WWDC 2016: iOS 10 Preview

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Last week Apple held their annual WWDC keynote, and as to be expected there were a ton of exciting developments for iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and OS X. This week we are going to break down some of the new technology announcements concerning the mobile platform and what to expect with the launch of iOS 10.

iOS 10:
The long-awaited tune up of Apple’s mobile operating system has finally been announced for a fall release. While not a complete overhaul, iOS 10 offers several great new features that will make an immediate impact, including opening APIs of several existing features to developers, simplified styling and notifications, and more.

Rise of Siri
One of the most anticipated features will be the opening of Siri’s API to developers. While seemingly not so exciting out of the box, this will allow full integration of Siri’s voice recognition technology into limitless third-party apps. This will greatly increase the power of Siri, and the functionality of the iPhone as a whole. Now apps like Uber will be able to facilitate Siri commands instead of only native apps.

iMessages Sweet New Suite 

Apple has always been at the forefront of changing the way we communicate, and the new features in iMessage will do just that. iMessage will now feature bubble animations, in-line drawing for hand written messages, link previews, invisible ink, and more. Better yet, following in line with their recent trend they are opening API to third-party developers for iMessage as well, allowing for endless enhancements. Check out techboi6000’s great visual recap below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sPK3g-XIlQ

Maps to Success

Aside from opening the API, which will allow for integration of many popular third-party apps (think Yelp, Opentable) maps is also getting a couple other great upgrades. You will now be able to easily change view during navigation, i.e. zooming out or observing ahead in your route along the map. My favorite feature announced however will be the ability to search for specific points of interest along your route. Need to stop by a car wash on your way to visit a client? Maps can now search and implement for most direct routes with options to make multiple stops. Lastly, road trippers rejoice as maps will finally locate gas stations as well, especially convenient when added as a stop on a trip.

Automated Everything with HomeKit

With the rise of home-automation systems, Apple has now formally thrown their hat into the ring with the announcement that the HomeKit app, now called simply “Home” will come standard with a download of iOS 10. Now you can control lights, climate, cameras, door locks, and more directly from your iPhone. While this app will require extra equipment for any practical use, Home can be used across several additional platforms (TV and OS X) and could end up being an important step for Apple.

Photos

In a step that looks very similar to Google Photos, iOS10 will now feature facial recognition, as well as object and location recognition to sort and group photos. They call this new technology “Computer Vision”!

Check out MacRumors Photos feature review here:

Check back next week for a functional review of OS X 10.12 Sierra!