WWDC 2019 keynote Highlights: Apple design awards begin

Other awards go to Pixelmator Photos which uses Machine Learning to suggest presets to users and Eloh l, a game with not real scoring or time pressure. 

Gameloft, one of the largest gaming studios in the world, wins for Asphalt 9: Legends. The games uses the best of Apple’s platform to give players a new experience. 

Flow by Moleskine gets an award for making note taking a great digital experience too. Moleskine is one of the world’s top notebook makers. 

The Apple Design Award now has a new trophy.  The first award goes to Ordia, a game by Loju. 

Apple's big WWDC 2019 keynote is now over. For details about iOS 13, read more here.

Apple says the developer beta is available today. Public beta is coming July for iOS 13, macOS Catalina, watchOS 6, tvOS 13. The final stable products will come in fall 2019, which is usually September. 

This is a new framework for its own Swift coding language. It is built in Swift and for Swift. Designed to help develpers create better apps with less code. 

Apple has three big announcements for AR: RealityKit allows for photorealistic editing, seamlessly integrated into ARKit. There's also a new feature to let developers test their AR content. ARKit 3 is also announced with Motion capture feature. 

macOS is getting Screen Time as well, the feature from iOS, which lets you control how much time  you spend on an app or on the screen. 

Apple will let developers create one app for iPhone, iPad and Macs. It will add this option to Xcode, where one single app will work on iOS and macOS. Twitter and Asphalt 9 will soon run on Macs as dedicated apps. 

Find My combines Find My Phone and Find My Friends feature. Apple says they will be able to detect Apple devices which are offline as well. Relies on Bluetooth data to locate the device. Apple is adding a new activate lock feature to Macs with a T2 security chip. Apple says if the device is stolen, the thief will be unable to use it. 

Apple will let users control their Mac and iOS device entirely with their device. It is part of Apple's accessibility approach. 

And it looks like you can now use your iPad as a second display for the Mac. 

macOS Catalina will bring a dedicated podcast app and a new Apple TV app as well. 

macOS Catalina is here. And time to say goodbye to iTunes. Apple Music will be a dedicated app on macOS. 

The Mac Pro is here. And it looks stunning. It is using the Intel Xeon processor with 28-cores and it has over 300 watts of power. It has 6 channels of super fast memory and 1.5TB of system memory. Apple is bringing PCIe expanding back to the Mac Pro. This new one has 8 PCIe slots. Two thunderbolt ports, Two USB-A ports and 3.5mm headphone jack. It also has two thunderbolt ports on the top.  Price is $5999 and will be available in fall 2019.

Files app is also getting a lot of features, including the ability to share folders via the iCloud drive. Apple is also adding support SD cards and USB sticks for the Files app on iPads. Apple is also bringing desktop level browsing and experience to Safari on iPad along with a download manager and 32 new keyboard manager.  Apple is also making it simple to copy and paste text on the iPad.

Apple's iPads are getting their own iPadOS. We are getting a deep dive into the new gestures and navigations for iPads. Sliding on the bottom can just let users move quickly between their open apps. Apple is bringing multi-window capability to apps on iPads. So you can have a split-view in two notes. It also works for third-party apps. This will also let users open two Microsoft Word Documents side-by-side. 

In iOS 13, Siri will now be able to read incoming messages when you have AirPods on.  User will be able to share music or movie their are watching with someone else while they have their AirPods on. There's also a new hand off feature to HomePod. 

Apple is adding a new High Key Mono effect in Portrait Lighting. You can also increase the intensity of the light or tone it down for a more subtle look. There's also a new way to edit photos. Apple is also bringing the newer effects for editing to videos. Oh and users can now rotate a video as well and apply filters as well.  There's also a new layout for seeing photos based on days, months, and year and its all contextual. 

In Messages app, users can now let their friends see their Memojis and Names next to their number. Oh and in memojis you will be able to add make-up and personalise them further. Memoji stickers are also coming. A sticker pack is automatically created for each memoji. It can be used in apps like Mail, WeChat, etc. Memoji Stickers are coming to all devices with an A9 chip or later. 

With iOS 13, Apple is increasing privacy for users. One it is introducign a new feature for location sharing where users will be able to share the location only once with an app and the app will then have to ask for this again. Apple is introducing a new Sign in with Apple feature where users will be able to sign in via  their Apple Face ID, and not have to give up personal information to an app. Apple is even letting users hide their email id from developers via this Sign in.  

