Apple could not possibly cover every update to iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS in their Keynote. So as the nerds have been picking through the trash in and around San Francisco they’ve been able to dig up several subtle changes that are worth noting.
Here are a few of them that I’ve found via Twitter and scouring the blogosphere. Some of them were mentioned in passing in the Keynote as well but I thought I’d highlight those too.
- For developers, Apple made a variant of the San Francisco font called SF Mono. Yes!
- Apple Maps can now find gas stations and restaurants along your route of travel. This will be enormously helpful.
- macOS gives a tabbed interface to nearly every application out of the box without the developer needing to make an update. This will end up being a bigger deal than it may seem.
- Creating sticker packs for iMessage requires no code. So expect a lot of sticker packs.
- iMessage allows for read receipts to be sent, or not, on a per conversation basis.
- iOS 10 allows you to remove default Apple apps (like Tips, Stocks, etc) from your Home Screen. It doesn’t delete the app, however.
- The News app now allows you to subscribe to specific publications rather than only selecting them as possible sources. RSS reader?
- iOS 10’s Phone application can make Skype (and, presumably in the future, Slack, Google Hangouts, etc.) a first-class citizen and add their call lists, voice mails, etc. to the Phone app. Think of how Facetime works now. It is built into Phone.
- Apple Pay on the web will make paying for things incredibly easy. It would be possible for the worst shopping experiences ever to become one or two taps.
- iOS 10 lets you edit Live Photos and even stabilize them (like Google Motion Stills).
- Universal Clipboard (macOS, iOS) will allow you to copy text, images, or video from one device and paste them on another. The engineering to make this happen must be amazing yet the feature is completely invisible.
- Picture-in-Picture on macOS. Right now I use a bookmarklet in Safari to force a YouTube video to pop-up and be in its own window. This way I can continue working or using Safari. Picture-in-Picture will allow me to do this, even in full screen apps.
- tvOS’s Single Sign-on feature makes a 5 step process (or more) and makes it zero steps. No more going to CBS News’ website and typing in a 4 digit code to get access.
- AppleTV will now support 4 game controllers, not just 2.
I’m sure more and more smaller, subtle things will come to light as Apple puts the finishing touches on these releases for the Fall.
Addendum: Mac Rumors has a few good ones. Notably, the Wake Alarm and Flashlight intensity settings.
Second addendum:
A few new tidbits emerged overnight. Partially due to John Gruber’s live The Talk Show with Hair Force One and Phil. Namely:
- iOS 10 will support shooting and editing in RAW
- And though some Apple apps can be removed (see above) they can’t be independently updated and will not be available in the App Store. Which is sort of a pity because that could have meant faster update cycles for most used apps.
- Apple still loves the Mac App Store. Yeah, we’ll see.
- Safari 10, in macOS Sierra, will turn all plugins (Flash, Quicktime, etc.) off by default.
Third addendum:
- If you use an external keyboard on iOS one of the keyboard shortcuts you may use is "CMD+Tab" which lets you cycle through the apps you currently have open. In iOS 10 the Home Screen is now an option on that.
Fourth addendum (honestly, I could keep going and going):
- Apple Maps can detect that you’ve parked your car. Also lets you add notes and take a photo. You’ll never lose your car again.
- You don’t need the Apple remote app to type text into your Apple TV.
- Close all tabs in Safari by holding down tabs button.
- Audio playback no longer stops when opening the camera app.
Fifth addendum:
- In iOS 10 a "magnifier" can be turned on. Let the Sherlock Holmes jokes run amok.
If you notice anything else, send me a tweet or an email or something.