WWDC 2016

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on WWDC 2016:

Apple Music loses top exec to Uber

By

Bozoma Saint John
Bozoma Saint John is in charge of hyping Apple Music.
Photo: Apple

This story has been updated to include comments from Bozoma Saint John.

Bozoma Saint John, one of Apple’s most entertaining keynote presenters, is leaving the company to work for Uber as the ride-sharing startup’s chief brand officer.

Her task? Fixing Uber’s tarnished image in the wake of sexual harassment allegations and other recent turmoil

Big iPad update will make Apple Pencil more powerful

By

9.7-inch iPad Pro
iPad Pro is about to become an even better PC replacement.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning to make some huge improvements to the software on the iPad, but owners will have to wait until next year to try it out.

One of the biggest new features could involve the Apple Pencil, according to a new report that claims Apple’s big update will bring a powerful annotation feature to the device aimed at professional users.

Apple drops iOS 10 beta 2 for developers

By

iOS 10 lockscreen

Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first big beta update for iOS 10 has finally arrived, nearly a month after Apple unveiled its upcoming mobile operating system to developers at WWDC.

Apple seeded iOS 10 beta 2 to developers this morning, allowing testers to get a new look at all the bug fixes and UI tweaks that have been added.

Apple Watch is getting better at fitness tracking, but it still sucks for running

By

Activity app rocks. Workout app sucks.
Activity app rocks. Workout app sucks.
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

At WWDC this week, Apple all but confirmed that Apple Watch is really just a health gadget. Tim Cook described it offhandedly as a “device for a healthy life,” and most of the watchOS 3 segment of the keynote was devoted to health and fitness.

This focus on health makes sense. As an activity tracker, Apple Watch is arguably the best on the market, and watchOS 3 will make it even better. Apple’s wearable is ideal if you are simply looking to live a healthier day. But, despite some minor improvements, Apple Watch still sucks if you are into running.

Best of WWDC 2016: Hands-on with iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS, watchOS 3, and more

By

Apple laid out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016.
Apple laid out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Cult of Mac has all of this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference covered for you. Check out all the WWDC 2016 announcements worth getting excited about as well as the best hidden iOS features not mentioned by Apple.

It’s all in this week’s free Cult of Mac Magazine. We give you hands-on videos of the latest developments including iOS 10, macOS Sierra, tvOS and watchOS 3. Plus, how to improve your fitness with Apple Watch.

Here are this week’s top stories.

Apple reveals why iMessage isn’t coming to Android

By

Messages iOS 10
That doesn't mean you should stop using it.
Photo: Apple

Android fans who have been waiting for Apple to bring its popular iMessage platform to Android won’t be getting blue chat bubbles anytime soon, according to Apple executives at WWDC.

Despite pre-WWDC rumors that Apple planned to push iMessage across the Android divide, the company revealed this week that it has some pretty good reasons to keep it as an exclusive iOS feature.

tvOS 10 hands on: Taking Apple TV to the next level

By

Apple TV remote
Check out the betas for tvOS and the new iOS Remote app in action.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Along with macOS, iOS and watchOS Apple recently unveiled the latest system update to their Apple TV operating system: tvOS 10.

tvOS 10 brings some great new additions along with a new iOS remote app. To see the new Apple TV and remote app updates in action, check out the video below.

macOS Sierra hands on: Apple’s best desktop OS yet

By

macOS Siri
Watch macOS Sierra's latest features in action.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The first macOS beta was released this week, so of course I downloaded it straight away on my Mac to bring you all a quick hands on video.

Although this is still the first beta, and many functions still don’t work as intended, it gives us our first glimpse at Apple’s next-gen desktop OS in action. Check out the macOS Sierra hands on video below.

iOS 10 hands on: Your iPhone will never be the same

By

iOS 10 hands on
What new features will wow you the most in iOS 10?
Photo:

With a host of new features, many of which go more than just skin deep, iOS 10 will bring loads of new functionality to iPhones and iPads.

We got the developer beta up and running to get a look at all the new iOS 10 features in action, and caught it all on video to share with you. Get a glimpse of the iPhone’s future in our iOS hands-on video.

Apple crowns its 12 favorite apps of 2016

By

Safari iOS 11
Download these apps pronto.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

To top off its monstrous opening day of WWDC 2016, Apple revealed the winners of its 2016 Apple Design Awards. The 10 developer apps and 2 student selections showcase the cutting edge of iOS technology by pushing their genres to new levels.

Games were the big winners last year, but this year Apple has highlighted everything from audio creation tools to a beautiful writing app.

And the winners are …

Just in time for WWDC 2016, learn how to develop for iOS [Deals]

By

iOS Coding Mainframe
Learn Swift and other key programming languages to start making apps for iPhone and iPad.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

With all the great minds working at and with Apple coming together again for WWDC 2016, we’re sharing deals aimed at developers new and seasoned alike. These lessons in Swift, Objective-C, Xcode and other essential iOS languages and frameworks will get you up to speed with some of the most lucrative and in-demand skills in today’s job market. Take a look:

Apple gives devs the chance to harness power of neural networks

By

3238821080_94b424563c_b-2
A rough approximation of a neural network.
Photo: Fdecomite/Flickr CC

Apple is making a new push into artificial intelligence, giving developers access to the company’s neural network technology in a move that should mean big things for apps you’ll use in the future.

