What’s Coming Soon To An Apple Device Near You – Reactions to This Year's WWDC
Every year in June, Apple hosts what they call their World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) where they invite some folks from the media to share time with application developers from around the world. This is the group of people that really make Apple go. Without their developer community, Apple would not be the company that it is today. They can make the best and most beautiful devices, but if people don’t have apps to use on them (especially now), then those devices really are of no use.
During the WWDC event, the attention is always focused on the first day and the Apple Keynote, where they usually lay out the plans for the new operating systems for their different device categories. The iPhone, iPad, watch, TV, and home devices share time getting new features of the operating system introduced to the world. The media eat this up to be able to talk about what is new and cool for the upcoming year. The developers get a preview, so they know changes they will have to make to keep their products running, but also how they can incorporate the new operating system features into their products. If you are in the Apple ecosystem, this is an exciting time for sure.
The biggest news of this year was about a new product that was highly anticipated for years, and finally introduced. That new product is the Apple Vision Pro. In the simplest of terms, these are a blend of virtual realty and augmented reality goggles. However, they are really so much more than that. There is a lot to say on this subject, so I am going to write more, specifically on this new product, in next month’s Tech Tip. But, it was very cool to see what is coming and the possibilities that it will open up.
Beyond the new products and updates to the applications, I wanted to call out a few other things that I tend to see from any of Apple’s presentations, but notably from this year. Then, I will highlight a few new features coming that, I think, will be interesting to the end users. Once the updates complete their beta cycle and are close to, or have been released, I will share more information on what is new and how we can put them to productive use in our roles as retail leaders.
If you want to up your game as a presenter, watching what Apple does is a great place to start. That comes with a caveat though: you won’t be Apple. They have tremendous resources they throw at these events and the presentations they do. Do not compare your starting point to Apple’s version. They have clearly mastered this. What you can take away is their attention to detail. The story telling they provide for the products and software is exceptional and makes essentially a list of features and benefits must see TV.
For comparison, you can watch the Apple Keynote and then find the recent Microsoft and Google developer announcements to see the vast difference between the approaches each take. All are excellent, but Apple’s will stand out. From a presenter standpoint, you can tell these are well rehearsed (good advice for every presentation), and designed to tell an end-to-end story of how their products work together. That has always been something that Apple had at its core, the harmony that comes from being both the hardware and software platform for its products. It simply works better when you control both elements of the experience, and they are designed to work together. Their presentations are merely an extension of that.
Another big takeaway for presenters and overall presentations is the simplicity of their slides. Often we are all subjected to slides that are very dense with words or data. Watch what Apple does throughout. This has honestly improved since they moved away from having a fully live presentation to a recorded (and higher production value) approach. What you will notice is that the presenter remains the focal point at the beginning of a new topic. The slide is used to call out key elements. Then, they break from both to immerse the viewers into the actual topic. This can be done in a simple presentation as well, through the use of different media options pictures, videos, audio etc.
You can watch only the first major topic of the day, the new MacBook Air 15” laptop. Two speakers are involved, which creates interest. As you watch the slides, all stay very simple, never more than a handful of words, and there is no fear of slide count. The message is always more important. A single slide only contains what is relevant at the moment the speaker is talking. That is all replicable for any presenter in any situation. It would have been easy for them to list all of those new features on a single slide. Keep your slides simple.
Moving into what else we can all get excited about for this fall. Apple did discuss updates for all of their platforms. The phrase I have heard most to summarize the changes for this year is, “quality of life improvements." There are not a lot of flashy new features for the operating systems, yet the sum of these smaller updates become impressive when you begin to realize how they may help you use your devices in better ways. Contact cards for the phone app, so you have better visuals of who you are calling or speaking to. New ways to share voice messages, including a new twist on an old thought. You might remember allowing the answering machine (like the old ones with tapes), to run to hear if you wanted to talk to that person (Call Screening v1), then you picked up if it was important or interesting. Now, Apple lets you see a transcript in real time of the message being left on your phone voicemail. And, yes, you can even pick up at that point to talk to the person. Messages will be getting some handy features as well. Another app we all use a lot and probably take for granted.
A stand out feature for iPhones is literally the ‘stand by’ function you will be able to use with your iPhone when docked and turned on its side (for landscape mode). The Lock Screen will now function like a dashboard-like space. You can add functional items to this screen, or just use it as a clock. It’s a better version of a nightstand clock. They’ve even thought of dimming the screen and being red at night, so it doesn’t disturb your sleeping space.
Apple introduced widgets a couple of years ago for iPhones, last year for iPads, and now those widgets can be interacted with directly. So, not only can you see your tasks, you can check them off, right from the widget.
I’ll wrap this up with two final call outs. A new application, Journal, will be coming to iOS as a standalone application. It is essentially a diary app, that is tied into things you do throughout the day. This makes it easier for you to remember what you did and make notes about those experiences. This will be great for people who have wanted to get into journalling, but maybe needed it to be a little easier to start. (If you’re looking for a great journaling app now, check out Day One). And finally, better autocorrect. If this one really works the way they show it, this may be end up being the best improvement that Apple has made since the iPhone itself.
That is a look at Apple’s WWDC. It is more than just new products or features for their operating system, there are also leadership lessons throughout, especially from a presentation standpoint. Plus, we can look forward to what they have in store for a whole new computing platform coming in 2024. I do believe it will be the future of how we use technology.
What were your biggest takeaways from Apple’s Keynote Presentation?
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