Year after year, following WWDC, I come to similar conclusions. The main one is this: it is a conference of the greatest contrasts. First of all, most commentators have no idea that Monday’s keynote presentation is just the first of five days during which Apple successively unveils all the cards and trains developers to write for their platforms. Second, we like to judge the whole thing based on just the 20%, which we get to meet briefly during the two-hour Apple WWDC Opening Event. And finally, third, we say it’s “nothing revolutionary, just an evolution – Apple is ending”. Was it different this year?
This article is from the archives iMagazine 7/2022
There was not. I myself am trying to release an episode of my podcast with a full synopsis no sooner than a week after all. Why? Because I believe that being fair requires watching carefully at least some of the development sessions and trying to understand what the announced new stuff will actually be. In the background, the day after the first conference, I hear the question: does WWDC 2022 show something that has a chance to affect my daily life – an average user of the Apple ecosystem?
And I fully understand this question. Not everyone is a programmer, but it is for such people that we, commenting on the set, should do our utmost to make our message both understandable and properly thorough. And so, while about 48 hours from the WWDC 2022 opening conference, I heard only: “New lock screen and that’s it”, first impressions for Kowalski could be wrapped up in 5 points short.
Top 5
Personal verification. A feature that allows you to quickly revoke previously granted access (to anything) if needed (e.g. to ex-partners or in case of a crime victim),
Access keys. Another privacy breakthrough from Apple. Now passwords are protected by a new cryptographic technique that binds them with a unique key to a given web address. Thus, the use of Passkeys will be resistant to phishing. Moreover, Apple will open them to computers with other operating systems (any). When you want to log in using Passkeys to a service on a Windows computer, a QR code is displayed, which you will need to scan with your Apple device and then confirm the desire to log in using biometrics.
New focus modes. They make it even easier to separate work from rest, for example by hiding messages and emails from the boss or colleagues while a given mode is running. A small change with big opportunities for absolutely everyone.
Live text camera. Live Text, which debuted a year ago, is now integrated with the Translator app and camera. Why? In order to be able to replace the image (live, on the fly) in the viewfinder of the camera after recognizing the text, using AI and ML so that the same text in a foreign language on a given object either converted into Polish (or other). This is a real change that can help thousands of tourists or people who simply do not know the language of the country they are hosting.
Fitness application. From the fall, this application will be accessible to everyone, even those who do not have an Apple Watch. Plus, it will integrate with other apps (e.g. those for logging calories) so as many people as possible can be motivated by closing the circles. ML and iPhone sensors will be used for this. Plus, Apple has drastically improved the workouts on the Apple Watch itself – there are intervals! Plus, in-depth sleep analysis and a new system app that will automate memorization of medication intake – from A to Z.
Hollywood
We used to watch a lecture. Since 2020, when Apple transitioned to the model without the crowded auditorium of the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, we’ve been watching productions straight out of Hollywood. I definitely feel like I saw more special effects and action throughout the conference than in most recent blockbusters. Is this wrong? I don’t think so but at the same time I wish the marketing of the Cupertino company would put more emphasis on educating the typical user that the annual WWDC is a week of intensive education for hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world, and not a two-hour show.
However, we have to start with ourselves. We, the people who talk and write about technology.
