Last year we saw iOS 7 with a brand new design and the beginning of Apple’s Tim Cook era after Steve Job’s death. But this year is the biggest yet. We see Ive’s work in every product. This year has seen the biggest shift in every Apple product. This is the fourth era for Apple. The first one was when Apple was invented by Jobs and Woz. It was the beginning of Personal computers and the Apple II. Then, there was the dark period when Steve was fired and Apple did not make many products. Everyone thought Apple would’ve closed shop. Then came the period when Jobs was back on board and he brought a new vision along with him. He created three new category of products in this period – The iPod, iPhone and the iPad. They succeeded in every product during this period. After Steve Jobs death, Tim Cook took up his responsibility. This is the new chapter being written by Tim Cook. Every product by Apple has been significantly changed.
We’re just a few hours away from the update and this is the biggest yet! It might look similar to iOS 7, but trust me. iOS 7 was just a new paint job. iOS will no longer be the same. Custom keyboards, Widgets, applying Instagram filters directly from the Photos App. iOS 8 is the new direction for the Apple’s mobile OS with more features and integrations made available to the developers.
Biggest change is Swift programming language. Developers will now be able to access touch ID to lock down apps. Healthkit to integrate all your health and fitness data in one app and Homekit to integrate all the smart devices in your home. SpriteKit, SceneKit and Metal will enable developers to render console quality games for iPhone and iPad.
Apple Announced the new programming language at WWDC this year and this is huge for any developer. Programming for iOS is extremely easy as compared to any other OS. But, Objective C is more than two decades old and it was showing up. Apple had to update that with something modern and the answer was Swift. Swift is super easy to use and we’ll be seeing a whole lot of new developers. Also, Swift can be used to code for both iOS and OS X.
OS X has undergone the same treatment iOS went through last year along with a few new tricks up its sleeve. Handoff will permanently change the way we interact with our devices across multiple platforms. You’ll be able to make phone calls and send messages from your Mac.
iCloud has been there for a few years now and it has been constantly evolving. It offers a seamless way for apps to store data. With iCloud drive, it becomes an actual cloud service like Dropbox to store and share files.
Apple put in NFC and Touch ID to replace Credit cards for payments. This is not something new and Google already failed at doing something similar. Putting it on a device like an iPhone, things are set to change.
Apple usually has one more event around November where they update Mac and iPad. A huge update for the Mac Pro was done last year. Also, the iPad was updated to make it extremely portable.
After years of telling people don’t really need a larger iPhone, Apple did not one but two – A 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch. Time when Samsung did one, it was actually ridiculous. Now, the way we use smart phones has completely changed. We use it for watching videos and other content which demands a larger screen. Apple had to do it.
This is Apple’s first hardware product post Steve Job’s era. Apple started working on this after his death. It was completely spearheaded by Tim Cook and Jony Ive. All smart watches are made for geeks and not for the consumer market. Apple has recognised the need for making a consumer product and the watch will come in 80 different designs! Apple is the only company which is capable of doing that. The watches have been extremely well-crafted by Ive.
This year, Apple tied up with one of the industry’s biggest Enterprise services provider: IBM. This would give organisations a lot more power when they have IBM and use Apple products.
This is probably one of this year’s biggest value for money purchase. Beats is a fashion accessory which has some amazing talent. Also, having Dr. Dre and Lovine work with Apple is just amazing for them. Finally, Beats got their streaming service up before the purchase, something Apple has been trying to do for a few years. I see music streaming with the next iOS update!
Oh yes, there is one more thing. In a recent interview, Tim Cook did tell Apple no longer considers TV as a hobbyist product and also, Apple is working on a totally new category of products no one has ever thought of! What could that be?
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