WWDC - page 2

Why I’m not holding my breath for Apple’s rumored gaming Mac [Opinion]

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https://www.cultofmac.com/443476/apple-music-exclusives-earn-artists-one-way-trip-to-spotify-hell/
Can Apple reinvent the Mac as a gaming powerhouse?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly working on a new “gaming-focused” Mac that it will unveil at WWDC, a sketchy new rumor claims.

This machine would cost up to $5,000 and be a Mac rival to gaming PCs. It would take aim at the fast growing “e-sports” market, which Apple has not previously catered to. Could such a machine turn Apple into a gaming powerhouse? Anything’s possible, I guess. But I’ll only believe it when I see it.

WWDC app is now called the ‘Apple Developer’ app

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WWDC app is now called the 'Apple Developer' app
It's the app developers have dreamed of.
Photo: Apple

To showcase the increasing utility of its WWDC app, Apple changed the app’s name to something that sounds relevant all year long. The app formerly known as the WWDC app is now know as the Apple Developer app.

While Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference takes place for just one week in June, the WWDC app increasingly included “in-depth information” from Apple experts throughout the year. And the new name is just the beginning — Apple plans to make the app even more useful for developers.

You can now search transcripts of every 2019 WWDC dev session

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WWDC transcripts
It's a crash course in all things developer.
Photo: Apple

WWDC may be best known to casual Apple fans for its keynote speech, but it’s a whole educational week for devs.

While the best way to experience the Developer’s Conference is to attend live, not everyone is able to. With that in mind, Apple has just made videos of all its 2019 instructional sessions available. And they’re fully searchable.

iPhone getting a built-in doggy detector and kitty catcher

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Apple Vision Framework
Apple’s Vision Framework is a sophisticated machine-learning method to identify Fluffy.
Screenshot: Apple

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.

iOS 13 brings multi-cam capture to latest iPhones and iPads

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iOS-13-multi-cam-capture
You’ll be able to record with front- and rear-facing cameras for the first time.
Photo: Apple

iOS 13 and iPadOS will give recent iPhone and iPad users the ability to capture images and videos with their front- and rear-facing cameras simultaneously.

Apple says it is also possible to take advantage of multiple microphones to “shape” the sound that is captured. It encourages developers to leverage the new capabilities to bring picture-in-picture and spacial audio to their apps.

You can now watch the WWDC 2019 keynote all over again

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Tim-Cook-WWDC-2019
Missing Tim already?
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2019 bug 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.

iOS 13 wish list: Giving health & fitness a workout [Cult of Mac Magazine No. 299]

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Cult of Mac Magazine Cover No. 298
Cult of Mac Magazine Cover No. 298
Cover: Cult of Mac Magazine

WWDC is less than a week away and there are already plenty of rumors doing the rounds on what new features Apple has in store for iOS and watchOS. Dark mode, a refreshed Reminders app and a new Find My app all look set to make an appearance.

But will Apple also be giving its operating systems a shot in the arm to improve their health and fitness as well?

Find out what’s going on 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.

WWDC surprises revealed: iTunes dead, brand new apps, more

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WWDC 2019
It’s going to be big!
Photo: Apple

A new report citing sources familiar with Apple’s plans has revealed a number of WWDC surprises ahead of Monday’s big keynote.

Fans can look forward to software updates that make Apple Watch less reliant on iPhone, and iPad more of a laptop replacement. And a number of brand new apps — one of which will kill off iTunes.

Robotics startup that graced the stage at WWDC closes

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Anki
These tiny robot cars once looked like the future of gaming.
Screenshot: Apple

Robotics startup Anki, which graced the stage at WWDC in 2013, has closed up shop. The company previously raised more than $200 million in funding, but it had seemingly burned through the money.

Anki revealed this week that it will lay off its entire staff of almost 200 people. The startup previously enjoyed acquisition interest from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Comcast.

Siri sounds better in Britain after voice improvements

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Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Sorry, Alexa: Siri still the most widespread AI assistant
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple has quietly updated the female British voice for Siri. The improvements can be heard today on HomePod and iOS devices.

The update comes just a few weeks after Apple updated the male British voice. It is believed the company could be working on improvements for many of Siri’s international voices.

Apple plans to merge iOS and macOS apps by 2021

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Office Mac App Store
Your favorite apps could soon be available on any Apple device.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to make it easy for developers to merge iOS and macOS apps into one by 2021, according to a new report.

The project, dubbed “Marzipan,” hopes to encourage development and boost App Store revenue. It will start with a new software development kit that will let developers port their iPad apps to Mac later this year.

How Apple Watch apps’ death spiral nearly killed my iPhone app

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Developing watch apps ain't easy
Developing watch apps ain't easy
Photo: Graham Bower/Cult of Mac

Two years ago, my partner and I launched an Apple Watch app to complement our iPhone fitness app. Little did we know that our embrace of Apple’s smartwatch would threaten the very existence of the gym app we’d been developing since 2012.

