WWDC 2018 Highlights: What’s New? What’s Missing?

With Apple's WWDC 2018 keynote behind us, it's time to take a look at everything that has been announced. In short, there is plenty of exciting news concerning software. When it comes to hardware, not a single word from Apple. So, let's take a look at the most important announcements and what this means for the future of iOS, MacOS, tvOS, and WatchOS.

iOS 12 Brings Numerous Refinements

We can't say that we've expected a major overhaul of iOS 12, which means that Apple met our expectations. There were numerous announcements regarding iOS 12, giving us a clear glimpse of what is to come.

Almost every popular feature has been refined and expanded. This starts with native first-party apps like News, Stocks, and Voice Memos. All of these apps are being rebuilt and overhauled and for a good reason. Then, there's Apple's big push into Augmented Reality. By partnering with companies like Pixar, Adobe, and Autodesk, we are bound to see hugely capable AR apps in the autumn this year. This also means that Apple is one step closer to becoming the owner of the most powerful AR platform in the world.

Let's not forget that Apple is yet another company that has started to take Digital Wellbeing seriously. There's a refined 'Do Not Disturb' mode as well as a whole new way to interact with notifications. Hopefully, this will make handling overly aggressive notifications much easier. It's also interesting to note that Apple takes care of visual fun. A new type of Animoji is here, called Memoji. You can now create a visual avatar that actually looks like you. We're sure that younger generations will be thrilled about this.

Siri & AI Receive Upgrades

Even though it has been doing an admirable job recently, Apple has still a long way to go with its digital assistant. At the moment, the company believes that the way to go is to let Siri learn your habits. There is a new app called Siri Shortcuts that allows you to integrate this digital assistant with your favorite apps.

MacOS Receives Some Love As Well

Called MacOS Mojave, the upcoming MacOS 10.14 version brings refinements all around. It will receive an all-new Dark Mode, advanced ways of file organization, as well as a bunch of features related to Markup and screenshot grabbing. Make sure to take a look at our overview of the best MacOS Mojave features.

Perhaps the biggest news here is that iOS apps might arrive to MacOS in 2019. Apple has been working on this project for a while now, and it's not ready for primetime yet. However, apps like News and Stocks will be ported iOS versions arriving this year, and we're more than excited to try these out. We won't see iOS and MacOS merging, but the App Store has the power to transform Apple's desktops and notebooks.

We also shouldn't forget to mention to say that the Mac App Store will be overhauled. Sporting a fresh new look, perhaps this effort will pay off - especially since Microsoft and Adobe are willing to offer their applications via this distribution channel.

WatchOS Fights Against Fitbit

Apple's smartwatch was first marketed as the ultimate fashion accessory. Then, Apple switched to a different strategy and focused on its fitness tracking aspects which continued with the WWDC 2018. Among numerous new WatchOS 5 features, we saw the introduction of new types of workouts, better notification management, more capable Siri, podcasts, and everything in between.

Without any doubt, the Apple Watch is a highly capable fitness tracker. The company is doing an amazing job of expanding those features with WatchOS 5 with tools like automatic workout mode and beyond.

Apple TV 4K Becomes Even More Powerful

Even though it's one of the most expensive devices of its kind, the Apple TV 4K is also one of the most capable. With the introduction of Dolby Atmos, this devices goes a huge step beyond its competition. Once tvOS 12 arrives, this will be the only streamer to support Dolby Vision and Atmos at the same time.

Of course, you need plenty of content that supports these technologies. Apple will take care of that by upgrading its iTunes offering of movies and TV shows. For more information, here are all the new tvOS 12 features.

Final Thoughts

Without any doubt, Apple already has a powerful place in today's IT industry and WWDC 2018 has proved that. Maybe this isn't the same Apple from 10+ years ago, willing and ready to take big risks. Today's Apple is more cautious but also more mature. By refining its software's performance, the company is ready to take a bold step into the future, when the right time comes.

What do you think about Apple's WWDC announcements? Let us know in the comments section below. Also, feel free to share this article online. Thanks!