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Analysis From Apple’s Developer Conference: Upgrades to Watch and Apple TV Analysis From Apple’s Developer Conference: Upgrades to Apple TV and Siri
(35 minutes later)
SAN FRANCISCO — When Steven P. Jobs ran Apple, the company’s devices were distinguished by their polished software and famous iTunes store. Today, critics and even loyal fans are taking shots at Apple’s buggy software and Apple Music, its new streaming music service.SAN FRANCISCO — When Steven P. Jobs ran Apple, the company’s devices were distinguished by their polished software and famous iTunes store. Today, critics and even loyal fans are taking shots at Apple’s buggy software and Apple Music, its new streaming music service.
With its hardware sales now slowing, Apple is under pressure to fix its software and online services, which have become increasingly important to consumers. So at its annual conference for software developers on Monday, the iPhone maker is trying to demonstrate that it is still a purveyor of high-quality software and services.With its hardware sales now slowing, Apple is under pressure to fix its software and online services, which have become increasingly important to consumers. So at its annual conference for software developers on Monday, the iPhone maker is trying to demonstrate that it is still a purveyor of high-quality software and services.
The live stream of the conference keynote address is available here.The live stream of the conference keynote address is available here.
Brian X. Chen, Farhad Manjoo and Vindu Goel are attending Apple’s conference keynote in San Francisco. They are analyzing what matters about the announcements that Apple is making. Here are the main points: Brian X. Chen, Farhad Manjoo and Vindu Goel are attending Apple’s conference keynote in San Francisco. They are analyzing what matters about the announcements that Apple is making.
So far, Apple has announced:
■ Improvements in the Apple Watch operating system.
■ Changes in the operating system for Apple TV, called tvOS.
■ A rebranding of its Mac operating system.
■ An expansion of Apple Pay.
■ Opening up Siri to developers.
■ Improvements in photos and maps.
Here are the main points:
Farhad: Apple is dividing this presentation into four segments focused on each of its computer operating systems — one each for iPhone, the Mac, the Apple Watch and Apple TV.
That segmentation suggests Apple’s worldview. This is a company that still sees the tech world as defined by separate physical devices. Sure, it will integrate these devices through some cloud-based features (including some new ones it’s showing today), but fundamentally each Apple device is its own, and the internet is merely the glue between them.
That is a startlingly different — and, really, a kind of old-fashioned — view of tech, especially compared to the view that Google presented at its recent developer conference. In Google’s view, the internet is the central operating system — it’s the place where all your data and tech intelligence reside. The next era of the tech industry will be defined by which of these worldviews becomes dominant.
Brian: Apple announced a new version of its operating system, Watch OS, powering Apple Watch. Notably, Apple started the keynote with Apple Watch, which signifies the increasing importance of the gadget, the first brand-new piece of hardware introduced by Apple under the leadership of its chief executive, Timothy D. Cook.Brian: Apple announced a new version of its operating system, Watch OS, powering Apple Watch. Notably, Apple started the keynote with Apple Watch, which signifies the increasing importance of the gadget, the first brand-new piece of hardware introduced by Apple under the leadership of its chief executive, Timothy D. Cook.
Among other improvements, Apple is addressing a prominent complaint about Apple Watch: The watch took several seconds to open third-party apps like Twitter and Uber. The new version of the watch’s operating system will start apps instantly. Vindu: Apple repositioned the watch as more of a health monitor, putting the activity tracker in a more prominent place and encouraging competitive sharing of workouts with friends.
Vindu: To address other complaints about the watch, Apple added a new feature called Scribble that allows you to write words one letter at a time. Previously Apple Watch only permitted canned responses to incoming messages and emails.
Apple also repositioned the watch as more of a health monitor, putting the activity tracker in a more prominent place and encouraging competitive sharing of workouts with friends.
Brian: The new fitness features of the Apple Watch place the product in more direct competition with Fitbit, the largest wearables maker. Fitbit’s fitness-tracking accessories are popular partly because of their social features, which let wearers track each other’s step counts and compete with one another.Brian: The new fitness features of the Apple Watch place the product in more direct competition with Fitbit, the largest wearables maker. Fitbit’s fitness-tracking accessories are popular partly because of their social features, which let wearers track each other’s step counts and compete with one another.
Brian: Eddy Cue, head of Apple’s software and services, announced improvements in the operating system powering Apple TV, called tvOS. That includes a feature called single sign-on: People have complained about how long it takes to log into individual services like Hulu, Netflix and Showtime. Now, users will be able to sign into all network apps with a single universal login.
Apple essentially believes the future of the television screen will be driven by apps. Third-party apps could make the big screen smarter than the interface of standard cable boxes.
Vindu: Over all, the improvements in Apple TV are modest. But some tighter integration with live TV networks does set up Apple to possibly become a TV provider for cord-cutters as more channels offer their services over the internet.
Brian: Apple rebranded its Mac operating system, which was called OS X for 15 years. It will now be called MacOS, bringing it in line with the branding schemes of Apple’s other software products (tvOS, WatchOS, iOS).
With its new Mac operating system, called MacOS Sierra, Apple is putting the clout of its Mac operating system behind the Apple Watch. Users wearing the Apple Watch will be able to unlock their Macs without entering a user name or password.
Apple also expanded Siri, its voice assistant, to become available in the Mac operating system. Previously, Siri was accessible through iPhones, iPads, Apple TV and Apple Watch. The move is a response to Google, which recently said it would expand its voice-powered virtual assistant to many products, including a chat app called Allo and a smart speaker called Home.
Brian: Apple announced a big upgrade for Siri, allowing outside app developers to take advantage of voice controls. Now Siri can do things like summon an Uber car, send a message through a chat app like WhatsApp or send someone cash with apps like Square Cash.
The move helps Apple play catch-up with Amazon, which already allows third-party developers to add capabilities to its smart speaker, Echo. Google also has said it plans to allow outside developers to make their apps and services work with its smart speaker, Home, due for release this fall.
Farhad: This opening up of Siri is an improvement, but Apple was unclear about how expansive this system will be. How many apps will be able to use Siri? What functions will Siri be able to handle for them? Can Siri handle very sophisticated requests, like ones that depend on multiple apps — for instance, “Call an Uber five minutes before my next meeting”? Apple hasn’t specified. Given that voice is becoming an increasingly important interface for the next generation of computing, Apple’s progress here could be a key benchmark for its future.