6/3/2014 Apple opens up iOS, struts Mac-iPhone-iPad integration

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9248759/Apple_opens_up_iOS_struts_Mac_iPhone_iPad_integration?taxonomyName=App+Development&tax 1/4

Apple opens up iOS, struts Mac-iPhone-iPad

integration
AtWWDCrevealspiecesofiOS8andOSX'Yosemite'todevelopers,trumpetshealth
andhome,touts'Continuity'
GreggKeizer
June2,2014(Computerworld)
AppleCEOTimCookandoneofhistoplieutenantstodayoutlinedthenextiterationsofthe
company'scriticaliOSandthelessimportantOSXbeforeanenthusiasticaudienceof
developers.
Monday'sWorldwideDevelopersConference(WWDC)keynotefocusedonsoftwarethe
weeklongsmorgasbordisfordevelopers,notcustomersandforthefirsttimeinthelastthree
yearspassedondeliveringasmallsideofhardware.
ButApplehammeredhardonthesoftwareside,trumpetingchangesbothforendusers,andina
departureofsorts,dedicatedalargeswathofkeynotetimetotalkupthenewiOSSDK(software
developerskit),whichwilloffersome4,000newAPIs(applicationprogramminginterfaces)
includingonesthatApplehadpreviouslykepttoitself.
"ThiswasmoreaboutthefutureofApplethanthepresent,"saidCarolinaMilanesi,chiefof
researchandheadofU.S.businessforKantarWorldPanelComtech,inaninterviewafterthe
keynote."Thisisnotsomethingwecandigesttodayandseetheimpact,butit'sveryimportant.
It'snotjustabouttheirstuffnow."
MilanesiwastalkingaboutthelongawaitedopennessthatAppledemonstratedasittickedoffa
hostofwaysdeveloperswillbeabletoaccessiOSatthesystemlevel,createcloudbasedapps
thatrelyonApple'siCloudserviceforthebackend,andtiehomeautomationandhealthcare
hardwaretotheiPhoneastheultimatecontroller.
PatrickMoorhead,principalanalystwithMoorInsights&Strategy,concurredwithMilanesi.
"Todaywasaboutgettingmoreopenandgrowingtheecosystem,bylettingdevelopers'apps
accesskeypartsofiOS.That'sbeenakeyattributeofAndroid,butnowApple'smatchingthat,"
saidMoorhead.
Theothermajortheme,saidanalysts,wastheenhancedintegrationbetweeniOSandOSX,
exemplifiedby"Continuity,"anumbrellatermtocoverseveralfeatures,includingtheexisting
AirDrop,whichnowworksbetweenthetwoOSesthenew"Handoff"thatusesproximity
awarenesstoletpeoplestartataskononedevice,thenfinishonanotherandtheabilityto
createanadhocWiFihotspotwith,say,aniPhone,withouthavingtopreconfigurethe
smartphoneorenterapassword,asisnowthecase.
MilanesiwasimpressedwithContinuityanditsimplicationsforApple."Really,ifyouhavean
iPhoneandiPad,howlongwillittakeyoutogetaMacaftertoday?"sheasked.
MilanesihasbeenabelieverinApple'smultidevicestrategyasopposedtoMicrosoft'spushto
combinedevices,bestdemonstratedbyRedmond'sownSurfacePro3andsawContinuityas
evidencethatitwouldfindfavoramongthecustomersApplewantsmosttocourt:thosewithone
CupertinodesigneddevicewhohavenotyetbeenconvincedthatanallAppleecosystemcan
work.
6/3/2014 Apple opens up iOS, struts Mac-iPhone-iPad integration
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9248759/Apple_opens_up_iOS_struts_Mac_iPhone_iPad_integration?taxonomyName=App+Development&tax 2/4
The 'Continuity' features built into OS X Yosemite allow a desktop
user to answer phone calls coming into an iPhone.
