WWDC19 full review: Apple's fifth major system is born and more professional computers are coming

In the early morning of June 4, Apple held the 2019 WWDC Global Developers Conference (hereinafter referred to as WWDC19) in the United States, updating its four major software operating systems for mobile phones, computers, smart watches and TV set-top boxes. It released the new iPadOS system for iPad, and launched the Mac Pro professional computer and Pro Display XDR monitor for professional users.

This was the most comprehensive WWDC conference in history, with updates to five systems and two hardware models.

tvOS supports multiple users and multiple accounts, no more fighting over the TV

At this year's WWDC conference, Cook first appeared on stage and played a film about the moon landing. This is actually a follow-up to the Apple TV service released at the spring conference, and it also brought out the tvOS 13 system. Cook demonstrated multi-user support for the next generation of tvOS, which means that everyone in the family will get personalized video recommendations; and the Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ video services built on this system will be launched this fall.

They also claimed that they will launch more than 100 games when the official version is launched, and the most important thing is that there will be no advertisements or in-app purchases - truly free games.

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tvOS is the first to appear, but most of it is a refinement of last spring's content

watchOS gets its own app store

The second one to appear was watchOS, which started from the basics and gradually progressed to the complex ones, first updating several watch faces; then the watch system added several built-in applications, such as a built-in calculator, voice recorder, etc.

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More faces, more smiles

The bigger improvement is in independence. This time, Apple truly declared “watch independence” and even created a separate software store for it: please note that the watch no longer requires a mobile phone to install apps, as it has its own built-in App Store.

There is now an app store directly on the watch

In view of the fact that the watch is better at sports functions, the comparison display has been strengthened this time. For example, the year-on-year comparison in recent days with last year shows that Apple is also concerned about people's health.

Built-in App Updates

There are also some small functions: such as the noise detector, which can monitor the surrounding noise and then remind you that the noisy environment may be harmful to your health; and the female cycle tracking, which female fans know. This function is not uncommon. Apple's advantage is that the watch is updated and better looking, and it is connected with the iOS health system, and Apple's health data has one more piece of data.

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Female menstrual monitoring

Speaking of health, it incorporates machine learning and can recommend suitable exercises based on parameters such as the wearer's heart rate.

Recommended Exercise

Then a lady came up and started talking about watch faces again... Apple releases several new watch faces every year, but has never allowed users to customize them, and this time is no exception. But at least it is open a little bit, and when users use the widgets on the watch face, they can add their own things appropriately, such as listening to books or games.

Finally, the watch team distributed a handful of new straps, a routine move for Apple.

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More straps, more smiles

iOS 13 is “blackened”

Cook first came to the stage and praised iOS 12: user satisfaction reached 97% - rounded off means everyone is satisfied, comrades.

Then Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, took the stage to talk about the details. He first announced the arrival of the iOS system's dark mode, which is not surprising at all, after all, macOS has been online for a year. From a hardware perspective, the current iPhone uses an OLED screen, and the black UI interface does not require OLED light, which can at least save power.

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iOS system finally "blackened"

The second functional improvement that Long-Faced Brother talked about is the reminder function, which adds more details, such as location and photo insertion. The Apple Maps, which had a bad reputation before, has also been improved, with more domineering real scenes added. The effect is amazing. I don’t know when it can be used in China (and what the actual effect will be).

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The real-time navigation effect is amazing

Here in the map, Craig turned to privacy protection. In iOS 13, Apple created a login protection mechanism "Sign in with Apple", which is actually an extension of their previous "strong password" function. In the past, Apple only helped you generate passwords, but now even the login name is randomly generated for you, completely eliminating privacy abuse.

Randomly generate login email

Then the topic of protection turned to the Home smart home function. In addition to strengthening cloud protection, several router manufacturers were also involved in hard heat protection. The first batch included Linksys and others. Their hardware is not special, but they support Apple's protection in terms of transmission mechanism.

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Better protection for your home

Memoji avatars are more customizable, and you can choose your own earrings, hair color, and makeup; there are more editing modes for photos and videos, and video rotation is finally supported.

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Memoji avatars help you put on makeup

The system's built-in "photos", or album function, has not only improved its presentation method, but also has more interesting classifications by day and month.

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Smarter album classification

Just when everyone thought this feature was boring, Apple executives began to introduce the new features of AirPods: through AirPods, Siri can read messages and reply with voice; the Audio Sharing feature allows users to share what they are listening to on their devices with others; when the iPhone is close to HomePod, HomePod can play sound directly.

Maybe because of the involvement of hardware, everyone thinks this is much cooler than before.

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NFC is still not open, but Apple's own devices can transmit more via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

The function discussed below is still related to hardware. CarPlay has been revamped, mainly with UI improvements, such as the addition of a split-screen function so that maps and music can be displayed together.

CarPlay can also display split screen

Apple's fifth system is born: iPadOS

For many years, iPad has always been a large-screen version of iPhone, even though some of its interfaces are different from those of iPhone. But today, it has finally become independent and has become iPadOS.

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iPadOS is born

Apple's idea is to maintain the touch features of iOS and also make some special features. In fact, it has been doing so in the past few years. Split screen and other features are based on this idea.

In iPadOS, the split-screen function is still available, but there is more interaction between the two screens. For example, if you copy an attachment, you can directly drag it to the other side.

