Apple added a ton of new features to iOS 8 today and more are surely on the way once new iPhones and iPads are announced. But while Photos, Messaging and Notification Center stole most of the spotlight during the WWDC keynote, there were a bunch of smaller features Apple didn’t cover.
Better camera tools, battery statistics, new Siri tricks and more were also added to today’s beta. Here’s our hands-on preview of five incredible features Apple didn’t mention in today’s keynote.
Tim Cook leaves the stage at the end of the 2014 WWDC keynote. Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web Photo: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
Instead of dropping a smartwatch or some other hardware bombshell at WWDC 2014, Apple showcased the futuristic tools it will use to extend its rapidly growing empire.
“Apple engineers platforms, devices and services together,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook as he wrapped up the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote Monday in San Francisco. “We do this so we can create a seamless experience for our users that is unparalleled in the industry. This is something only Apple can do.”
Casual observers (and stock analysts) might fret that there was no big wearables reveal, no amazing new Apple TV, not even a spec boost for an existing device during the highly anticipated WWDC kickoff. Yet while there were was absolutely no talk of new hardware, Apple offered an exciting peek at where the world is headed next with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, both of which are available to developers now and will be released to the public this fall.
“We’re always future-focused,” said Cook, who shared presenting duties with Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, and others. Here’s a look at the shiny, translucent, interconnected future Apple is focusing on.
Can't get much more bland than this smooth jazz outfit, who played The Bash in 2001
Every year since 2000, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference has concluded with a huge concert called The Bash. This party brings the white and nerdy devs to the yard with bands like Barenaked Ladies (2008), Cake (2009) and OK Go (2010).
We’d like to see Apple switch things up this year. With the recent Beats Music deal still echoing down the halls of Cupertino, it’d sure be nice to see a group up on the Apple stage with a bit more street cred than, say, The Rippingtons (2001).
Moscone is ready for iOS 8 and OS X 10.10. Are you? Photos: Roberto Baldwin/The Next Web
After months of anticipation and countless rumors, Tim Cook and his merry band of Apple fellows are about to take the stage at San Francisco’s Moscone West to reveal the latest offerings coming out of Cupertino. It’s time for the Worldwide Developers Conference.
We’ll be covering the WWDC action here all morning with news and analysis on everything like iOS 8, OS X 10.10, Healthbook and whatever other goodies the mothership has prepared. The keynote starts at 10 a.m. Pacific, so bookmark this page and keep it open for a tidal wave of Apple news and insights.
It’s the eve of the Worldwide Developers Conference kickoff, and tomorrow morning Apple will hold its first media event of 2014. Like always, there’s a ton of speculation on what will and won’t be announced.
Some last-minute reports share new information on what to expect from the stage tomorrow in more areas than just iOS 8 and OS X 10.10.
Apple’s first keynote of the year is taking place tomorrow morning to kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
App Store developers from around the world started arriving in San Francisco over the weekend for the week-long conference. At event registration today in the Moscone Center, Apple gave each dev with a ticket some special swag. Excitement appears to be in the air. Before it was barely dinnertime, a line for tomorrow’s keynote started forming.
Some of last year's WWDC scholarship winners. (photo credit: Apple)
For any Apple coder, attending the annual Worldwide Developers Conference is a coveted opportunity. But for the young recipients of WWDC 2014 Student Scholarships, a free ticket to the event means more than an adventure in geekery; it’s the crowning achievement of their blossoming careers.
Take Shaan Singh, a 14-year-old developer and designer whose iPhone finance app Budgetize helped him bag a scholarship to WWDC, a prize that’s something like winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
“It’s a big honor for me to be selected because I made an app that I feel was creative and smart, and Apple thinks so too,” he told Cult of Mac. “I’ve always admired Apple’s design, and I’m excited that they like mine too.”
How can Apple craft a successful sequel to the Stevenote? Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Nearly three years after Steve Jobs’ death, Apple’s keynotes have become pale imitations of their former glory. The last major keynote — November’s introduction of the iPad Air and Retina mini — was a major international snoozefest.
