Apple kicked off its WWDC conference earlier today, announcing a slew of updates to its products and services including the OS X El Capitan, iOS 9, and the introduction of the company’s own music streaming service.
OS X El Capitan
The Cupertino giant kicked off its keynote by introducing the OS X El Capitan (10.11), the successor to Yosemite which brings a pack of improvements under the hood. Notable improvements include a faster system performance, which touts opening apps up to 40% faster and a 100% increase in speed when switching windows. A split-screen options is also now available for the OS, as well as the addition of the spaces bar to create more desktops.
OS X El Capitan begins its development preview today and will be on release sometime later this year.
iOS 9
The next-generation mobile OS from Apple, the iOS 9, is said to be able to make your phone usage last an hour longer with under-the-hood refinements. It also features a completely redesigned Siri with new options for image search. Siri also presents itself with a list of suggested contacts and apps you can choose based on your usage patterns. Typed search queries deliver more results, such as results for math equations.
In iPad, the iOS 9 wil bring a split-screen feature called can make you use two apps at the same time. Slide Over, on the other hand, can switch your open apps without leaving the other app and is pretty similar to how it’s implemented in Windows 8’s app switching. You can also use other apps while doing Facetime calls, and typing is easier with the new shortcut bar.
Apple Music
Perhaps the biggest announcement of the night is the reveal of the Cupertino giant’s new music streaming service simply dubbed as Apple Music. It touts to put the entire Apple Music catalog at your fingertips across your favorite devices. For $9.99 (*Php 452) a month, you’ll get to enjoy music streaming not only on Apple’s own large- and small-sized devices, but also on Android via an app, and at the PC via iTunes. If you’re using an Apple device, it is also well-integrated with Siri, which can help you curate the music you need.
Apple Music will be available in the worldwide starting at the end of the month. New users can get a three-month free trial before they are charged $9.99. There’s also a family plan available for $14.99 (*Php 647) which can provide for up to six members.
Among these three big announcements, which one interests you the most?