. Apps like Maps and Compass have also got a boost. They now allow users to see when they last had a good cellular signal to a very precise level. Handy for those hiking trips when you struggle to see the bar on your phone.
macOS Sonoma brings much of the same new features as iOS 17, but it also marks the triumphant return of widgets to the desktop. With Safari, any website can be turned into a web app without any additional coding. The website then behaves like a ‘native app’ – an app designed specifically for a particular operating system, which in this case is iOS. Thus, the website has its own toolbar and a place in the macOS Dock. This is a boon for small developers who may not have the resources to develop dedicated Mac apps.
With Sonoma, Apple is also getting serious about gaming on the Mac. They are offering a game porting tool for developers who can now easily adapt their Windows game code for macOS and tune it for M-series processors. Apple claims this will unlock the Mac’s potential as a gaming platform. It’s a promising step, but I’ll believe it when I see more triple-A game titles debut on the platform.
The AirPods Pro also get an upgrade in the form of ‘Adaptive Mode’, which intelligently switches between transparency and noise cancellation modes. This feature makes sure that unnecessary noises are drowned out and you don’t miss anything when someone speaks or a loud horn blares in the background. Moving to tvOS, it now supports FaceTime via the Continuity camera on the iPhone.
None of these updates will set your world on fire, but they do bring real, tangible benefits to users. I can vouch for this, having experienced these amazingly stable developer previews already. And the best part? They are now being offered for free, even to users who don’t have a paid Apple Developer account. Now, isn’t that a wonderful turn of events?
Sahil Mohan Gupta is Editor, Technology, Acko Drive. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)