Top 20 WWDC 2020 Announcements: From iOS Widgets to Fantastic New Series
News Technologies / / December 29, 2020
iOS 14
1. The iPhone now has desktop widgets in a variety of sizes. With them, iOS began to resemble Android, which has already become a subject jokes on the web.
2. Another important innovation in the system is the ability to display applications as a list or sorted folders. The folders themselves can be created automatically or manually.
3. Another important announcement is the picture-in-picture feature. It allows you to display the video player on top of other applications to go about your business and watch your favorite TV series in parallel.
4. App Clips is another interesting innovation that allows you to launch compressed versions of applications instantly. The function resembles Instant Apps in Android.
5. Siri finally doesn't completely cover the screen, but appears as a small icon at the bottom of the screen. In addition, with its help, you can now send voice messages.
6. And another interesting innovation is the built-in system translator. At the start, support for 11 languages is announced, including Russian.
More about iOS 14 →
iPadOS 14
7. IPadOS also has widgets, but much more interesting is the new sidebar. It's about the sidebar, which should make it easier to work with many of Apple's standard apps.
8. Apple also redesigned iPad search. Now it looks like the universal Spotlight and is able to search for contacts, applications and information on the web.
9. An equally important innovation is the ability to change the default browser and mail client. You will be able to use analogs from Google and other companies.
10. The possibilities of interaction with the Apple Pencil have also expanded. With the new Scribble function, it will be possible to write words not only in notes and text editors, but also directly in the search - the system will understand everything.
11. We also note push notifications about incoming calls. This feature will be useful to everyone who works for a long time on the iPad, forgetting about the smartphone.
More about iPadOS 14 →
watchOS 7
12. WatchOS 7 introduces more options for customizing watch faces and the ability to share your watch faces via a link or even the AppStore.
13. Also, there was an ever more relevant function that allows you to track the quality of hand washing, and the watch itself will understand when you started doing it.
14. Finally, a tool for monitoring sleep quality has appeared. It will allow you to receive detailed statistics and recommendations.
More about watchOS 7 →
macOS Big Sur
15. MacOS 11 has updated many app icons and added slick navigation with a redesigned sidebar that can now display more useful data.
16. Messages on the Mac are a direct extension of the iOS app, both in design and functionality.
17. The Safari browser has also been updated - it has become faster, has a built-in translator, new privacy settings and the ability to display page previews when you hover over a tab.
More about macOS Big Sur →
Apple Silicon
18. At WWDC, Apple also unveiled its first proprietary processor for the Mac. All standard applications and some partner services have already been adapted for it. In addition, it allows you to run iOS and iPadOS apps.
More about Apple Silicon →
AirPods Pro update
19. With the next firmware update AirPods Pro will receive support for 3D sound in 5.1 format and the ability to independently switch between used devices.
Read more about updating AirPods Pro →
Trailer of the series "Foundation"
20. Apple decided to dilute the software innovations with a trailer for the new fantastic series "Foundation", which is based on the series of novels of the same name by Isaac Asimov. There seems to be a lot of hope for this show.
More about the announcement of "Foundations" →