Here’s everything Apple announced at the WWDC 2021 keynote

FaceTime updates

• Spatial audio: When using a compatible audio setup, spatial audio will make it seem more like your friends’ voices are coming from their on-screen position.
• Voice isolation: Better (and toggle-able) voice isolation for when you’re FaceTiming from a loud environment.
• Portrait mode: The portrait mode from the camera app is coming to FaceTime — in other words, pretty background blurring.
• FaceTime links: You’ll now be able to generate shareable FaceTime links to let others (including desktop and Android users via the browser!) join FaceTime calls.
• SharePlay: Shared audio/video streams to allow you to listen to music, watch video (select video partners initially, including Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max and TikTok), and control apps in sync with friends. You can pushed the shared videos to your AppleTV, keeping it all synced up between devices and households.

“Focus” mode

You’ll be able to shift your phone into different, customizable modes — like “work,” where only your work-related apps will show up, or “personal” which could tuck all those work apps and widgets to the background. Vacation mode, activate!
Notifications batching: You can now tell iOS to batch less important notifications together, delivering them all at a specific time (like after you’ve woken up, rather than letting them trickle in throughout the night).

Live Text

The camera can now recognize text in photos (handwritten or printed) and make it selectable, searchable, copy/pastable, etc. It can recognize things beyond text, as well, including animal breeds, landmarks, etc.

Apple Wallet

Apple is incorporating home, office and hotel keys into Apple Wallet, allowing you to unlock compatible doors in those places with your phone. You’ll be able to check into select hotels, for example, and have your room key show up on your phone as soon as your room is ready.

They’re also working with the TSA (in select states, at first) to put an encrypted copy of your state driver’s license (!) in Wallet that will be accepted at security screenings.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps is getting a details-focused overhaul, with the addition of 3D elevation maps, 3D rendered landmarks, crosswalks, bike lanes, etc.

Maps is also taking some cues from Google Maps, including a mode that has you use the camera to scan nearby buildings to more precisely orient the phone and help you figure out which direction you’re supposed to go at the beginning of a walk.

AirPods updates

• Conversation mode: AirPods Pro will now allow you to boost the volume of voices (and control the volume of ambient noise) of those around you when you’re having a face-to-face conversation in a noisy environment.
• Find My: AirPods will now work with the Find My app even when they’re in the case, and will be able to alert you if you leave them behind.
  Spatial audio is coming to tvOS and M1-powered Macs.

iPadOS

• iPadOS will get home screen widgets. They’re pretty similar to the ones you’ve seen on iOS, with the addition of a much bigger widget option because, well, bigger screen.
• The “App Library” concept is making its way from iOS to iPadOS, as well.
• A new multitasking menu will (hopefully) simplify the way you handle multitasking on iPadOS, moving the system away from the easily forgotten gestures currently required.
• The Notes app will now let you @ mention someone in a shared note to get their attention on a change, and highlight changes when you come back to a shared doc. “Quick Notes,” meanwhile, will let you create a note from anywhere by swiping up from the bottom right corner of the screen.
• Translate: iPadOS will get a system-wide text translation option, along with an app for translating in-person conversations in real time.
• Swift Playgrounds will now let you build apps on the iPad and submit them to the App Store.
• Public beta in July, full release “this fall.”

Continue reading the full article.

Article sourced from TechCrunch on June 8,2021