Our WWDC 2021 Keynote Cheat Sheet – The Snoozefest

WWDC 2021 Cheat Sheet

This years virtual keynote was a polished but long winded 105 minute affair that lacked any wow moment. Here’s some of what Apple announced…

HomeKit

  • HomeKeys – unlock your house, office, hotel room, car with iPhone or Apple Watch
  • Ask Siri to play TV shows
  • SharePlay allows you to watch with friends via FaceTime
  • HomePod Mini can be a selected as speaker for Apple TV
  • 3rd party HomeKit accessory makers can now add Siri to their devices
  • matter support coming in iOS 15

General Stuff

Mail privacy protection hides your IP and stops read notifications. New setting to show what an app accesses and what URLs it shares your data with. On device speech recognition means no recordings to the cloud. Also means no Internet connection required for some Siri commands. iCloud accounts can now add a recovery contact as well as ‘Legacy’ contacts for when you die.

New iCloud+ service adds Private Relay, encrypting your traffic and routing it through 2 relays. HomeKit encrypted video support.

The Health App can measure mobility data and Walking Steadiness checks if your fall risk is increasing. New sharing health data capabilities with your doctor (US only) or people you choose – monitor elderly parents for example.

macOS

  • macOS Monterey – public beta in July
  • Universal Control – single mouse and keyboard across Mac and iPad
  • AirPlay to Mac – send AV to a Mac
  • Shortcuts coming to the Mac
  • Safari – Redesign reduces clutter & adds Tab Groups
  • Safari get extensions on iPhone & iPad
  • Focus – allows you to filter certain apps and people
  • TestFlight coming to the Mac

iOS

  • iOS 15 – public beta in July
  • Messages – ‘Shared with You’ for new ways to share photos and music
  • FaceTime – many feature updates
  • SharePlay – new way to watch and listen together
  • Notifications – tweaked design with Notification Summary
  • Focus – allows you to filter certain apps and people, across all devices
  • Live Text – pulls text from photos
  • Photo Search added to Spotlight
  • Keys coming to homes, offices and hotels as well as cars
  • ID Cards (eg US Driving licenses) coming to Wallet
  • Maps – 3D Cities (inc London) coming to CarPlay too

iPadOS

  • New Multitasking controls
  • The ‘Shelf’ shows minimised open apps
  • Widgets can now be placed anywhere on home screen
  • App library added to iPad, same as iPhone
  • Quick Note – launched from corner of almost any app
  • Translate coming to iPad
  • Swift Playgrounds – build apps on iPad

watchOS

  • watchOS 8
  • New Fitness+ Workouts Added
  • New Portraits Watch face
  • Share photos, messages and mail directly from watch
  • New app shelf
  • A new animation in Breathe app (seriously)

AirPods

  • Conversation Boost for AirPods Pro
  • Siri can now announce notifications
  • AirPods can now be found using the Find My app
  • Spacial Audio coming to tvOS and M1 Macs