WWDC 2016: Siri, iMessage and Maps open to third-party devs

Apple is known to be an extremely closed platform, but the past couple of years have been different. Remember, how it took everyone by surprise by opening to third-party keyboard apps . Well, this year, is no different as it has opened some more features to third-party. Let’s take a quick look at each. Siri Apple has now made available Siri to third-party developers . This means iPhone users will be able to hail rides, publish photos and so on using voice commands. Well, this is one of the highlight of the event, we must say. This move definitely aims at sprucing up the iPhone experience. Besides, Siri also comes with a host of improvements.  Maps The next in queue is Maps. Apple Maps didn’t have a great start with iOS users, but it is now believed to be used more often than Google Maps. Now, as it opens to third-party developers , it will allow transit info, POIs and other details about places, which will only help Apple compete with the search giant.  iMessage Well, everyone wants a piece of Snapchat. And, that’s exactly what Apple tried to do with iMessage . It now announced features that compelled comparisons being drawn to Snapchat. After all, iMesage has always been all about communication. But, what’s even a bigger move is allowing third-party apps to bring in their own GIFs, stickers and even emojis. This is just the beginning, many believe that it isn’t long away that Apple makes more important transactions via its messaging app. After all, Apple knows what its competitor Facebook is up to with the bots.