WWDC16 Why We Develop and Code

So, the World Wide Developers Conference 2016 (WWDC16) happened and here are my summarised thoughts on the MANY THINGS that have been announced/revealed since my last post.

First let's talk about diversity for a bit:

"Apple celebrates diversity" said Tim Cook to open up the keynote address. WWDC16 had people from over 74 countries, all shapes and sizes, all ages and cultural backgrounds. The developer community is a great example that in diversity lies innovation and differences can be used to build a great environment of success. Knowingly, the thoughts and considerations of each and every person at the keynote went out the horrible Orlando shooting victims' families. If you can take time to address the FBI privacy issue before, taking time for the families that suffered loss the day before WWDC is a much appreciated gesture. Take a minute, take 60 seconds to realise that there is diversity all around you every day.

Thanks for being one of the more than 1,900 readers that has let me share my passion and thoughts through this blog. Hopefully by the time you have read this we will have reached 2,000 readers and twitter followers or more. So let's talk about the conference itself:

People seem to have looked at Apple’s Keynote either as “where was the hardware?” or “thank you for the much needed software”. I definitely believe that Apple embodied the phrase “People who are serious about software should make their own hardware” because through great software, hardware becomes much more than it already is. The App Store is the greatest developer environment out there and 2 million apps, 130 billion downloads and 50 billion dollars say a lot about how much it has grown and changed the world we live in.

watchOS3

If the demo given by Kevin Lynch of the app launch is true, the smart watch market will be OWNED by the apple watch! 7 Times faster glanceable and interactive dock apps get rid of the useless (at least in my case) "friends wheel" that was accessed by pressing the side button. It should feel just like the phone to look at a multitasking sort of screen; that plus the added similarity of the control center existing in the same way both in the iPhone and now in the Watch really makes the similarity appeal to people who want a familiar experience.

You guys have no clue how many times I've wanted to respond to a message in any app on my watch and the background noise won't let me dictate, therefore having to take out my phone, unlock and THEN respond. By that moment I probably got immersed into checking the rest of my notifications and use up way more time than I wanted to. Now responding on the apple watch with the scribble feature makes me happier to see how much this first generation life changing product is growing one update at a time.

To wrap up the Watch I want to touch on 2 aspects that are some of my strongest reasons to why this is a life changing product: necessity and health. The watch SOS worldwide option of calling the emergency number regardless of where in the world you are or what the emergency number is, demonstrate the watch is a product that you have on you and won't notice it until you Need It. When you have your hands full and NEED to take a call, when you are in a meeting and NEED   know when a Specific Notification comes through without looking at your phone, when you NEED to find your iPhone, when you have an emergency and NEED to call an ambulance, your apple watch shines!

On the other hand, I have always thought health is something people take for granted until they get sick. I highly recommend you guys read up on Deepak Chopra about the mind-body health. The breathe app is not just a great app to help you focus by taking a minute to breathe; it also helps you realise that "breath is life, therefore breathing well means living well".

    tvOS

I don't know if it is just me but, does anyone else get the feeling the AppleTV is becoming more and more an all-in-one media Console? I mean, the gaming app selection is HUGE and growing with the ease of multiplayer games with iOS hardware as remotes or controllers. And the home hub is improving with single sign on for all cable providers and the smart home controller capability. Having the AppleTV makes me feel like I am short of smart home hardware in my house and have many console level games at my easy access that I don't know with which game to start, but hey maybe that's just me.


    OSX... macOS Sierra

Have I mentioned I LOVE my MacBook Air? Well, I do, and WOW I cannot wait for Sierra to make it that much better. The fact that the Mac is now aware of the Apple Watch to unlock is such a time saver! Universal clipboard (copy and paste items from iPad, iPhone and Mac to and from each other) will help even more to work across devices. Using ApplePay online with iPhone touchID gives even more utility to the already great fingerprint sensor. Plus working with video picture in picture capability makes me really excited about the update coming in the fall. 
LET'S NOT FORGET SIRI!!! I don't know if I am a part of a minority but I use Siri on a daily basis. And when I am on my mac I wish I could quickly action calendars, songs, apps, emails, google and wiki information, tweets and more.


    Best For Last: iOS10

I truly believe that a large portion of the success of Apple products vs the rest, is the fact that the software and hardware work seamless and flawlessly together. The lock screen changed forever! No more swipe to unlock (I am a little confused still about this and now there will be haters but change never is welcome by 100% of the population). Now the home button unlocks the phone with the touch ID. Raise to wake comes from the watch, so that we no longer miss notifications. Lock screen widgets when swiping left and control center music capability swiping right make me realise that the software is truly evolving with great 3rd party integration (for example the stock phone app works with all types of calls: whatsapp, Skype, vibe, etc.).
Finally WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED WITH THE MASSIVE CHANGE TO IMESSAGES?!?!?!?! "Emojification", full screen and bubble effects, handwritten and digital touch messages, an app store FOR MESSAGES? Endless options for sending gifs, stickers and A LOT MORE are just some of the updates to the messages app... Seriously the changes are so many, that I am thinking about writing a short post on messages whenever I get to use all these new features.


Let's end on a high note:
What are developers? People who can code? Nerds? Geeks? Know it alls? I personally believe developers are dreamers, changers, creators and helpers... And Apple knows this best: Swift Playgrounds for iPad has the goal of generating more developers. Why? so that More people can extend their creativity into More apps.

Swift Code is a language that transcends borders and cultures