WWDC 2019

The coronavirus killed another major tech event today as Facebook revealed the in-person component of its annual F8 developers’ conference is canceled due to concerns around the coronavirus COVID-19.

Facebook’s move comes close to the time when Apple normally announces the dates for its Worldwide Developers Conference. The iPhone-maker revealed WWDC 2019 dates on March 14 last year, but with more and more tech events getting shut down, it could change Apple’s plans for its biggest conference of the year.

The iPhone finally joined the dark side with the new Dark Mode feature introduced in iOS 13. Apple delighted fans who have been clamoring for the feature for years — and it appears the wait has been worth it.

After using Dark Mode, I don’t think I’ll be going back to the bright white iOS interface anytime soon. Apple poured a bunch of thought into Dark Mode so that it does more than just make everything black.

Apple submitted multiple requests to the Trump administration asking that the government exclude Mac Pro parts from a 25% import tariff.

Production of the Mac Pro moved to China this year as Apple moves on from the “trash can” Mac Pro design manufactured in Austin, Texas. In nearly all 15 of its filings, Apple says there are no other sources for the proprietary, Apple-designed components.

Coming to iPhone and Mac is a tool that examines images looking for cats and dogs. But the goal isn’t an app that allows people to walk around with an iPhone identifying the species of random critters. As fun as that might be, Apple is using machine learning to provide developers a powerful tool for identifying object of any type in images.

During the WWDC 2019 keynote, most of Apple’s latest creations drew enthusiastic applause, with one notable exception. The price of Apple’s new Pro Display XDR elicited a somewhat cooler response. But considering just how expensive the monitor is, the fact that it got any applause at all was pretty remarkable.

This is not the first time Apple has had to convince us to pony up for an eye-watering sticker price. Cupertino pulls from a well-established playbook for its keynotes, often employing behavioral science techniques to help soften the blow. (To our brains at least, if not to our wallets).

The warp-speed WWDC 2019 keynote truly delivered the goods. Tim Cook and his lieutenants took the wraps off tons of exciting new features coming in iOS 13, iPadOS, macOS Catalina, watchOS 6 and tvOS 13.

And then, in a hardware shocker, Apple even showed off an insanely powerful new Mac Pro.

Relive Apple’s epic presentation — and get our take on what it all means — in this week’s free issue of Cult of Mac Magazine for iOS. Or read on to get the rest of the week’s best Apple news, reviews and how-tos in your browser.

You know how when you go to the updates section in the App Store and you see that it’s taking forever for one app to download even though you never use it?

The days of that happening are finally going to be over once iOS 13. An unmentioned feature in iOS 13 lets users delete apps right from the App Store section so you don’t have to go hunt down the app icon.

Check it out in action:

This week on The CultCast: Our WWDC 2019 reactions! Apple keynotes don’t get more legendary than this one. Plus: Crazy cryptographic tech powers Apple’s new Find My app, and our favorite features of iOS 13, macOS Catalina, tvOS and watchOS.

Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. Easily create a beautiful website all by yourself, at Squarespace.com/cultcast. Use offer code CultCast at checkout to get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain..

Apple lavished attention on all its platforms at WWDC this year. We even got a first look at the all-new Mac Pro. But another announcement, which didn’t grab so many headlines, may prove to be the most important thing to come out of this year’s developer conference: SwiftUI.

SwiftUI promises to fundamentally change the way developers create apps for Apple products. And you don’t need to be a techie to appreciate why it’s such a big deal.

Project Catalyst enables developers to easily port their iPad applications to Mac. It’s an important part of macOS Catalina, and is expected to bring a rush of new software to Apple’s laptops and desktops. But the company’s head of Software Engineering says the iPad will gain as well.

Rather than developers specializing in Mac or iPad, as is typical now, Craig Federighi sees devs using Catalyst to create great new software for both platforms.

One of the nerdiest rock bands of all time is set to take the stage at WWDC 2019’s biggest party today.

Apple revealed this morning that Weezer is the headlining act of the WWDC19 Bash, the exclusive event that’s only for developers attending the conference.

That outrage you’re feeling over the cost of Apple’s new Mac Pro is your first clue this computer is not for you.

In fact, it’s not a computer, it’s a workstation. And for those who work in jobs requiring fast, sophisticated set-ups, the new Mac Pro — even once they pay for all the beefy components — comes with a fair price tag.

Sign in with Apple could give Facebook and Google some serious headaches when it launches as part of iOS 13 this fall, however, Apple’s strict rules could bring some pushback.

Not only will Apple require all apps that use third-party login services like Facebook to also support Apple’s privacy-focused login service, but it is also asking that the button be placed above competitors’ options.