While opening up Siri to third-party developers was the most attention-grabbing news coming out of yesterday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple has also revealed that it is will allow developers to tap into the company’s artificial neural network technology. And once the dust is settled, this could turn out to be the biggest development of WWDC, bar none!

At WWDC 2016, Apple strengthens bonds between increasingly powerful platforms

By

Apple lays out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016.
Apple lays out the future of its evolving ecosystem at WWDC 2016.
Photo: Apple

With absolutely no new hardware to show off, Apple focused on software — the glue that binds together its increasingly powerful and interconnected platforms — during the Worldwide Developers Conference kick-off event Monday.

“Our North Star has always been about improving people’s lives by creating great products that change the world,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, addressing thousands of developers in San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. “Today for the very first time, we are going to talk to you about four Apple platforms. Each of these platforms is category-defining and world-changing.”

Apple quietly killed Game Center app today

By

Game Center is causing some problems for iOS 9 updaters.
Farewell, Game Center. We hardly knew (or used) you.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

Game Center finally met its demise this morning with the unveiling of iOS 10, which effectively kills Apple’s attempt at creating a gaming social network.

Starting with iOS 10, the Game Center app will no longer be found on iPhones and iPads, after having been preinstalled on devices for years. Apple isn’t just adding it to the list of stock iOS apps you can delete, though. It’s actually getting rid of the platform altogether in favor of GameKit.

Everything from WWDC 2016 worth getting excited about

By

There's some exciting stuff at WWDC.
There's some exciting stuff at WWDC.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Although WWDC is a developer event, Apple’s keynote today was chockablock with features for end-users. It came thick and fast, with updates for watches, TVs, phones and computers.

There’s lots to unpack. Some of it was ho-hum. Siri on the Mac? Meh. A new app called Breathe? To do what exactly — remind you to inhale?

But there was tons of great stuff. Here are the features big and small that we’re most excited about.

You can now watch Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote online

By

Sign off
Apple just posted its WWDC 2016 keynote video.
Photo: Apple

Didn’t have time to catch Apple’s huge keynote this morning? You could go back through Cult of Mac’s liveblog to relive all the action. Or if you’d prefer the real thing, Apple just posted a video of the two-hour event on its homepage.

The new video covers all of the changes that Apple unveiled today for iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3, and some new Apple TV software too. Apple topped off the event with a video celebrating developers who took their first step into coding with Apple’s Swift programming language.

 

Apple gives first look at iOS 10 in new video

By

iOS 10 launches this fall.
iOS 10 launches this fall.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s big iOS 10 update for iPhones and iPads won’t be available to the public until later this fall, but the company has already started hyping its launch with a new teaser video.

iOS 10 packs 10 big additions that change everything from the lock screen’s UI, Siri, and how you’ll interact with friends in Messages. We’re still diving into all the new features in the first developer beta. In the meantime, you can get your first glimpse of iOS 10 below:

Siri comes to Mac and opens up to developers

By

Siri is coming to the Mac, and will be opened to third-party developers on iOS.
Siri is coming to the Mac, and will be opened to third-party developers on iOS.
Photo: Apple

Big changes are coming to Siri, Apple’s intelligent voice-activated assistant. For the first time, Siri will be available on the Mac and will be opened to third-party developers on iOS.

While Siri was one of the first voice-controlled AI assistants on the market, it’s fallen behind competitors like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Now, largely because it was a closed system that worked only in Apple’s apps. Opening it to developers makes it much more functional, and presents a more serious challenge to upstarts like Viv that promise to help with a wide range of services and tasks.

Apple unveils iOS 10, its biggest update ever

By

iOS 10
iOS 10 is huge!
Photo: Apple

The next big iOS update for iPhones and iPads was unveiled by Apple today at WWDC and it comes with some gigantic new features to go along with an even bigger Siri upgrade.

iOS 10 is the “mother of all releases” according to Tim Cook. It comes with 10 big new features that make Siri more powerful than ever, plus some much needed changes to the way you interact with the lock screen and homescreen thanks to interactive notifications, widgets, and deeper 3D Touch integration.

WWDC liveblog: Apple reveals the future of iOS and OS X

By

Mo money, mo problems.
Mo money, mo problems.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

Nerds rejoice. WWDC is finally here!

Apple’s annual developer conference is set to get underway in just a few hours. The company is expected to unveil the future of iOS, OS X, Apple Watch, Siri and much more in what is expected to be one of the most action-packed keynotes we’ve seen in years.

Cult of Mac will be liveblogging all the action of today’s events right here and we won’t stop until every last morsel of info has been dished out by Tim Cook and the rest of Apple’s team. If you’re not sure what to expect from today’s keynote, take a look at this quick refresher — “Everything to expect from Apple’s jam-packed WWDC 2016 keynote” — and then join us for our WWDC liveblog below. The keynote starts Monday at 10 a.m. Pacific.

Long lines make WWDC look like an iPhone launch

By

Apple has taken over Bill Graham Auditorium.
Apple has taken over Bill Graham Auditorium.
Photo: Milo Kahney/Cult of Mac

WWDC is set to kick off in less than 90 minutes and the lines (and hype) building around the event have reached an all-new level of insanity.

Showing up a few hours early to the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco was not enough to secure a front row seat to this year’s keynote, thanks to the lines that are so huge you’d think a new iPhone is launching.

Check out how long the line was at 6 a.m.: