Apple opts for many OS updates over big tech vision
SAN FRANCISCO – Apple's developer conference Monday presented an avalanche of evolutionary updates but no broad vision for its future.
While many tech world observers had hoped to hear CEO Tim Cook tackle hot topics such as artificial intelligence and virtual reality, he instead kicked off two hours of app-focused upgrades ultimately aimed at making the company's phones and other devices easier to use.
Cook and other senior Apple execs talked about how Siri can now be integrated into all apps, Apple Pay can be used on a Mac laptop, Apple Watch is getting faster and Apple Music has gotten a redesign. The 5,000 attendees of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference didn't seem to mind the lack of new news, often hooting at what seemed like small improvements to staple apps.
"You’re a part of everything we do now," Cook told a packed house at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. "We think it's crucial that we provide the best tools so you can create the best apps."
Cook opened the iOS10-focused session with a sober moment of silence dedicated to those who lost their lives in the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando Sunday that left 49 dead and 50 wounded out of a crowd of 350 revelers.
"Our Apple community is made up of people from all around the world with different backgrounds and we celebrate our diversity," he said before everyone rose.
Apple WWDC: Apple opens up Siri, Maps to third-party developers
As is typical with WWDC, there were no hardware announcements. Apple stock (AAPL) opened at $99 Monday but dropped 1.2% through the course of the day.
SIRI OPENS UP
Instead, among the top highlights were a new Home app that aggregates any Web-based Internet of Things device in your house; a Maps app that will integrate everything from restaurant booking options to summoning an Uber or Lyft ride; a new Voicemail feature that shows the message in text form; and a host of tweaks to Messages that include the ability to hand-write responses and select from predicted emojis that now appear three times bigger than before.
“Children of tomorrow will have no understanding of the English language," joked Apple exec Craig Federighi.
Mac users who also wear an Apple Watch will experience seamless sign-in access to their devices thanks to a new authentication mode that uses the smartwatch to give the laptop or computer a green light to open without a password. And Apple Pay can be enabled for the Mac as long as you have an iPhone nearby to authorize the payment with a fingerprint ID.
Siri's improved smarts include the ability to interject intelligently into text message conversations. If someone types, "Where are you?" Siri will offer the option of adding a mapped out location at the touch of a tab. If a user asks for someone's contact information, Siri mine's address lists to provide the requisite details.
PHOTOS GET SORTING HELP
Federighi hopped on stage to outline a list of upgrades to Photos, most of which are aimed at using machine learning to make sense of the increasingly voluminous photos found on phones today. Photos will use facial recognition software to create groups of images based on similar faces, and location tracking information to aggregate images based on where they were taken.
"While Apple was less prescriptive as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, this serves as Apple’s answer to CaaS, conversations as a service, and bots," says Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy. "Opening up Siri will make an enormous effect on the experience. I don’t see anything Google can do that Apple cannot, and they’re doing it with the highest levels of privacy, which is unique."
Given that a new iPhone is expected this fall, WWDC was lazer focused on showing that the Cupertino company was willing to play nice with developers who have heard a number of machine-learning-focused pitches this year at conferences staged by Microsoft, Facebook and Google.
Buzzwords like AI and deep learning were central to those developer conferences. While Apple executives didn't belabor those terms, it was clear from the two-hour presentation that they are well aware that the biggest shift in computing these days is towards using voice, not just touch, to interact with phones and other devices.
Siri, which kicked off the digital assistant trend in 2011, will be opened up to developers so they can incorporate voice activation into their products. Siri also will be available on Macs. Many tech analysts have lamented Siri's stagnant evolution, pointed at the leaps made by assistants created more recently by Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
Much of the news Monday was focused on making existing Apple features easier to use. For example, Apple Music's user interface is getting cleaned up and new features are being added, such as showcasing lyrics in the Now Playing screen.
Apple TV's news included the ability for users to more easily sign in to their various channel subscriptions. Apple Watch boasts new faces that incorporate Apple's fitness tracking wheels, as well as a new Minnie Mouse figure whose skirt can be color coded to a wristband.
Follow USA TODAY tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter: @marcodellacava