WWDC 2021 happened last week and it was huge. Taking the stage was not just one thing. The hour-plus long keynote turned out to highlight the many improvements Apple is bringing to all their devices. They started with the Apple iPhone’s iOS 15, iPad’s iPadOS 15, and the WatchOS 8. They also announced macOS Monterey in the keynote.
These are not small updates to your Apple devices though, mind you. They come with a whole bunch of feature updates and security updates to make their platforms the most user friendly ever in terms of privacy control. There was plenty to be excited about too with the new updates.
What are our highlights? Listen through to the podcast!
Healthcare is getting more personal and as a result, medical professionals require more data than ever to effectively treat diseases. That said, individuals are also becoming more health conscious and have been tracking and collecting data such as sleep times, heart rate, blood oxygenation and more through wearables like the Apple watch. Apple is taking the next step in enhancing their Health app to allow even better insights and secure data sharing.
With the latest update to the Apple Health app on iOS, the company is making proactive strides to putting more actionable data into the hands of its users. The new update to health allows users to gain more insights with trend analysis. The new feature allows users to track and visualise data trends for 20 types of data. This includes cardio fitness, sleep and even resting heart rate. These trends allow Health app users to track and visualise health and lifestyle metrics that are important to them. The Trends feature will also proactively highlight changes in the data that may be significant to users. The changes will be highlighted and surfaced in a way that is easily understood.
Apple is also bringing a new feature called Walking Steadiness. The feature comes in the wake of an increasing number of cases where serious conditions and loss of independence resulting from a fall. A staggering 37 million cases were reported in April 2021 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The new feature collects mobility data as users use their iPhones. The algorithms assess balance, stability and coordination using the motion sensors of the iPhone. Based on this data, it will return a classification OK, Low or Very Low. The app will then notify users if their steadiness drops below their preset levels and recommend curated, clinically validated visual exercises to increase strength and balance. Joining the steadiness feature is the respiratory rate measurement on the Apple Watch which will allow users to monitor their breathing even when asleep.
Apple’s greatest contribution to personalised health comes with its implementation of Health Sharing. The new feature allows users to share their data with others. While screen capping has always been an option on other platforms, Apple is allowing users to curate and allow visual access to the data to others. This means that users are able to keep an eye on their ageing parents or even share relevant data with their healthcare provider for better care and management of their conditions. It will also allow users to have better, more meaningful conversations with their doctors and allow more effective management. Apple is also including the ability to store vaccination records and tests in the app.
That said, Apple Health isn’t leaving privacy in the lurches. Apple is allowing granular control of the data collected in the Health app to the user. In fact, the company guarantees that the data collected remains private and secure. The data stored is encrypted securely even during sharing and is locked behind a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID on the phone itself. The company guarantees that it doesn’t have any access to the data even when the data is shared.
The Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is a huge yearly ensemble for Apple. The annual conference is one of Apple’s most significant in a year. We see Apple upping the ante for WWDC every year too, and this year is no different. Apple this year is looking to make WWDC21 the biggest one yet.
WWDC is where we see the evolution, or the new iterations of Apple’s software. You can expect to see a new macOS, tvOS, watchOS, iOS, and even iPadOS. Sometimes, you might get to see some new hardware, or get an announcement as big as hardware dependency change like last year’s announcement. If you forgot, WWDC20 saw Apple announcing that they are moving away from relying on partner processors and move their supply chain to rely on their own Apple Silicon processors. Later in the year 2020 we saw the Apple M1 chip.
2020’s WWDC was also completely online due to the global situation that is the pandemic. There are some good that came out of last year’s WWDC though. It was accessible to everyone in the world, no matter their location or time zone. Last year’s WWDC was what Apple claimed to be its largest ever so far. They are expecting around 28 million developers around the world to tune in for this year’s WWDC.
While hardware has not been much of a focus for WWDC, we should not be surprised when Apple does make some announcements on hardware additions to their line-up. In 2019 and 2017, Apple launched new devices and even desktops during their WWDC keynotes. As usual also, there are no new details on what Apple will announce this year at WWDC. Although, some are speculating that Apple might launch their long-awaited AR glasses or some sort of VR headset. These are rumours based on the visuals Apple chose for this year’s WWDC21 tease.
Apple’s WWDC 21 is happening 7th June 2021 onward all the way to the 11th of June 2021. As per the current pandemic situation and like 2020, the event will be an all-virtual affair. For more information on WWDC21 you can head over to their website.
