WWDC was earlier today. I have decided that I want to write about how this particular WWDC may/not impact the rest of my summer. I am on the iOS and watchOS betas so I will continue to explore what these systems have to offer. I’m debating whether or not to sign up for the iPadOS beta. I guess I’ll wait until later in the week...after the keynote and I listen to some podcasts...to see if this is a good move for me. The rest this post will document what I’m hoping for with each of the OS’s as well as my “in the moment” impressions of what happened during the keynote.

What I’m hoping for iOS...

The main thing I’m hoping for is more functionality with widgets. Last year Apple “gave us” new widgets. I used the opportunity customize my iPhone XR and have been aesthetically happy ever since. That said, it would be nice to do just a little more with certain apps and not be taken directly to the app to “do things.” For example, one of my favorite apps Timery would be so much cooler if I could engage with timers within the widget.

What I’m hoping for watchOS...

Apple is doing some really important things with health. Most of what I do on my Apple Watch is focused on my health. One thing I’d love to see with watchOS is more of a focus on mental health. I’m already doing some interesting things with my own mental health via apps like Breathe, WeCroak, Deadline, HiFutureSelf, and Due. I’d love to see Apple do something with the data my body provides the Health app targeted to helping me mentally and spiritually.

What I’m hoping for iPadOS...

Having just purchased this incredibly powerful iPad Pro it would be great to see Apple do something with the OS that shows it is dedicated to raising the overall experience of this device to the level that the hardware has reached! I’d love to see something “forward thinking” done with split view and/or multitasking making it easier to weave in and out of using the apps I use.

“In the Moment” response to WWDC

The keynote ended about 30 minutes ago.

What I got on iOS...

Based on what I was hoping for...nothing. Widgets did not get the updates I and many others were looking for. I was hoping for some interesting upgrades to mental health (not necessarily on iOS) and sort of got that with an interesting feature called; Focus. Focus will be an interesting way to organize notifications based on category which can bring peace of mind whether I’m at home or work. For example, when I’m “at work” (I put that in quotes because of the remote work I did teaching this year) I can keep notifications focused just on things (people and apps) that are work related. Users will also be able to create their own categories for this new Focus feature and it will be interesting to play around with this.

What I got on watchOS...

I was hoping for health and mindfulness upgrades. I got both. There is going to be a new Mindfulness app that includes the Breathe app as well as a reflection option that provides the opportunity to read an interesting quote for example then “reflect” on it by looking (and listening) to the watch screen. The Fitness + app is also going to get a T’ai Chi workout which will be accessible on both on the Apple Watch and iPad.

What I got iPadOS...

I was hoping for a new split view and multitasking experience. I got that; sort of?! The Shelf, controls on screen within apps, being able to drag apps on top of one another to create split view options, and the keyboard shortcuts that were laid out all looked and sounded very interesting. I’m just unsure if what was shared during the keynote is going to be worth getting on the beta to try it all out. It will be interesting to see how stable the beta is so I may wait to hear what some of the iPad Pro power users have to say about “it” before committing.