WWDC 2014: iOS 8, OS X and....

On June 2 at the Moscone West Centre in San Francisco there was held the annual press conference of Apple. Typically, during a June conference the California company presented us new versions of operating systems and Macs. Is this year the same?

The online Apple Store has not announced a break, it became clear, therefore, that the conference will be provided only on the software... When the new equipment is to appear, the shop usually has a technological break, which begins not later than the start of the conference. This time it did not happen.


A moment before the conference photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

First there audience was shown a few commercials, and then Tim Cook entered the scene and started from the memories - it's 25 years since the first conference of Apple... And as usually, he mentioned a few numbers. Cook was speaking and the audience answered with applause. Numbers can impress - such as 9 million registered devs... or over 40 million copies of OS X 10.9 Mavericks installed, which could boast with a rapid adaptation to market.


During the WWDC 2014 photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

Then Craig Federighi entered the stage (who basically was the main showman) and introduced a new installment of OS X: Yosemite. The dock and icons, as well as a set of wallpapers were redesigned. Wow! ;) Macs system became similar to iOS - three-dimensional icons and interface elements disappear, there come more sweet colours. There was added a dark mode, so you can have dark gray toolbars instead of the white translucent framing of prior versions, a new notification centre, most standard Windows applications was modified, but by far the most attention Federighi paid to the styling relish. Translucent stripes, beautiful animations, widgets, transfers... there was no end to delights, a whole lot of magnificence, everything is "awesome".


OS X Yosemite photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

Time for iCloud Drive. Everything you store in iCloud is available in folders from Finder now. We have a common drive for all equipment with OS X and iOS. We may share selected files with friends, simply by sending a secure e-mail link. The files in the iCloud will be arranged in folders, there will also be possible the access from Windows. In Safari favorites are now hidden by default, but users can access these by clicking on the address bar. Sharing out links to social networks has been simplified with a one-click process and RSS feeds will populate in the browser's sidebar.. There is also a new preview of open tabs, private browsing window, and the ability to play movies from Netflix without additional plug-ins. Safari is the fastest browser. Apparently...


New Safari photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

Next novelty: AirDrop now works between iPhone and Mac. Another novelty is the HandOff - you can start editing a document on Mac and end up on iPhone: the document is synchronized while it is being created. That's not all: you can now receive and make calls from your Mac or your iPhone. We can also initiate them from a computer, which is becoming something of a speakerphone. They only need to be within a range of a Wi-Fi network. It's actually practical. And even a bit "great". They even managed to call a new Apple employee, a man named Dr . Dre. Do you know him? A similar synchronization we have with iPad – we can for example open on both devices the same page and edit the same document The Yosemite system is available from today - for developers.


A phone on Mac photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

Time for iOS. Cook again and again the number of buyers... 130 million shoppers buying their first device with iOS. 200 million iPads and over 500 million iPhones, 97% satisfied customers. And apparently ... half of the customers in China passed from Android to iOS. 89% of iOS users are running iOS7. Great success! Cook complaints about Androi , criticizing its fragmentation and susceptibility to viruses. The solution is obvious - the iPhone and iOS8!


iOS 8 photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

The system brings us new, interactive notifications, facilitating callback, sending e-mails or any other interactions with people from your contacts. There were expanded the possibilities of Spotlight. Now it allows to expand the space search using Wikipedia or the AppStore. In iOS 8 there is also a new software keyboard QuickType. It speeds up typing with an improved recommendation engine. iOS 8 has similar options for synchronizing the activities as OS X Yosemite. For example you can answer calls or texting with iPad. The system has also impressive group chats with the option to share location, photos and videos. There are also a couple of other practical solutions: voice text input or gestures service.


iOS 8 photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

According to earlier rumours we also met HealthKit. This application collects in one place information about our health and activity. Instead of using several applications - we have one, how wonderful... From the application, we can provide information about our personal health to our doctor... It certainly revolutionize our health service.


iOS 8 photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

Next novelty in iOS8 is called Family Sharing. It lets you share multimedia, books and applications with six family members. It also allows you to locate them. Perfect for a jealous wife... More good news: the end with the limit on the number of photos on PhotoStream in iCloud. There were added the new options for viewing and editing images. Most of the processes of improving images will be automated, Apple is preparing something interesting for next year... A similar editing program for Macs. In the end we get to know the price of iCloud. 5 GB for free, 20 GB up to 99 cents per month, 200 GB for 3.99 USD. Siri learns to speak in the following 22 languages (not specified which), in the system there will also be introduced additional options specifically for customers in China.


iOS 8 photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

Another entrance of Tim Cook was associated with applications. There are already 1.2 million apps, and the store is visited by 300 million customers per month. There have been 75 billion downloads and now AppStore receives new opportunities. Developers can attach videopresentations and buyers can buy a few applications at one go.


Swift photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

The new API brings a lot of additional opportunities for developers. There is an opportunity to exchange information between applications, as well as... widgets! They will be accessible from the notification centre. There was also expanded the use of Touch ID - now you can use the sensor directly in applications. There were also provided new API of a camera. All these solutions are combined in HomeKit - a tool for creating an intelligent home, integrated with Siri. Applications can also store some information in the cloud, and the solution called Metal provides improved processing capabilities of 3D graphics by A7 processor. Apart from Metal there was also shown some other solutions for developers and a new programming language - Swift. It is to accelerate application development...

The iOS 8 beta will be available from today, there was also announced the list of devices, which it will go to. Here it is:


Devices which will get iOS 8 photo: GSMchoice.com via Apple stream

At the end of the conference, Cook said a few words about the magnificence of Apple and - what came out quite pleasantly - thanked all employees of the group, and those of them who participated in the conference asked for a rise – to make them proud of themselves. This nice touch ended the June conference. Unfortunately, there was no iWatch or a new iPhone or even a new Mac. Apart from a phone call to Dr. Dre it was not mentioned about the recently bought Beats Audio. I guess we have to wait until September...