Utterly devoid of excitement, it served only to stoke the pervasive rumors of Apple’s lack of innovation after Jobs (which aren’t true, but nonetheless).
OS X 10.10, which Apple is expected to show at its Worldwide Developers Conference Monday morning, could very well be named after one of California’s most well-known national parks. While setting up for WWDC at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Apple has put up a banner for the next version of OS X that features Yosemite in the background.
As another week full of news passes, your host Joshua Smith is here to give you a wrap-up on some of the latest and biggest features. iOS devices held for ransom, Apple’s big Beats acquisition and a rumored Apple iWatch are among just some of the featured stories in today’s rundown.
Take a look at the video and be sure to return next week for another. Subscribe to CultOfMacTV on youtube.com to catch new episodes of the roundup and other great video reviews, how-to’s and more.
In case you somehow doubted that Apple would reveal iOS 8 next week at its Worldwide Developers Conference, here’s the confirmation. Apple has started putting up iOS 8 banners along with giant signage and logos outside the conference’s venue in downtown San Francisco.
Apple is busy putting the finishing touches on WWDC before the invasion of 5,000 developers destroy the corridors of Moscone West, but even if you didn’t get a ticket to the hottest developer event in the world, you can still enjoy WWDC like you’re actually there by sporting some of this gear from the comfort of your couch.
Tim Cook and the rest of the Apple gang are coming straight out of Cupertino on June 2nd to kick off WWDC with the first keynote of the year. iOS 8, OS X 10.10, a home automation platform, new iMacs and possibly even an 8GB iPhone 5s are rumored to make an appearance.
We’ll be covering the action on our liveblog starting at 10AM PDT, Monday June 2nd and won’t let up until WWDC finishes on June 6th, but to get yourself ready for the assault, here are eight things you should buy to get your WWDC on.
Segway tours are so last year now that Scoot has come out with iPhone-locked scooters. Not only is a scooter the best way to see San Francisco's landmarks, the tiny two-wheelers are more environmentally friendly than those huge double-decker tour buses. Just remember to book your reservation in advance because spots fill up quickly.
Coding marathons, packed parties and more fanboys than should be legally permissible in one building await developers when Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off in San Francisco next week, and while the conference is serious business for most devs, who says you can’t have a little bit of fun too?
WWDC rips into high gear with a keynote on June 2nd followed by days of coding sessions, high-profile speakers, hands-on labs and tons of get togethers for developers of all sizes and backgrounds.
Sneaking in time to tour San Francisco is nearly impossible thanks to the stuffed scheduled at WWDC and nearby AltConf, but whether you’re coming to WWDC as a first timer or a seasoned vet, here are nine things every Apple fan must do at least once while visiting the Bay Area.
Apple’s first keynote of the year is scheduled to take place this coming Monday at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. And like clockwork, banners and signage for the event have started going up at the conference’s venue, Moscone West.
We’re less than a week away from WWDC and while Apple’s official app is slim on clues for the event, the company just revealed it will stream its entire keynote to Macs and iPhones so you can learn about all the new goodies, even if you didn’t get a golden ticket.
We get slammed 24/7 with new Apple rumors. Some are accurate, most are not. To give you a clue about what’s really coming out of Cupertino in the future, we’re busting out our rumor debunker each week to blow up the nonsense.
If you didn’t win the lottery for Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, you’re in good company. For the third year in a row, AltConf is hosting a get-together for the rest of us.
Formerly called AltWWDC, the conference will boost Fog City’s already-high nerd quotient by hundreds of developers who didn’t get the golden tickets. AltConf will be held in parallel to WWDC at the Children’s Creativity Museum in Yerba Buena Center near Moscone West — which means that haves and have-nots will be waiting at the same stoplights and heading to the same bars after hours.
Apple has today announced that this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off on June 2 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The five-day conference will give us a glimpse at “the future of iOS and OS X,” and the star of the show will almost certainly be iOS 8.