Apple WWDC 2018 Was Full of Nice—But Not Groundbreaking

Apple’s 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has come and gone. And the event was as much defined by what was announced as what was not.

When CEO Tim Cook took the stage on Monday, he made one thing abundantly clear: The show would center on software. And he kept his promise. Despite hopes that WWDC would usher in new iPads or involve a new Mac Pro, it was an all-software affair that focused on evolutionary upgrades to Apple’s many operating systems.

This is Coins2Day’s latest weekly roundup of the biggest Apple news. Here’s last week’s roundup.

Indeed, “evolutionary” is the term that best describes Apple’s upcoming operating systems. The updates to iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS are nice, but they’re not groundbreaking. And although they’ll improve the experience of using Apple’s devices, they won’t fundamentally change it. And perhaps, in some respects, that’s a good thing.

Read on for more about WWDC and the other Apple news that made headlines this week:

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Apple kicked off WWDC 2018 with a discussion of improvements to iOS 12, the company’s mobile operating system. The software will come with tweaks to Siri that should make it easier to access information and perform tasks with only your voice. It also features some design changes, an improved Photos app to help you find long-lost pictures, and a new way to see just how obsessed you are with your iPhone by tracking the number of times you pick up your phone and spend in apps. And just in case you want better emoji, a new Memoji that lets you create emoji using your own likeness will get the job done. Apple plans to release iOS 12 later this year.
If it’s the new macOS Mojave you’re most focused on, Apple has you covered, as well. The desktop operating system’s design has been improved and a variety of new data privacy features aim to give you more control over your information. Aside from that, look for macOS, which will be released as a free update later this year, to simply work better on just about any Mac it’s running on.
In a bid to kill off the cable box, Apple announced at WWDC that it’s partnered with Charter Communications’ Spectrum to give the carrier’s subscribers access to live channels and on-demand programming through its Apple TV. The move is part of a broader effort by Apple to make its Apple TV and the tvOS operating system a central player in how you find, access, and stream content in the living room. Apple’s tvOS is also being made compatible with high-end audio through Dolby Atmos, among other features.
Apple this week dug into phone addiction with updates in iOS 12, like Allowances, that allows parents to stop kids from spending too much time on their smartphones. The move came just a day before Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he thought he was “fairly disciplined,” about using his smartphone, only to discover he was picking up his phone too often for his own liking. A separate study from cellular signal booster company SureCall put some numbers to our phone addiction and revealed that we’re on our phones while on the toilet and having sex, and get anxiety when we’re not within cell service areas.
Apple this week was slapped with a lawsuit alleging that every Apple Watch has a defect that causes its screen to separate from the rest of the device. The lawsuit, which is seeking class status, demands that Apple acknowledge the defect and pay damages. Apple, which has yet to respond to the lawsuit, did not respond to a Coins2Day request for comment on the claims.
Apple warned suppliers this week that it would order 80 million new iPhones in the latter part of the year, according to a Nikkei report, down from 100 million orders placed during the same period last year. It’s unclear why Apple may have reduced its orders, but some shareholders fear the company is signaling lower-than-desired demand for its iPhones. Apple hasn’t confirmed the Nikkei report.