Apple WWDC 2020 | Our top 5 picks

Apple’s WWDC 2020 took place as always it happens in the month of June every year. We will see if this year's WWDC will able to top WWDC 2019. But this year’s WWDC was unique even before the event took place. We all know that the whole world is caught up in the effect of coronavirus pandemic and it has also affected the tech world. Most of the events were forced to be canceled but thankfully WWDC 2020 was not canceled. And for the first time in history, Apple WWDC took place exclusively online with no in-person event. One of the pros among the cons of this format is that all 23 million Apple developers are able to attend and it's free for registered developers. This year they didn’t reveal any hardware but it had plenty of exciting software changes coming. Many exciting and important announcements were made on the event, some of which you might have been expecting & some may catch you by surprise. And below we have our top 5 picks listed.

iOS 14

With iOS14, Apple is giving many updates that fans have been asking for years. The most notable change can be seen on widgets that one can place on their home screen. Apple is debuting these new widgets in different shapes and sizes. One will be able to get more of them through the Widget Gallery. Finally, Apple brings PiP(Picture in Picture) mode. It arrives with updates on Siri. Now Siri won’t take the full screen, as they have opted for a small popup at the bottom of the display, and also can send audio messages.

It has also added App Library, a new feature that automatically organizes apps based on their categories. We will also be getting more varied Memoji with iOS 14. It also comes with features like Smart Home controls, Update in Privacy, Carplay, Updates in Maps, and iMessage & App Clips.  

iPadOS 14

Similar to the iOS 14 many features are coming to the iPadOS 14. One of the important tweaks on the iPadOS 14 has to be the new sidebar. Sidebar offers shortcuts and handy perks, you can think of similar toolboxes and panels in Adobe apps along with the expanded menu dropdowns. Apple has also updated the search on iPad that looks exactly the same as Spotlight on macOS. Now it has the ability to search from within the apps or search the web. And it has also made Apple Pencil improvements, Apple has introduced a new feature dubbed as Scribble. Scribble allows us to write in any text field with the Apple Pencil which will be automatically converted to text. 

watchOS 7

Apple is bringing some interesting features and updates on your wrist. Apple has come with a new feature face-swapping on watchOS 7 making it very easy to get and share new watch faces. After numerous rumors & speculations, Apple has finally brought the sleep tracking feature at last. It will analyze the sleep data within the Apple Health app. It will be getting a new health feature, i.e. automatic handwash detection. Now your watch will use machine learning to determine whether you are washing your hands for a proper time interval. The watch’s microphones will monitor the audio of water-splashing to confirm, then it will start a countdown on the watch face and let you know that you have done a good job. Apple has renamed the Workout app to Fitness, which will now be able to track new activities like dancing, core training, and functional strength training.

macOS 11 Big Sur

The next version of macOS is dubbed as the macOS Big Sur. The new version will be getting various updates and tweaks on it. It has got a new design, a redesigned notification center, and many more changes. It has got a number of its features from iOS and iPad OS 14, like Control Center, a new notification center, etc. Apple has also updated its safari, that brings intuitive customization options, improves on industry-leading performance and battery life, and introduces powerful new features designed to protect your privacy. Messages app has also got an update. There’s also a new version of Maps for macOS Big Sur that lets you easily research destinations in advance. Most of Apple’s first-party apps such as Mail, Photos, Notes, and iWork have also got redesigns. 

tvOS 14

We all know that tvOS is Apple's dedicated operating system for the Apple TV. It will come with improved multi-user support. The support will be added for specialty the Xbox Elite 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controller. It will help you track individual achievements and Arcade games will resume instantly to the same place without depleting one’s progress so others will be able to play arcade titles. And another important upgrade, Apple TV is getting picture-in-picture feature in tvOS 14. It will also arrive with a redesigned control center, improved audio & video sharing feature, new home security features, etc. So, be ready for some intense gaming as it has focused on gaming compared to its predecessors. 

So, these are our top picks among the other announcements made by the brand in WWDC 2020. We are extremely happy that the event was not canceled and we got to view the event online. Other announcements from the events were Mac transitions to ARM, HomeKit, ARKit, New Processors on Macs, etc. So, what are your thoughts about the announcements on Apple WWDC 2020?