WWDC 2015 keynote highlights 6/9/15

By Chris Johnson

Yesterday, Apple announced a bevy of new capabilities for the OS X, iOS, and Watch OS at WWDC. I was particularly impressed by these new features:

  • iPads will support side by side apps 1, and picture-in-picture video playback.
  • iPads also get a cool new keyboard mode where two-finger swipes act like a trackpad while editing text.
  • iPhones will now guess the name of unknown callers. It’ll do this by searching your phone’s data for clues linking a name to the unknown number.
  • WatchOS gains a nifty alarm clock mode while the watch is charging.
  • Developers will be able to make native Watch apps and watch face complications. 2
  • Apple Maps users will now have access to mass transit directions and schedule information. 3
  • Safari on the Mac gains pinned tabs and tab silencing.
  • All iOS users should see some more free space with App Thinning, where the App Store will only install the assets necessary for your device. 4

If you’re curious, you can watch an official video of the Apple event here.

  1. Unfortunately, I’ll need to upgrade from my retina iPad mini before I can try the side by side apps. I’m guessing the retina iPad minis are too RAM constrained to run two full apps simultaneously. ↩

  2. In my first couple weeks with an Apple Watch, I’ve found complications to be far more useful than standalone apps. ↩

  3. At first, transit functionality will only be available in Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, D.C., London, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Toronto. ↩

  4. Currently, app downloads could include 1x, 2x, and 3x sets of artwork even though your device will only ever use one of them. ↩