WWDC 2021 Highlights and Discussion

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've been watching these announcements using the Apple TV app on my 4k Amazon Fire Stick that I got last Prime Day.

The actual ATV 4K device has multiple apps as opposed to a single “Apple TV” app for Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, etc. Maybe Apple wants to match what they do on other devices and do away with the separate Apple Events app on their own device. That is fine, but they obviously messed up the transition. Perhaps it was a last minute decision right before the event. At any rate it is rather kluge at the moment.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Oddly enough, if you want to view the latest Apple Events from today on the ATV 4K, you still have to open the Apple Events app. It redirects you to what it says is the Apple TV app. However, the only thing available to select are Apple Events, and you can’t get to other programming in the Apple TV app. Really strange. If you directly open the Apple TV app you can find older events by using the Search feature, but there is no tab or button for them. So apparently for now, you have to open the Apple Events app, it redirects you to a screen that says “Apple Events” even though the button says Apple TV. Very kluge and confusing. I guess they have no idea where they are heading with these apps as far as events go.

I don’t have Apple Events app on our Apple TV 4K, I just used AppleTV app (there is also Apple Events collection in the AppleTV app, which I discovered later).

There is also the Apple Developer app, where you can watch live and see the Keynote.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I don’t have Apple Events app on our Apple TV 4K, I just used AppleTV app (there is also Apple Events collection in the AppleTV app, which I discovered later).

There is also the Apple Developer app, where you can watch live and see the Keynote.

I think I installed it a few of years ago to watch an Apple Event as it was suggested to use it back then. However, that might have been on an Apple TV 3rd gen. Typing “apple event” in the Apple TV app shows the current and past events you can watch. I always just used the Apple Events app though. Oh well I can delete that app now. You would think that during an event Apple would place it front and center on the home page of the Apple TV app rather than make you hunt for it.

It makes more sense just to use the Apple TV app, so I can see why they are retiring the Apple Events app. It is also more consistent with viewing the events on iPads and non-Apple streaming devices.

[ilovejedd]

I was just watching on the iPad (more like background listening) and on that one, WWDC played on the Apple TV app.

[tomsem]

A couple of my devices now show ‘Dolby Atmos’ badge for certain albums. Newer devices will play through speakers with Dolby Atmos goodness, but the interesting thing is that headphones will reproduce it with older devices. So on 2nd generation iPad Pro 12.9”, it doesn’t show Dolby Atmos logo when playing through its speakers, but when I connect Beats Solo Pro 3 then the logo appears (apparently 3rd party headphones can get this treatment by going into Settings).

Other things play with Lossless badge (I assume this is the <48kHz, CD quality version, I don’t have equipment to repro the >48kHz).

Anyway it does sound good — but afraid I’m going to need some better cans now.

https://www.apple.com/apple-music/

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I was just watching on the iPad (more like background listening) and on that one, WWDC played on the Apple TV app.

That seems to be the standard way iOS and iPadOS devices work with events, by displaying them via the Apple TV app. On my Macs I think I had to watch it via Safari and go to the Apple website to click the link. There isn't an Apple TV app on Mac, you use the Safari browser to watch Apple TV.

I think maybe Apple added the Apple Events app to the older generation of ATVs because there wasn't a browser and you couldn't add apps yourself via the app store. I know my older ATV 3rd gen only had apps which Apple added to it via FW, and there wasn't any access to an app store. So perhaps that was how Apple was able to allow people to watch the events on their older ATVs. At any rate it makes sense to get rid of the Apple Events app on the newer ATVs to make them more consistent across the various devices. Plus why have an app that is only used 2 or 3 days a year? Kind of a waste of space!

[OtinG]

it just occurred to me that they didn't say much, if anything, about tvOS during the WWDC. Do they ever talk much about it at the WWDCs?

[OtinG]

According to MacRumors, iOS 15 has a redesigned Apple TV Siri Remote interface in the Control Center that resembles new ATV Siri Remote now being sold.

This is a nice upgrade from the current interface.

.....

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by OtinG

That seems to be the standard way iOS and iPadOS devices work with events, by displaying them via the Apple TV app. On my Macs I think I had to watch it via Safari and go to the Apple website to click the link. There isn't an Apple TV app on Mac, you use the Safari browser to watch Apple TV.

I think maybe Apple added the Apple Events app to the older generation of ATVs because there wasn't a browser and you couldn't add apps yourself via the app store. I know my older ATV 3rd gen only had apps which Apple added to it via FW, and there wasn't any access to an app store. So perhaps that was how Apple was able to allow people to watch the events on their older ATVs. At any rate it makes sense to get rid of the Apple Events app on the newer ATVs to make them more consistent across the various devices. Plus why have an app that is only used 2 or 3 days a year? Kind of a waste of space!

There is an Apple TV app on the mac, at least on my mac. It doesn't have the third party apps, but it's there.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by OtinG

it just occurred to me that they didn't say much, if anything, about tvOS during the WWDC. Do they ever talk much about it at the WWDCs?

They did a few years ago when they were trying to get people to generate apps for the Apple TV device. I'm sure there will be a couple of break out sessions on it.

