Apple's WWDC 2019 Roundup

Apple's WWDC 2019 Roundup
Number	855
Broadcast Date	JUNE 4, 2019
Episode Length	5:11
Hosts	Sarah Lane

Apple announces macOS Catalina, iOS 13, a new Mac Pro and XDR display, iPadOS, the death of iTunes, and more.

Headlines

• Apple iOS 13: the biggest new features coming to the iPhone

At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, Apple announced iOS 13, with a new Dark Mode, swipe typing support on the keyboard, improvements to Apple Maps, and faster Face ID recognition. iOS 13 Location sharing can be restricted to just once within an app, Safari now has per website preferences, and Notes will include shared folders. Memoji now have various cosmetic options, and the camera will have new portrait lighting effects. Photo editing supports better noise reduction and video rotation. The public beta releases next month, with a full release in autumn.

• WWDC 2019: Apple announces 'Sign in with Apple' feature, Cook says aim is to advance privacy protections

Apple also announced 'Sign in with Apple,' a new authentication tool similar to sign-in tools from Facebook and Google, but one that uses Face ID and Apple says is focused on privacy and won't track you. If an app requests an email, Apple will offer the option to create a random email address and then forward the emails to the user's legitimate email address. This is helpful in limiting spam but also in case of a data breach, since hackers won't be able to use the email address to associate it with a user's real-life identity. Sign in with Apple will be mandatory for iOS apps that use 3rd party logins.

• Apple reveals iPadOS for iPad with a new home screen, multitasking improvements, and more

Apple also announced iPadOS will be its own operating system, with a tighter grid of icons, and pinnable widgets on the home screen. Split view is now possible within a single app, and iCloud now supports folder sharing. External drives are now supported, and you can now drag the cursor to where you want on the screen, rather than using the magnify tool. Apple Pencil latency drops down to 9ms and third parties can now use the Apple Pencil tool palette.

• Apple announces $4,999 Pro Display XDR

On the hardware side, Apple unveiled the new Mac Pro, with sides that slide off for access to modules inside. It has an Intel Xeon processor, up to 28 cores, 300 watts of power, and up to 1.5 terabytes of system memory. The new Mac Pro has 8 internal PCI slots, can handle three streams of 8K pro res or 12 streams of 4K, and has a 1.4kW power supply. The standard: 8 core Xeon, 32GB of memory, Radeon 580x, 256GB SSD sells for $5999 this autumn. Apple also announced the new Pro Display XDR, with a 32-inch LCD 6016x3284 6K Retina Display. The XDR refers to Extreme Dynamic Range, and Thunderbolt 3 can support a 2-display setup, so the Mac Pro could power 6 displays at once. The Pro Display can tilt and adjust height and do portrait mode, but isn't cheap - $4999 or $5999 for the matte version. The companion Pro Stand sells for $999.

• Apple unveils macOS Catalina with iPad apps, new Apple Music app, and more

macOS gets a new name: Catalina. iTunes will be replaced by separate Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV apps. In Apple Music, music sync is now controlled in Finder, and the Podcasts app will use machine learning to better find and index content. Apple TV no longer has a sidebar and supports 4K HDR playback with HDR 10 and Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Sidecar allows an iPad to be a second display for a Mac, and you can now use an iPad with an Apple Pencil as tablet input for macOS. Accessibility gets a boost with more Voice Control options for macOS, and as rumored, a new app called "Find My" combines Find My iPhone with Find My Friends. macOS can locate Apple devices offline by sending out a secure beacon. Catalina will be available this fall as a free update.

• watchOS 6 announced with new watchfaces, App Store, and more

Apple Watch has several new watchfaces, a calculator, and can install and run independent apps without needing a phone. Activity Trends will show overall fitness trends in addition to straight statistics, a new dB meter will let you know if noise is too loud around you, and Apple Watch now includes cycle tracking for fertility that Apple says won't share your data with 3rd parties.

• Spotify launches its lightweight listening app Stations in the US

Spotify Stations is now available in the US after launching on iOS in Australia last month, and on Android in Australia last year. The listening app offers easy access to curated playlists for users looking for a more radio-like experience rather than customized libraries and playlists. In Stations, free users will hear ads and can’t skip tracks. Spotify Premium users get unlimited skips and ad-free listening, similar to the Pandora model.

• Firefox starts blocking third-party cookies by default

Mozilla announced it turned on Enhanced Tracking Protection by default, which blocks cookies from third-party trackers in Firefox. Mozilla added Tracking Protection to private browsing mode in Firefox back in November 2015, and in November 2017, added an option to enable Tracking Protection outside of private browsing. Mozilla also announced today it made improvements to its Facebook Container extension and released a Firefox desktop extension for its password keeper, now called Lockwise (formerly called Lockbox).

Links

• This episode on dailytechnewsshow.com
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Preceded by: "Samsung Updates the Notebook 7 Lineup"

Apple's WWDC 2019 Roundup

Followed by: "YouTube Won't Ban Controversial Creator"