Apple Maps is getting a 3D view in a new LookAround feature. This looks similar to what Google Maps already offers. 

New features on Safari, Mail and Notes apps. The Reminders app has been completely redesigned. You can add locations, photos to reminders. You can also tag a person in a reminder.  Apple Maps is also getting some new features, thanks to Apple rebuilding it from the ground. Maps is getting more details and features. The new Map will roll out in the US by end of 2019. It will come to select few countries next year. 

Apple's Craig Federighi on stage to talk about iOS 13. Faster unlocking with Face ID. Smaller downloads on iOS 13 from App Store and updates 60 per cent smaller. Apple is fixing a major concern. 2X faster app launch in iOS 13, says Federighi. Also DARK MODE IS FINALLY Here. People are screaming in the audience over this feature. Dark Mode is changing apps like Apple News, Notes, Photos, and even wallpapers will be darker. Even the Share Sheet for sharing photos will turn dark in this mode. Of course, Apple Music will also turn dark when this mode is turned on. Oh and timed-sync lyrics are coming to Apple Music at iOS 13. 

iOS 12 adoption at 85 per cent, Android Pie at 10 per cent, says Tim Cook in another shot at Android's poor upgrade rates. 

For health and fitness, watchOS 6 will bring a new feature called activity trends, which will let you know if you are maintaining your activity levels or are falling behind. The watch will also show details for pace while walking. There's also a noise app which will let you keep a track of your hearing levels, and Apple says it will not record audio used for this price. 

Finally there's a Cycle tracking app to let women track their periods, fertility and overall menstrual cycles. The Cycle tracking will also be available in the Health app in iOS on your iPhone well.  

We are now getting an update of the new watchOS. Lots of new watch faces for the Apple Watch. Taptic Chime on each hour will be activated. So everytime, an hour passes, users will either hear a bird sound or feel a taptic sound. App Store is coming to Apple Watch which will also support independent apps as well. Apple Watch will get the calculator, Books and Voice Memo apps as well. Users will be able to purchase and download apps to the watch from App Store directly. 

Multi-user support is being activated for tvOS. It means each member of the family can get their own personalised experience for watching shows, movies, and get recommendations based on their preference. Apple Arcade will also be a part of tvOS. Xbox One S and PlayStation Dual Shock 4 will be supporting Apple TV as well later in the year. 

Tim Cook on stage, welcomes developers. "More first time attendees than ever, " he says. He's talking about Apple News, Apple Arcade which is the company's upcoming gaming subscription service. It will be available later this year. Now we are getting a trailer of 'For Mankind,' an Apple original show,  which will be coming to the Apple TV+ service. 

Apple's event has begun starting with videos. And the focus is clearly on coding and developers, which is not surprising given this is what the event is about. 

The livestream is up and the event will start soon. 

iOS 13 is expected to bring some gestures for the new iPad, but it could also be adding a new app. Apple will be adding a native calculator app to the iPad with iOS 13, according to a new leak. While the iPhone does come with a calculator app, for some reason Apple has not gone for the same approach with the iPad. All that could change with iOS 13. 

One important change expected at WWDC 2019 is that it will be the end of iTunes. Apple is doing away with iTunes and will replace it with a  dedicated Music, TV and Podcast app. The iTunes store, which has traditionally had movies, music to buy will be gone. Apple is already planning to launch its own streaming service called Apple TV+ , though this will not be available till end of 2019. 

Tim Cook has posted a tweet about the upcoming #WWDC2019, which starts in just under two hours.

Apple's iOS 13 is also expected to come with some features designed for the iPad. One big feature that has been long awaited is mouse support. According to leaks, Apple is going to introduce an undo feature on iOS for iPads, but the mouse support remains unclear. Apple has been pitching its new iPad Pro devices as laptop replacements, and mouse support could add a whole new dimension to how these devices function. 

The livestream will be available on Apple's website under Apple events. You can access the link here: https://www.apple.com/apple-events/livestream/

Apple usually limits its streams to its own devices and Microsoft Edge on Windows 10. This time, the details on the Apple events page also mention that "Other platforms may also be able to access the stream using recent versions of Chrome or Firefox (MSE, H.264, and AAC required)." If you have the latest version of Chrome or Firefox on your smartphone or desktop or PC, you should be able to stream the event this time. 