Undoubtedly, iPadOS makes the tablet more like a computer, which is something Apple has been thinking about. If it has been hiding it in the past and still trying to make small improvements, today it is completely overturned. It directly shouts that we want to make the iPad more different from the iPhone. This makes high-priced products like iPad Pro more attractive and more different from large-screen mobile phones.

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The iPad is no longer a large iPhone

Mac Pro: Apple's most powerful computer arrives

Mac Pro is the most powerful product in Apple’s computer product line. It is positioned as a "workstation" and a professional computer for professionals, such as movie special effects production companies.

The Mac Pro hasn't been updated for many years. The last time it was a trash can, it hasn't been updated since then. The iMac Pro is a makeshift replacement, but Apple itself has actually warmed up the Mac Pro and mentioned it when the iMac Pro was updated. It is a modular computer and a rare official spoiler of Apple machines.

This hole has been dug for nearly two years. Today, Cook finally filled it.

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The long-awaited computer is finally here

The new Mac Pro has returned to the metal box shape, probably because the "trash can" is too difficult to dissipate heat and expand. This time the new Mac Pro has a stainless steel frame + aluminum alloy shell. The processor is of course Intel's Xeon, 28 cores, a high-performance CPU dedicated to servers or workstations, which is not surprising at all; the expansion capabilities are also very impressive: 8 PCIe slots, and even two network ports.

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Configuration can be summarized as: there is nothing it can't do unless you think of it

Because it needs to support Xeon processors and power-hungry Radeon Pro Vega II, this unit has a 1500-watt power supply and three fans for cooling.

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New design of cooling system

The most powerful display "Pro Display XDR"

The Mac Pro is a host computer, so it naturally needs a monitor to match it. This is also a product line that Apple has not updated for many years. We almost thought they were going to give up their own brand monitors...

Today's monitor is consistent with previous leaks, 32-inch LCD, 6K resolution level. The only thing people didn't guess is that it looks very tough, all straight lines, and the metal body makes it look even tougher. There is a bracket on the back that can not only adjust the angle, but also turn the screen vertically, and even be removed and placed on other monitor brackets (of course, these have to be purchased separately).

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A 32-inch 6K monitor

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The monitor and stand are sold separately

The display can reach 1000 nits of brightness on a daily basis, up to 1600 nits, a 1 million:1 contrast ratio, 6016x3384 pixels, and a total of 120 million pixels. Apple said that each LED in the backlight panel is factory calibrated, and each LED is modulated through a series of custom lenses and reflectors to achieve true HDR display (High Dynamic Range). They think this is too powerful, and the name HDR is not suitable for it, so they simply gave it a new name. The display is called "Pro Display XDR", which literally means "Professional Display XDR", which is simple and crude.

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New name for monitors

macOS: iTunes retires three official apps to replace it

This year, macOS was named after a desert instead of a desert (last year’s name), and was named “Catalina”, which is a small island in the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles. It is famous for its beautiful scenery.

Just as the legend goes, the biggest change in the new macOS is that the original iTunes is split into three apps: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV.

The new feature relevant to Chinese users is Sidecar, which can turn the iPad into a second display for the Mac. Only the entire Apple family can be perfect (so you won’t be able to buy an Android tablet...).

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Tablet as computer extended display

Apple has also improved the voice control function. Now macOS and iOS can be fully voice-controlled, which is good news for people with disabilities. First, there is a short video demonstration, in which an uncle with limited mobility speaks with his mouth, and voice control can realize various operations.

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Function to care for people with disabilities

Some iOS features are also being exported to macOS in reverse, such as "Screen Time" from iOS to the computer, reminding users of computer usage time.

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Screen time comes to computers

For programmers, a far-reaching improvement is Apple's Project Catalyst feature, which can help developers turn iOS applications into Mac applications. This is a way to save time for developers and also makes up for the embarrassment of too few applications in the current Mac version of the App Store software store.

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Shared code to develop cross-platform apps

Swift: A gift for beginner programmers

SwiftUI is a framework built on the development language Swift. Its mission is to allow developers to write code faster and easier.

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SwiftUI is officially released

Craig compared it to traditional programming languages, which takes...this long to write code.

The code is so long

With SwiftUI, the code is only this long.

SwiftUI’s code is much shorter

And its interface is very intuitive, with code on the left and rendering effects on the right. It can be used for App development for Apple systems such as watchOS, tvOS, and macOS.

This is the happiest moment for coders. It lowers the threshold for writing code, allowing beginners to write a program as quickly as possible. Apps developed on this basis can also call ready-made frameworks on iOS devices, such as ARkit.

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SwiftUI's interface is also simple and direct

Summary: WWDC19 with the most content in history

This press conference lasted a very long time. In the past, the class would end on time at 12 noon local time in San Francisco for lunch, but this time it lasted nearly half an hour because there was too much content and had to be extended.

iPadOS has become independent from iOS, and Apple has opened up a new ecosystem for itself to save the sluggish tablet market. As a result, the "Four Kings" systems that previously dominated the mobile phone/computer/watch/set-top box world have now become the "Five Kings". At the same time, the workstation computers have been updated to increase the audience of the product line. This high-end product appeared at WWDC, and it seems reasonable as a professional device for professionals.

Although for general users, the WWDC conference held in early June every year does not seem as exciting as the iPhone launch in September, for Apple, software is more important than hardware, and they are the clues that constitute and guide the Apple ecosystem. In recent years, the correlation between the major operating systems has become more and more frequent, weaving a network from a few lines to encircle users, forming Apple's unique "software and hardware integration" product development model; it also forms a moat that distinguishes Apple from "other products".