WWDC 2018: Apple announces iOS 12 with Memoji, macOS Mojave, tvOS updates and new features in watchOS

The first day of Apple’s **WWDC developers conference** has come to an end and unsurprisingly there have only been software related announcements. Last year’s WWDC had a slight twist in the form of the new **HomePod** announcement. This year, though there was a lot of speculation about a new MacBook or the iPhone SE, but Apple stuck to their guns and only announced new updates to its existing operating systems on different devices. Here’s a brief look at what exactly was announced at **WWDC 2018** . [caption id=“attachment_4495951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] iOS 12.0[/caption] iOS 12.0 The most anticipated announcement of the keynote was about iOS 12. In crude words, one can only term the iOS 11 as a disaster and it would seem Apple is bent on fixing the damage in iOS 12. To that end the iOS 12 will be available to all devices that currently support iOS 11. Though Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, Craig Federighi, touted that iOS 12 was all about performance, the main highlight turned out to be the new AR features. A new file format called USDZ is being released on iOS 12.0 to make AR accessible and shareable and Adobe has also announced USDZ’s support in its Creative Cloud Platform. [caption id=“attachment_4495957” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] iOS 12 Photos.[/caption] ARKit 2 has also been announced for iOS 12.0 and it will support better face tracking and recognition of movement. The Photos app has also been upgraded to introduce a new tab called ‘For You’ which will apply propose effects on your previous photos and much more. Apple’s AI assistant also got a small upgrade in the form of a new feature called ‘Shortcuts’, which will give the user more ease of access and let them open apps quickly. [caption id=“attachment_4495959” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] iOS 12 Stocks.[/caption] The News app also gets new update such as the ‘Browse’ tab which can be used to search news items and add them to your favourites. iOS 12 also introduced the Stocks app on the iPad. iBook has been renamed to Apple Books and it gets a new ‘Reading now’ feature. iOS 12 also introduced a ‘Do Not Disturb’ function which can be used to limit a person’s time on the phone at night as they will receive no notifications. App Limits can be used to restrict a person’s time while accessing certain apps. [caption id=“attachment_4495961” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] iOS 12 Siri.[/caption] Animoji gets some more new creatures which are the T-Rex, Ghost, Kuala and Tiger. And last but not the least, FaceTime has now got support for having 32 simultaneous calls at one go. iOS 12 will be available to all compatible smartphones after the release of this years new iPhones. macOS Mojave After High Sierra, Apple has decided to call the next macOS Mojave and there were many things that were introduced in it. Apple has finally introduced the dark mode for the macOS. In terms of functionality, it does not have any change, but it certainly feels good to look at. [caption id=“attachment_4495963” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] New Mac App store.[/caption] The Mac App store is being redesigned to have bigger billboards for new apps and collections, alongside some more content that Apple is putting together. The new Desktop stack feature will look to clear the mess on the desktop by sorting all files which are alike into a small piles. Apple is also adding more pop-ups on Mojave to give users more control over their data. It has also launched an update in the new macOS to warn users about social media websites from tracking you. [caption id=“attachment_4495965” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] macOS Mojave.[/caption] A new viewfinder which is called ‘gallery view’ will let you scroll through small previews of your files and you can also access the metadata of the file inside the finder window. The new macOS should launch as usual around the time of Septemeber to October and a developer preview will be available today. watchOS 5.0 Like most of the other smartwatches out there, it would seem that watchOS 5.0 is also looking to be more fitness and health centric. To that end, Apple has added tracking modes for sports activities like yoga, outdoor walks, and hiking. [caption id=“attachment_4495967” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Walkie Talkie on watchOS 5.0[/caption] Also now users will not have to say the command ‘Hey Siri’ but simply raise their wrist to activate the voice assistant. watchOS 5.0 also has a new Walkie-Talkie app which allows two users to communicate via short voice notes over cellular network or Wi-Fi. [caption id=“attachment_4495969” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] watchOS 5.0.[/caption] Finally, Apple is now bringing the Podcasts to Apple Watch as well. tvOS 12 Apple showcased the tvOS 12 which had several new features over the previosu version. tvOS 12 allows users to AutoFill passwords from iPhone and iPad to Apple TV. Also this update will also add the Apple TV Remote automatically to the control centre on the iPhone or your iPad. [caption id=“attachment_4495971” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Apple TV 4K[/caption] Also Control4, Savant and Creston home control systems can be used for controlling Apple TV and this also includes using Siri for voice search and control.