Apple on Monday, June 7 revealed
dozens of new features in the latest versions of its mobile and desktop
operating systems at the kickoff of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.
"There were lots of incremental improvements in the areas of health and
security," observed Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst with Tirias Research, a
high-tech research and advisory firm in San Jose, Califonia. "They also
continued the theme of Apple stuff works better with Apple stuff in the Apple
ecosystem," he told. In the next version of Apple's mobile operating
system, iOS 15, the company added features to its Face Time app to make online
interaction by groups of people more realistic through the use of spatial
audio, voice isolation and use of "portrait" mode for faces.
Competing With Zoom
It also expanded the sharing
capabilities of the program and its reach outside Apple's "walled
garden." "They really expanded FaceTime's capabilities so it can be
used in collaboration," noted Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a
technology advisory firm in Campbell, Califonia. "But Apple didn't remove
the 32-user restriction for FaceTime," he told. "Businesses that use
video conferencing need 50, 100 or more users in their conferences and seminars
so I don't see the new features enabling Apple to compete with the Zooms of the
world.Rather they're providing richer features for their broader consumer
audience," he added. However, Mark N. Vena, a senior analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy,
a technology analyst and advisory firm based in Austin, Texas maintained that
competition in the online group meetings space influenced Apple's upcoming
changes to Face Time.
"They're clearly feeling the
heat on their videoconferencing apps, they’ve come to the conclusion that they
have to open it up and allow access to Face Time calls with Android or a
browser. That takes conferencing out of the 'walled garden,'" he
continued. "It will be interesting to see what that portends for Apple's
messaging app."
Investment in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
While acknowledging the new
additions to Face Time were nice improvements, Krewell asserted that the
software is still very much locked into Apple's ecosystem. It's not an open
platform. There's a new API for developers now so we'll have to see if they
pick up the mantle and connect it to other platforms. “They have to allow
outside access to Face Time if they want to be more of an alternative to Zoom,”
added Ross Rubin, the principal analyst at Reticle Research, a
consumer technology advisory firm in New York City.
Apple continues to invest heavily
in AI and machine learning in iOS 15. "We can see that in the new
notification modes that understand your behavior, the new translation
capabilities and the matching of music to your photos. We also see greater
demarcation between what they're doing with the iPad and the phone," he
said. They're beefing up the content capabilities of the iPad through an
improved user interface and bringing over the app library feature from iOS.
Universal Control
Apple is also boosting its skin
in the electronic keys game with iOS 15. "One of the more interesting
things in the new iOS is the adding of keys to the Apple wallet," Krewell
said. Through ultrawide band connectivity," he explained, "you can
unlock your hotel room from your phone and store ID cards in your wallet.
That's very convenient.
Another addition to the upcoming
version of iOS is greater visibility into an app's usage of a phone's
resources. "They're giving you a report card of how apps are performing on
your phone," Vena noted. In addition to the refresh of iOS 15, Apple also
announced new versions of macOS (Monterey), iPadOS, watchOS and a new service,
iCloud+. In macOS, Apple is introducing a feature called Universal Control. Their
cross device synchronization is much richer than in the past. With Universal
Control, for example, you can share a keyboard and mouse or even files across
devices. It's the most visible example that we've seen in a while of how their
devices work better together.
Defanging Marketers
Apple is also tightening the
screws on privacy in the new macOS. They're not going to share if your email is
opened or not. They're not going to share IP location. Not having access to
those data points that can make things difficult for adtech companies. In
addition, a feature in Apple's iCloud+ service allows users to create
"throwaway" email addresses. Those addresses can be used to reduce
the use of a primary email address when logging onto websites or responding to
offers on the internet.
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