WWDC 2014 Keynote Recap

Alright, so as a follow up to yesterday let's talk about what we actually saw at Apple's WWDC keynote, and how it stacked up against what we were guessing.

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.

WWDC 2014 Rumor Roundup

Aright folks, today is the day. At 11:00 MDT (no one ever puts up Mountain time, but I live here so I will) Apple will be holding the WWDC keynote. You should be able to watch the keynote live streamed to any Apple device. You can follow me on twitter for live updates during the event.

I am going to go over a bunch of the major rumors here, but before I do I want to make sure everyone is clear on what WWDC is, it is Apple's WorldWide Developers Conference. The main focus of the event (which goes from the 2nd to the 6th) is on Developers who produce things for Apple's products. So while most of us who are Consumers are looking for new products to be revealed at the keynote today (because we love buying more from Apple) the focus of the event is really on software that will be released later this year. After all the tagline for the event is: "write the code, change the world"

Alright, so that being said let's go over what might be announced today.

iOS 8: If there is one guarantee for this year's WWDC it is that iOS 8 will be announced. This is the traditional location for iOS announcements so that developers can prepare for their launches in the fall. We have already seen a banner up at WWDC displaying the 8.

While a new iPhone or iPad is almost certainly not going to be announced at this event, iOS 8 will most likely give us clues into the next generations capabilities.

Rumors for iOS 8 include a new health oriented app called Healthbook, more communication between apps (i.e. less sandboxing), the killing of the game center app, a redesign of notifications, and improvements to the Apple Maps app.

In addition I am holding out hope for two thing that seem small but would make a big difference for me: a Dvorak keyboard option, and Pinterest integration. Neither of these are likely to happen though.

OS X 10.10: Another near certainty is the next version of the Mac operating system. There don't seem to be any big rumors about it though. It will likely be named after another location in California and be a free update through the app store.

iCloud: You can expect to hear something about iCloud during the keynote, and hopefully some big improvements. Wouldn't it be nice if they also bumped the amount of storage you get for free?

Beats: Apple would be remiss if they did not mention their acquisition of the music company at a conference just days after happened. But the news is still to new for me to expect any product announcements based on it.

Apple TV: The 4th gen Apple TV has been rumored for over a year now, so let's hope we see in today. Many rumors include adding 3rd party apps to the system, adding Siri control, getting a new remote, adding a game controller, and ousting cable companies with an al la carte video streaming service. We shall see if any of the materialize. Some seem more likely than others.

Home Automation System: This was the late comer to the rumor party. The concept is that Apple will be entering the internet of things with a system to automate your home from your iPhone. While I think that Apple is the only company that could make a good home automation system at this point, I doubt we will see this today. The rumor was turned down a little bit to instead of being a system form Apple being a program for developers to submit their products to, similar to the "made for iPhone" sticker.

iWatch: As much as I really want to see this product come to life, I doubt we are going to see it today. That being said if Apple want's to release it this year and have apps available for it, they will have to release information on it today. I would love to see this happen, but it still seems unlikely at this point.

Alright, I think those are the major rumors at this point. If I missed any put them in the comments below. Don't forget to follow me @halduauthor for real time reactions.