They actually did talk about Apple TV quite a bit, but it was in the context of fitness, home and music. After thinking about it over night, I think that Apple is pushing the interoperability of the Apple ecosystem. You can AirPlay from your iPhone to your homepods, Apple TV or Mac. You can have your Mac, macbook and iPad all open easily moving information from one to the other. That sort of thing. That's what they are showing. Now the developers have to add support for that to their apps.

Once again, after digesting, one of the cooler things that I noticed was the ability to use your AirPods almost as hearing aids, I guess it's like those devices you see advertised on late night TV and obscure cable channels that allow people who are a bit hard of hearing to focus on conversations. It wasn't clear to me if this was just for the next generation AirPods, or it this will be available for all AirPods. I can actually use that. I have trouble following conversations in a noisy environment. It looked like they have similar technology that allows you to block external noises when you are on the phone as well.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

There is an Apple TV app on the mac, at least on my mac. It doesn't have the third party apps, but there.

It is probably a later addition to newer macOS versions. I'm running Mojave and it doesn't exist on this older macOS, nor is it available in the App Store for Mojave.

On another note, I no longer have a Mac capable of upgrading to the latest macOS, macOS 12 Monterey. My 2012 Mac mini lost that ability a while back, and now my 2014 MacBook Pro 15" has reached the end of updating to the newest OS. It is still using Mojave but can be updated to Big Sur at some point, although I doubt I will ever do that. Hopefully the next gen of Mac mini will still be affordable, and more will be known about the M1 or later chips and how they affect Mac lifespan. I definitely need to upgrade to a new Mac within a year or two!

[OtinG]

iPhone only apps can run in landscape mode on the iPad in iPadOS 15. They will be letterboxed though, that is, a lot of black space on either side of the narrow looking app. That is still better than portrait only, which is inconvenient when you have your iPad in a keyboard case.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by OtinG

It is probably a later addition to newer macOS versions. I'm running Mojave and it doesn't exist on this older macOS, nor is it available in the App Store for Mojave.

On another note, I no longer have a Mac capable of upgrading to the latest macOS, macOS 12 Monterey. My 2012 Mac mini lost that ability a while back, and now my 2014 MacBook Pro 15" has reached the end of updating to the newest OS. It is still using Mojave but can be updated to Big Sur at some point, although I doubt I will ever do that. Hopefully the next gen of Mac mini will still be affordable, and more will be known about the M1 or later chips and how they affect Mac lifespan. I definitely need to upgrade to a new Mac within a year or two!

Well, yes, they didn't finish splitting up the old iTunes app until Big Sur, if I recall correctly. The good news is that the old iTunes still works with the various stores.

I seem to notice that several times they mentioned new capabilities in conjunction with M1. I don't know if that means if you don't have an M1 based machine (Mac/iPad) the new capabilities wouldn't work, or if it would just work slowly.

I'm holding out for an upgrade on the 27 inch iMac 5K. I don't want no whimpy 24 inch iMac 4.5K! Maybe next year. I got my laptop in 2019, so it should still be good for a few years.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

They actually did talk about Apple TV quite a bit, but it was in the context of fitness, home and music. After thinking about it over night, I think that Apple is pushing the interoperability of the Apple ecosystem. You can AirPlay from your iPhone to your homepods, Apple TV or Mac. You can have your Mac, macbook and iPad all open easily moving information from one to the other. That sort of thing. That's what they are showing. Now the developers have to add support for that to their apps.

Yes indeed, and that is one of the best new features for 2021.

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Once again, after digesting, one of the cooler things that I noticed was the ability to use your AirPods almost as hearing aids, I guess it's like those devices you see advertised on late night TV and obscure cable channels that allow people who are a bit hard of hearing to focus on conversations. It wasn't clear to me if this was just for the next generation AirPods, or it this will be available for all AirPods. I can actually use that. I have trouble following conversations in a noisy environment. It looked like they have similar technology that allows you to block external noises when you are on the phone as well.

I missed that, but I zoned out on the AirPods stuff because I have only about 30% normal hearing in my right ear because of a childhood illness, so stereo headsets and earpieces don’t work for me. Therefore I just didn’t pay much attention while they were discussing AirPods. I paid $3600 for hearing aids back in 2008 but they really didn’t work that well. But the technology is so much better now that even the OTC kind of hearing aids are probably much better than the ones I bought 13 years ago. I’ll go back and listen to that part of the event to see what was said. I would consider buying AirPods if they can block out background noise. I too am totally lost in a crowd of people talking because all the noise goes into my good ear and overwhelms my ability to comprehend the individual words.

My Sony TV and soundbase both have built in sound modes for bringing out conversation better than say a movie sound mode does. Perhaps the AirPods has something like that built into them too. It would be nice to watch TV, especially British shows, without having to turn on CC so I don’t miss a few words here and there. Not being British, I’m not used to their accents, so I have a lot more trouble understanding all of what they say, but I have that issue with American accents too, but to a lesser degree.

[OtinG]

I am glad Apple is constantly improving the Health app and applications thereof. They are also improving the fitness aspect too, but unlike most companies that focus mostly on fitness, Apple has undertaken the task of helping us older folks too! I have a Garmin fitness watch, but I rarely wear it because other than pulse and breathing rates it really doesn’t have much for monitoring my health. It has all kinds of fitness stuff, but I don’t need or care about that. I’m still not ready to buy an expensive Apple Watch yet. Maybe in a year or two they will be worth the premium price.