CookboastedthatiOS8,thisyear's
iPhoneandiPadoperatingsystem,was
"thebiggestreleasesincethelaunchof
theAppStore"andrequired"two
stories,notone,"whichthekeynotesplit
intodifferentpresentations,onethat
highlightedenduserchanges,another
targetingdevelopers.
BothwereconductedbyCraig
Federighi,wholeadsOSXandiOS
developmentandspentnearlytheentire
twohoursonstage.
WhileiOS8willnotbevisuallytweaked
thatwasiOS7'sjoblastyearitwill
includeahostofneworenhancedtools.
Computerworld's Ken Mingis and IDG Enterprise's Keith Shaw discuss what they liked (and didn't) about Apple's Worldwide
Developer's Conference keynote.
TheNotificationCenterwillberefinedtoofferincontext,interactivenotifications,whereareplyto
anincomingmessage,forinstance,canbewrittenandfiredoffwithoutleavingthecenteror
openinganapp.iOS8willalsoreceivenewkeyboardskills,dubbed"Quicktype,"thatsupport
predictivesuggestionsandopenstheiOSkeyboardtothirdpartymodificationstheContinuity
featuressubstantialenhancementstoMessages,includingindividualthreadinganda"donot
disturb"bydiscussionthreadandasreportedearlier,songrecognitionviaShazam.
iCloudDrivewillletiOSusersaccessdocumentssystemwide,breakingdowntheappspecific
silosthatfileshavebeenforcedintopreviously.Contentpurchasedbyuptosixmembersofa
family,evenondifferentcreditcards,cannowbesharedusingFamilySharing,saidFederighi.
6/3/2014 Apple opens up iOS, struts Mac-iPhone-iPad integration
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9248759/Apple_opens_up_iOS_struts_Mac_iPhone_iPad_integration?taxonomyName=App+Development&tax 3/4
The Healthkit dashboard aggregates health info from a variety of
apps.
AndPhotos,iOS'sphotographmanagementapp,willnowstoreallphotosandvideoiniCloudfor
accessviaanyAppledevice.
iCloudstorageallowances,however,willremainparsimonious:just5GBforfree.Additionalplans
of20GBfor99centspermonthand200GBfor$3.99monthlywillbeofferedtheformer
representsa70%discountfromApple'scurrentpricing.
Asanticipatedbytherumormill,iOS8willincludenewAPIsforaninitiativecalled"Healthkit,"
andadedicatedappdubbed"Health,"aswellas"Homekit,"thecollectionofAPIsformanaging
homeautomationdevicesfromaniPhone.
"Healthkitisapersonalmedicallockbox,whereuserscanputalltheirhealthinformation,then
allowonlycertainappsaccess,"saidMoorhead."Consumersarelookingforatrustedname,and
Apple'sgotagoodshotatthat."
AppletoutedtheHealthappastheplacewherevarioushealthcarerelateddevicesandtheir
supportingappswillcontributedatatocreateamoreholisticpictureofwellness.
ThesameapproachwasevidentinHomekit,saidMoorhead."Apple'stryingtobetheepicenter
ofyourdigitalhomelife,"hesaid."Insteadofhavingmultipleapps,youwillhavejustonewhere
allyour[homeautomation]devicesworktogether."
iOS8willlaunchthisfallmostlikelysimultaneouslywiththenewestiPhoneandwillrunon
theiPhone4S,iPhone5,iPhone5CandiPhone5StheiPad2,iPadwithRetina,iPadAir,iPad
miniwithandwithoutRetinaandthefifthgenerationiPodTouch.Developersgetthepreview
today.
Asexpected,ApplealsospentconsiderabletimetrumpetingOSXthisyear.Atthebeginningof
thekeynote,whichwaswebcastlive,FederighiunveiledarefreshedvisuallookforOSX,the
desktopoperatingsystem,thatwasreminiscentoflastyear'siOS7witha"flatter,"more
minimalistfeel.