Apple is breaking up iTunes in macOS Catalina, but the company has much less ambitious plans for the Windows version of this desktop software. Like, no plans at all.

Apple’s WWDC 2019 keynote introduced tons of new features and changes coming this fall. From a new tvOS design and Apple Watch faces to Dark Mode on iOS and a reimagined iPad home screen, there’s so much to keep track of.

If you missed the keynote, or just want the highlights, have no fear. We wrapped up all the headlining features of the epic 2 hour, 20-minute presentation into less than 8 minutes.

Apple revealed the 2019 Design Awards at WWDC highlighting nine apps that offer a unique approach to design.

This year’s selections come from Italy, France, Lituania and the U.S. A lot of games are included in mix but there are also some breakthrough apps for sports, drawing, photo editing and medical imaging.

The WWDC keynote delivered exciting news for every Apple user, but for photographers of all stripes, Monday was their jackpot.

Professional photographers and filmmakers finally got a new Mac Pro that can handle ambitious workflows.

Operating system updates due out this fall for Mac, iPhone and iPad will bring a slew of new features for editing and organizing.

The iPad will be an even more capable tool in the field and changes to the iPhone camera should tamp down those worries that Apple was falling behind the likes of Huawei, Samsung and Google.

And we’re not even talking about the new hardware coming this fall.

Apple has published its full WWDC 2019 keynote video for those who didn’t get a chance to watch the epic event live — and those who want to watch it all over again.

The video includes previews of everything Apple announced Monday, including iOS 13, macOS 10.15, iPadOS, watchOS 6 and more. It also lets you relive the new Mac Pro’s spectacular unveiling.

Sign in with Apple might be the most underrated feature to come out of the WWDC 2019 keynote. A lot of analysts, including Cult of Mac founder Leander Kahkney, think it’s a big shot at Facebook. The social media giant has become one of the iPhone-maker’s favorite companies to hate on recently, but Apple CEO Tim Cook says the new feature isn’t targeting Facebook.

The WWDC 2019 keynote came packed with exciting announcements.  As in past years, I ended up with four pages of drawings in my notebook. I sketched out the biggest new features coming to tvOS 13, iOS 13, macOS Catalina and watchOS 6. And then there’s the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR.

As seen in my first sketchnote, above, tvOS 13 adds multi-user support and support for Xbox One and PlayStation DualShock 4  game controllers for Apple Arcade. Meanwhile, watchOS 6 will bring an App Store directly to the Apple Watch, a new Noise app, and a new Cycle tracking app for women.

For a quick visual recap of the highlights  of the WWDC 2019 keynote, check out the rest of my sketchnotes below.

Update: Apple says “Sign in with Apple” will be mandatory for third-party apps that require sign-ins, according to these new App Store guidelines. That means apps that currently use Facebook or Google to sign in will also have to support “Sign in with Apple.”

“It will be required as an option for users in apps that support third-party sign-in when it is commercially available later this year,” the new guidelines say.

Apple is targeting Facebook with a new privacy feature in iOS 13 that privately logs users into third-party apps and services.

Called “Sign in with Apple,” it aims to replace popular cross-web login services like ones offered by Facebook and Google.

The new privacy feature prevents third-party apps and web services from tracking users via their logins. It creates private, disposable logins for every service or app.

Apple is making it even easier for iPad users to access Safari features with a physical keyboard. The newly-announced iPadOS adds dozens of keyboard shortcuts to this browser, on top of the ones already there.

The Mac Pro cuts an impressive silhouette, and the lucky folks who saw it up close at WWDC today were left gobsmacked.

But it also made several people giggle. They could only stare at the machine’s ventilation holes and top handles and see an expensive cheese grater.

Like a blockbuster movie, Apple’s jaw-dropping WWDC 2019 kickoff served up a boatload of things that make us swoon: fun new features, LOL-worthy jokes, actual soulful moments and unexpected twists.

Perhaps most surprising — in an era of rampant leaks — Apple even delivered a legitimate surprise when it showed off its highly anticipated Mac Pro computer. That monster machine might look a little familiar, but the modular design and audacious specs got the world buzzing. (So did that cringe-inducing $5,999 price tag. That’s the starting price.)

And, like most modern movies, the WWDC 2019 keynote lasted about 15 minutes too long.

There’s bad news for those with an iPhone released in 2014 or earlier: it’s not possible to install iOS 13 on these handsets. The same goes for iPad models from 4 years ago; they can’t be upgraded to the new iPadOS.

Still, all Apple’s phones and tablets released in the last 4 years are getting upgrades.