To recap, Apple's WWDC 2019 keynote will touch on iOS 13, macOS 10.15, watchOS 6 and tvOS. A Mac Pro could also be revealed, according to some leaks. 

In case you are not aware, Apple makes beta versions available to developers (which require a Developer account) on the same day as the keynote. The company also offers public betas, which usually come after three weeks of the announcement, in either late June or early July. With a new version of iOS being released this year, some old devices will lose compatibility. It's being said that the iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini Air won't be updated to iOS 13. 

Apple's Health app will also see some upgrades. Comprehensive menstrual cycle tracking on iPhones could be added to the Health app, reports Bloomberg.  Menstrual cycle tracking and pill reminders could be added to the Apple Watch health functions. Finally a sleep mode is also expected on Apple devices, and there could be better support for hearing aids as well. 

This will be the main feature in iOS 13 with Apple expected to revamp several apps. The Find My Phone and Find My Friends will be merged into one app called 'Find My' where users will be able to locate their devices and track friends who have agreed to location sharing. According to a Bloomberg report, tweaks are also coming to Messages apps, Apple Maps, Books, Home and Mail app.  

The Mac Pro, the powerful desktop that looked like a trash can was introduced back in 2013, but it was not the success that Apple had hoped due to the heating issues. Now there is speculation that Apple could introduce a new version of the Mac Pro for 2019, something it has indicated in the past. In 2018, Apple had confirmed to TechCrunch that a new Mac Pro would be coming in 2019. Will the WWDC keynote be where its revealed? Let's wait and see. 

According to 9to5Mac, which first posted the screenshots, Dark Mode will be an option in the settings or users will be able to turn it on from the Control Centre. They shared screenshots of the Dark Mode theme as it was applied to the Apple Music app and along with how the Screenshot back ground will also change. Check out the screenshots below. 

It looks like 2019 will mean the end of iTunes service. Apple has already removed content from the Facebook and Instagram pages of iTunes. According to reports, Apple will launching three standalone apps -- Music, TV and Podcasts -- to replace iTunes for Mac and Windows. Apple TV has already rolled out to iOS devices, and the iTunes Store will also disappear. According to reports, some itunes.apple.com links for songs and artists are already redirecting to music.apple.com. iTunes will disappear entirely from iOS and MacOS, replaced by these new apps. Read more here.

The next-generation Apple Watch isn't expected until this fall, but we can expect to see watchOS 6 that runs the smartwatch at the 2019 WWDC. As speculated, the sixth-generation of the software will likely bring a slew of new features to the Apple Watch. According to Bloomberg, the App store is finally coming to the Apple Watch, which means users will be able to download apps directly onto the watch, rather than depending on the companion app available on the iPhone. 

The update is also said to include two health-oriented apps: Dose (for pill reminders) and Cycles (for menstrual cycles). Apple Books is also coming to the Apple Watch, plus the calculator app will be made available on your smartwatch. We can expect new watch faces and 'complications' for the Apple Watch. 

This will be one of the changes that Apple introduces in 2019. Last year, Apple had announced it was working on tools to help developers bring their iOS apps to macOS. Cross platform apps that work on both your iPhone and MacBook Air could soon be a reality. According to leaks, Project Marzipan in an internal project, where Apple is working to make this possible and let developers create just one app that works on both platforms. The advantage would be that the App Store on Mac would improve with several of the popular apps from iPhone likely making an appearance to the laptops as well. Apple has rolled out its Apple News, Stocks, Voice Memo for macOS already and this year there could be more news for developers. Read more about why Apple is doing this here.

Given the popularity of iPhones, it is natual that all focus tends to be on iOS at WWDC. During the keynote, we expect a detailed look into the features of iOS 13, which is expected to sport some major changes. For one, the Dark Mode is finally coming to Apple's devices and it has long been awaited. Screenshots of the Dark Mode were shared by 9to5Mac. A new Sleep Mode is also coming. Apple will also merge Find My Phone and Find My Friends app into one app called 'Find My...' according to the screenshots.  Apple will also bring new gestures to the iPads along with a much needed undo gesture. Read more about all the iOS 13 leaks here.