Federighiagaindemonstratedhis
comedychopsbyfirstsuggestingthat
AppleconsideredOSX"Oxnard,"then
OSX"RanchoCucamonga,"evenOSX
"Weed"afternorthernCalifornia's
reputationforgrowingmarijuana,as
potentialnames.Lastyear,Apple
changeditsnamingconventiontolabel
itsnextdecadeofdesktopOSesafter
prominentlocalesinitshomestate.
"Sanerheadsprevailed,"Federighi
jokedaboutOSXWeed,then
announcedOSX10.10as"Yosemite"
afterthenationalparkincentral
California.
ThenewlookofYosemitereliesheavily
ontranslucency,especiallyintheDock,
wherefrequentlyusedapplicationsare
displayed,andintherecraftedand
expandedNotificationCenter.
AshasbeenparforWWDC,Federighi
highlightedonlyahandfulofthenew
6/3/2014 Apple opens up iOS, struts Mac-iPhone-iPad integration
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9248759/Apple_opens_up_iOS_struts_Mac_iPhone_iPad_integration?taxonomyName=App+Development&tax 4/4
OS X gets a new name this year: Yosemite.
featuresinYosemite,manyofthemchangesthroughoutApple'sfirstpartyapplications,including
MailwhichwillgetanencryptionoptionMaps,Messages,Contacts,andthebuiltin
calendar.HealsointroducediCloudDrive,whichletsOSXandiOSusersviewdocuments
createdandstoredbytheirrespectiveapps,andevenuploadthirdpartyfilestoonlinestorage.
Safariwillalsobeupdatedalongside
Yosemitetoaddanewtabviewthat
stackstabsforeachsite.AndApple
wedgeditswaybetweenitscustomers
andGooglebyofferingSpotlightdriven
alternativestostandardbrowserbased
searches."Safariwillsuggestsearch
resultsbeforeyougotoGoogle.So
what?Well,itmeansGoogledoesn't
suggestthemanymore,"saidJonny
Evans,Computerworld'sresident
blogger,inatweettoday.
Developerswillreceiveaprerelease
versionofYosemitetoday,withapublic
launch"thisfall."Customerswhohave
registeredwiththerecentlyrevealed
BetaSeedprogramwillalsogetaccess
toprelaunchcopies.
OSXYosemitewillbefree.
NoshowsduringthekeynoteincludedJimmyIovineandDr.Dre,thecofoundersofBeats
Electronics,whichlastweekApplesaiditwouldacquirefor$3billion.Somehadspeculatedthat
thetwowouldmakeabriefappearanceonstagetoday,butthatdidn'thappen,although
FederighiphonedDreduringpartofthepresentation.
AlsoAWOLwasanymentionofApple'siBeaconstechnology,whichdebutedatWWDCayear
ago.TheBluetoothbasedmicrolocationandproximitysystemwasthoughttobeakeypartof
today'stalk,butthat,too,didnotpanout.
Norwashardwarementioned,notevenaMacrefreshofsomekind.Since2011Applehasmade
ahabitofintroducingnewMacsatWWDC,givingthecompany'soldestplatformsomestage
timeaftershiftingiPhonereleasestothefall.
Buttherewasplentytoassimilate.
"Thisis,afterall,adeveloper'sconference,"notedEzraGottheil,ananalystwithTechnology
BusinessResearch."AndApple'sempoweringdeveloperstosellmorestuffandmakethe
platformmoreappealing."
Areplayoftoday'sWWDCkeynotecanbeviewedonApple'swebsite.
GreggKeizercoversMicrosoft,securityissues,Apple,Webbrowsersandgeneraltechnology
breakingnewsforComputerworld.FollowGreggonTwitterat @gkeizer,onGoogle+or
subscribetoGregg'sRSSfeed .Hisemailaddressisgkeizer@computerworld.com.
SeemorebyGreggKeizeronComputerworld.com.