WWDC 2015 Roundup: OS X El Capitan, iOS 9 & More
Posted June 11th, 2015 by Hunter S in News
During Apple's World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC) keynote this year, Apple showed off OS X 10.11 El Capitan, iOS 9 and Apple Music - along with a few other things. Here, we provide you with a quick glimpse of what was announced at WWDC.
OS X 10.11 El Capitan
The next version of OS X, 10.11 El Capitan, features the same design as Yosemite. El Capitan will include performance increases, new gestures, an updated Spotlight with new search features and even the ability to move the Spotlight windows around the desktop. Mission Control received an update to help users better manage their windows and desktops. Mail received some small, but functional enhancements - such as tabs and better search.
El Capitan will be available later this Fall for a public release, which will be a free upgrade for qualifying Macs. All Macs capable of running Yosemite will be able to update to El Capitan. A public beta will be available later this Summer. Visit beta.apple.com to enroll in the beta program.
Click here to learn more about OS X El Capitan
iOS 9
Apple previewed iOS 9 with many new features available to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple updated several applications, one of which being the Notes app. Notes in iOS 9 allows for embedded photos and links, robust text formatting options, hand-drawn sketches and new options for organizing and managing notes. Maps now includes transit maps (for select cities upon launch), allowing users who use public transit to better utilize the Maps service. Siri received updates to improve contextual awareness, making Siri smarter and more aware of what you are doing on your device at a given time. iPad (iPad Air 2, in particular) features new multitasking functions, allowing users to use two applications at the same time and view picture-in-picture video. iPad now includes QuickType, an update to the keyboard which includes convenient hotkeys such as cut and paste, as well as the ability to use two fingers on the keyboard to highlight text and maneuver the cursor much like a MacBook trackpad. To learn more about multitasking, click here.
iOS 9 is a free upgrade available to users later this year. Supported devices include iPhone 4S, 5, 5C, 5S, 6, 6 Plus, iPad 2, 3, 4, Air and Air 2 - as well as the fifth generation iPod touch.
Read more about iOS 9 here, and about iOS 9 features not announced at WWDC here
Apple Music
Apple Music is a comprehensive digital music service that will replace the current Music app when iOS 8.4 is released. The service features Beats 1 Radio, a 24/7 global radio station featuring renowned DJ's broadcasting from LA, New York and London. Apple Music also includes the entire iTunes library of music available for streaming or saving for offline listening. Apple Music also features new and exciting ways for consumers to discover new music as well as artists to reach out and connect with fans through the Connect feature. The service will launch on June 30, for $9.99 per month or $14.99 per month for a family plan. The family plan allows six family members who are set up with Family Sharing to access the service from all of their devices.
Read more about Apple Music here
Apple Watch
Apple previewed watchOS 2, the new operating system for the Apple Watch. The new update, coming later this year, includes native apps for the Apple Watch. This allows apps to run off of the watch itself instead of relying on a paired iPhone. New watch faces are also added, such as time lapse photos and the ability for users to use their own photos as watch faces.
Swift2 Programming Language
Apple's new programming language, Swift, which they introduced last year, received an update and is now open source. Swift is now supported on Linux. Previously, Swift was only supported for Mac OS X and iOS.
This year's WWDC was packed full of new products and services. If you have any questions about the new operating systems, Apple Music or anything else announced at WWDC, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out to us via web chat!