Each year since we launched Reps & Sets, we updated it to keep up-to-speed with all the cool new features Apple rolled out at its Worldwide Developers Conference. That all changed last year, though. That’s when we discovered that, by adding support for Apple Watch, we had inadvertently taken a poison pill that could effectively kill our iPhone app.

It doesn’t have to be this way. With a few key changes, Apple could turns things around and reinvigorate the Apple Watch app ecosystem.

iOS 12 brings big improvements to iPhone’s Portrait mode

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truedepth iphone x camera portrait lighting
Portrait mode never looked so good on iPhone.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

iOS 12 packs a whole host of significant improvements that Apple didn’t get a chance to showcase during its WWDC preview. One of those, according to one developer, is a greatly-enhanced Portrait mode for compatible iPhone models.

The image below highlights the impressive difference between a Portrait photo taken with iOS 11 and another taken with iOS 12.

Amazing numbers from WWDC 2018

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wwdc 20 million developers
Did you know that 20 million people are building apps for Apple devices?
Photo: Apple

With so much to digest during Apple’s big WWDC keynote on Monday, it was easy to miss some of the finer details.

You might be aware of every new feature coming to iOS 12 this fall. You might have memorized the changes to macOS, too. But did you know that more than 20 million people are now building apps for Apple devices, or that 10 billion Siri requests are processed every month?

Here are some fascinating numbers you probably missed during WWDC.

macOS Mojave changes spell doom for indie Mac games

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Steamcrate game subscription offer
Apple is making life a lot harder for smaller game studios.
Photo: Cult of Mac

A big change Apple is making with macOS Mojave could make it more difficult for indie developers to build cross-platform games.

Apple is pushing game creators to drop OpenGL in favor of its own Metal API, which isn’t supported by third-party platforms. It may mean smaller game development teams are forced to choose between releasing on macOS or other operating systems.

Conan hilariously skewers iOS 12’s Screen Time feature

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Conan
No distractions here!
Photo: Conan

At Monday’s WWDC keynote event, Apple introduced its new Screen Time initiatives which will help users keep tabs on just how much they use their iPhones. It’s something that people have been pushing for a while, and it’s absolutely the right move on Apple’s part.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be the source of humor. In a new skit, late night talkshow host Conan O’Brien skewers the concept with his idea for an iPhone Basic — with no screen, no buttons, and basically nothing that could distract you from living in the real world. Check it out below.

‘And the winner is…’ Apple celebrates 2018 Design Awards

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apps wwdc screenshot
Apple rewarded the best apps of the 2018 crop.
Photo: Apple

Apple has revealed the winners of its prestigious 21st Apple Design Awards, offering a nice boost to the indie developers in question and some good recommendations for users.

The awards span nine different countries and a variety of app types, from note-taking apps to games. Check out the winners below.

ARKit 2.0 will make you actually want to use AR

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ARKit
Apple is taking ARKit to the next level.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac ARKit was last year’s big WWDC announcement. This year Apple introduced ARKit 2.0 and, if we weren’t convinced before about the potential of augmented reality, Apple’s presentation went a long way to changing our minds!

The update to the world’s largest AR platform introduces a new more easily sharable file system, improved face tracking, more realistic rendering, 3D object detection, and — most exciting of all — shared experiences.

Apple previews iOS 12 with ARKit 2.0, huge performance boost

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iOS 12
iOS 12 rolls out to all this fall.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2018 bug Cult of Mac We just got our very first glimpse at iOS 12 during Apple’s big keynote at WWDC.

The new update, which will be available for free this fall, includes ARKit 2.0 with new experiences and support for multiplayer games, grouped notifications, group FaceTime calls, and new apps.

iOS 12 also promises huge performance improvements across all compatible devices — especially older models that have struggled with previous releases.

ARKit 2.0 will allow multiplayer games in the same space

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ARkit
AR will no longer be a solo affair.
Photo: Dent Reality

At WWDC, Apple could debut new multiplayer AR tools which allow two iPhone users to share the same augmented reality space.

The news was shared in a recent Reuters report. While short on details, the report suggests that it will be able to do this while minimizing the amount of personal data that is sent to servers.

Cult of Mac Magazine: Hidden Apple Watch metric tells if you should exercise, and more!

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Heart rate variability is a new metric that reveals your stress level and whether you have recovered from your last workout. We show how you can use it to optimize your training and more!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

In this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine: Imagine if your Apple Watch could tell you which days were best for you to do a workout, and what kind of workout you should do. Well it can, sort of, thanks to a hidden feature that few people have yet discovered or know how to use.

You’ll find that story and more in this issue. Get your free subscription to Cult of Mac Magazine from iTunes. Or read on for this week’s top stories.