This year WWDC was responsible for announcements. We learned more about Apple’s new AI, Apple Intelligence, and big updates for MacOS, iOS, WatchOS, Apple TV+ and Vision Pro. If there was one thing that concerned me throughout the main announcements, it was: “But app X already does this.” By the end of the event, I had lost count of the number of third-party apps and services Apple tried to kill yesterday. So I decided to write them all down.
Meta Quest Pro
Although the $3,500 price tag alone might be enough to convince consumers to go with the $500 price tag. Meta Quest 3 instead, there’s no denying that Apple is finally able to give similar VR headsets some competition with VisionOS 2 for its VisionPro Helmet. Considering it’s only been four months since the Vision Pro’s release, it’s clear that the folks behind the Cupertino company felt like the lack of practical applications or use cases on the headset was a problem they had to resolve in a hurry.
The keynote highlighted Spatial Computing on VisionOS 2, which aims to “reinvent” the way you see your photos by displaying them at full size, with greater fidelity and increased realism. You can view them in 3D and take advantage of SharePlay in the Photos app to enjoy them with your faraway friends. Mac Virtual Display also gets an upgrade. It will see an improved resolution and size and can be expanded to wrap around you like a huge virtual workspace.
Lock ID
You no longer need to search for third parties solutions to lock applications on your iPhone. iOS 18 will have a built-in feature to lock your apps of choice so that they require user authentication if someone tries to access them. App information will not appear in other places on your phone, such as search or notifications.
iOS 18 also removes services that hide apps. You will be able to choose an app of your choice and hide it in a hidden secret folder that will not be visible to friends who borrow your phone.
Team Viewer
SharePlay also receives two new updates. At the moment, it only allows screen sharing on iOS devices. Now you can remotely control someone’s iPhone or iPad after asking them for permission, which is exactly what Team Viewer lets you do it. Another update will let you tap and draw on your screen while it’s shared so you can guide someone on what to do on their device.
Otter
SmartScript is my second favorite ad after Math Notes. I can imagine this being a complete game changer for note taking. Using a machine learning model will refine your handwriting as you quickly scribble down your thoughts. It will still be your handwriting but it will appear more legible.
You will be able to add elements to your notes by pasting text from external sources and automatically convert it into your handwriting. SmartScript will also allow you to scrape a piece of text to erase it. If you want to add something you’ve already written, you can manually push a sentence to one side to add text before/after.
Calculator apps
Interestingly, it was the announcement of the Calculator app that impressed me the most throughout the speech. First, the iPad finally gets a Calculator app, so you can remove the third-party calculator you’re using for your iPad. Second, the application will see a new Math Notes feature, which will likely kill other calculator apps with limited functionality.
With Math Notes you can write any mathematical expression (via your Apple Pencil) and see the result appear as soon as you write an equal sign in front. This will also allow you to refine the expression and see the result change before your eyes.
You can also view the result visually by asking Math Notes to generate a graph. The feature that most excited the math nerd in me is that you can enable a slider to appear above one of your variables so you can play with it and see how it changes the curve of your graph.
Android
Apple clearly tried to take a chance Android with its new messaging features. Until now, users were allowed to react using one of five standard reactions on iMessage. This will change with tapbacks in iOS 18, which will give users a wide variety of reactions to choose from.
Another Android messaging feature, Scheduled Messages, is also coming to iOS 18. You’ll also be able to use text effects like bold, underline, italic, or strikethrough.
Windows 11
The Cupertino company also tried to try its luck Windows 11 with its tiling functionality on the new MacOS Sequoia. Now, when you’re trying to multitask on your Mac, you can bring a window to the edge of your screen, which will suggest where each window should be. It will also automatically size them for you.
Venmo
The new Tap to Cash feature introduced in iOS 18 will likely replace the way iPhone users handle transactions. With Tap to Cash, users can pay someone with Apple Cash simply by tapping their iPhone to the recipient’s iPhone. It’s fast, private, and doesn’t require exchanging email addresses, phone numbers, or Venmo IDs.
Google Dating
FaceTime introduces Google Meet’s built-in backgrounds for FaceTime video calls. You can also set any of your photos as a backdrop to replace the pile of clutter behind you.
1Password
Apple is finally launching its password management application on iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and MacOS 15. It’s called ‘Passwords‘ and aims to compete with services such as 1Password. It will allow users to import their passwords from other password management apps, make code verification easier, and act as an authenticator app for two-factor authorization. The Passwords app will also work on Apple Vision Pro headsets and Windows devices.
Amazon Echo Hub
Senior VP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi demonstrated a revamped Control Center on iOS 18, where we could now scroll through multiple pages instead of the standard page we currently have. Users can swipe up on their Control Center to view a second page for music playback and yet a third page for smart home controls. A continuous scan can cycle through all pages or groups in the Control Center. A plus sign at the top left provides access to many more controls to choose from and add to the Control Center with a single click.
With this convenience at their fingertips, I imagine consumers would rather control their smart devices on their phone than walk to a store. dedicated smart home hub.
Google Gemini
Apple recently teased its AI, Apple Intelligence, which was unveiled yesterday at WWDC. These features will likely give Google Gemini some tough competition. The main selling point of the AI portion of the keynote was its new ability to understand context. You’ll soon be able to tell your iPhone with iOS 18, “Play the song Kyle texted me” or “Make this photo warmer,” and it will do it for you.
Apple also brings context to notifications. It will understand all your pop-ups, intelligently analyze them, and reorder them by priority so you know which task to complete in which order.
Grammar
Apple’s AI writing tools for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS 15 have immense potential to replace Grammarly. These tools can rewrite, summarize or proofread what you have written. It will be available everywhere on your Apple device, including Mail, Notes, Keynote, and third-party apps.