Apple held a "barrage" of presentations at its annual conference for software developers, WWDC 2014 (World Wide Developers Conference), yesterday, causing a sensation in the technology world.
In particular, the American company seems to be seeking to compete on equal terms with popular applications from rival companies, such as Dropbox and WhatsApp, through a series of software upgrades, while at the same time presenting new versions of its operating systems for both desktop and mobile systems.
Also unveiled was HealthKit, a software that works with "third-party" wearable devices, with an emphasis on health. A parallel application, called Health, takes measurements related to the user's health status and informs the hospital if it "detects" major deviations.
Additionally, Apple introduced new features to iMessagethat signal the company's intent to compete with Facebook's recently acquired WhatsApp. Users can easily create and edit group messages, send audio clips in one go, and create and share short video clips. The ability to send and receive text messages across all Apple devices was also introduced.
iCloud Drive – which is similar to Dropbox – allows you to store files of all kinds on remote servers and then access them from an iOS device, Mac or PC. The service is free for up to five GB.
Apple also unveiled the next generation of its desktop and laptop operating system, OS X 10.10 Yosemite. The system features a new design and works better with other Apple devices, allowing users to make and receive calls and messages from their iPhone on their desktop and laptop. Like its predecessor, Mavericks, it will be available as a free update for Mac users.
The company's head, Tim Cook, also presented new features of its upcoming mobile operating system, iOS 8 (expected in the fall), emphasizing collaboration between different devices. Among them is Handoff, which allows a user to start a task on one device and continue it on another. Also, Craig Federighi, vice president of software engineering, revealed HomeKit, which is Apple's proposal in the "smart" home space, as it allows the user to exercise control over their home environment via smartphone, unlocking and opening doors, lowering thermostats, turning off lights, etc.
A new programming language, Swift , was also introduced, replacing Objective C as the company's primary language for creating applications. WWDC 2014 also introduced the predictive text feature QuickType, which helps with text writing and "learns" from the user's habits, as well as a tool called Metal, which allows developers to write iPhone and iPad apps that are faster and more detailed in terms of graphics.
Among the new features that emerged from the conference is the "opening" of the Touch ID fingerprint recognition technology to "third-party" developers, as well as the Family Sharing, which allows up to six members of the same family to share content from iTunes on their devices. At the same time, a series of improvements were presented for the iOS App Store, including the ability to offer multiple applications under a single, "bundle price", and the ability to publish videos on the application description page.
Each developer will also be able to offer their application as a public beta download through Test Flight, thus giving users the opportunity to test initial versions of applications before their official release (as in the case of "early access" seen on Steam).
Source: naftemporiki.gr
