iOS 8: Yep, we got it, just as everyone knew we would.
We also got the new health data tracking app, called simply Health not Healthbook, which will pair with many different health monitoring devices so long as developers use the new Healthkit SDK.
Notification center got some big and much needed bumps, including responding to notifications directly from them (Yeah!) and 3rd party widgets, which has been long in coming.
Sandboxing isn't going away, but for the first time ever apps are being allowed to talk to each other, through the security of iOS. This is part of what will make widgets possible for notifications, and it will also make possible my two dreams from the last post of having Pinterest integrated and having a Dvorak keyboard. Honestly this is probably what I am most excited about.
There are a ton of other new features in iOS 8 that we will be discussing as we get closer to the release this fall.
OSX 10.10: Yep, we got it too, and it is named for another California location: Yosemite. It will be free update just like Mavericks was and will have a lot of features to make it and iOS 8 work awesomely together. As Craig Federighi said it will be really handy. The biggest thing is that the two OSs will now have handoffs that will be seamless. Your devices will sense each other and you can pick up doing something on one, right where you left off on the other. This will even allow you to send emails and text messages from you computer, and be able to use your phone's hotspot with no configuration.
iCloud: as predicted iCloud got mentioned a whole bunch. The big news here is big advances in Photos and keeping them up to date on all devices. Along with that will come some new cheaper pricing on data for storing those photos and your other information. The opening tier (after the 5 gigs free) will be 20 gig for 99 cents a month.
Beats: Of course the deal to acquire Beats music got mentioned, via a cameo phone call with Dr. Dre. But as expected their were no product announcements around the new acquisition, it is just to soon, and apparently Dre hasn't been to new employee orientation yet.
Apple TV: zilch, nothing, nada. Complete and total silence on the Apple TV front, it was basically like it didn't even exist. So much for moving it from hobby status. Well I guess I should be glad I didn't hold out for a new one. I did watch the keynote on my Apple TV 3rd gen, so I guess that counts for something.
Home Automation System: Sort of. Apple did not introduce any hardware for your home. But they did introduce the HomeKit SDK for developers to unite home automation into a seamless iOS experience as they build products. I hope this SDK will make home automation a lot better and less fractured.
iWatch: Nope, just as predicted, the fabled iWatch is still just a fable.
Alright, those are just the answers to the question from yesterday, there were a lot of other reveals and some really exciting announcements. Mostly the excitement is for developers right now, and that excitement will come to consumers in the fall when we start to see what devs have built with this new stuff.
You will of course see a lot of the online press talking Apple down in the next few days because they didn't release new hardware, but that is silly because this is the developer's conference, it was never suppose to be about hardware. The really big news, I am sure, was a new programming language. But that is hard for most of us to get excited about. In short, Apple stayed true here to the audience they invited, and they were kind enough to let the rest of us look in.
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