Apple WWDC Event 2020 Highlights:

Apples unveils iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, shifts to custom Apple Silicon for Macs.

Highlights of Apple WWDC Event 2020 where the Cupertino-based tech giant announced their transition from Intel SoCs to Apple’s own custom ARM Chipset for its newest Macbooks. The company also unveiled new softwares including iOS 14 for iPhones, iPadOS 14 for iPads, and macOS Big Sur.

Apple’s developer conference is live. WWDC is taking place through an online-only format for the first time in 31 years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The biggest announcement at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference will be Apple’s transition from Intel to ARM processors for its Macs. The company will also reveal new versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS.

Apple’s WWDC 2020 was unique before it even began. It’s the first time Apple’s developer conference has been streamed exclusively online with no in-person event.

Here are the biggest announcements:

APPLE Details IOS 14, Its Major Software Update:

Apple gave a first look at iOS 14, the new update coming to iPhones later this year. The most notable change comes in the form of widgets that you can place on the home screen. It’s like if Apple Watch apps invaded the iPhone home screen — it’s a really big deal that changes the look of the iOS software. Apple is debuting these new widgets in different shapes and sizes, and the idea is that you’ll be able to have more data-rich info on your home screen. If you want more, you’ll be able to get them through the Widget Gallery.

It is also adding App Library, a new feature that automatically organizes apps based on their categories. It seems great for quickly accessing apps that normally live outside of the first or second page.

Picture-in-picture is coming to iOS 14. If you swipe away while watching a full-screened video, the window will float on your home screen, allowing you to resize and move the video. PiP isn’t a super unique feature, but Apple is making it its own by letting you minimize the PiP into a small button on the side of the screen. That way, you don’t have to exit the video if you need to look at the whole screen for a moment.

More varied memoji are coming with ios 14:

A small addition, but a great memoji option for commuting. Memoji are getting an improvement in the next big software update, including more age options, accessories for Memoji, like face masks, and emotions, like blushing.

Apple maps is getting a dedicated map view:

Coming with iOS 14 is a big update to Apple Maps that includes a new cycling-specific navigation, among other things. It can alert you to increases in elevation as well as a notification if you’ll need to carry it up stairs to get where you’re going. Apple says this is coming first to New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Beijing, though more will come in the months following iOS 14’s release.

Digital Car Key:

Apple introduced a new way to unlock and start your car, well, just the BMW 5-series for now. You can register a key in your Apple Wallet, and when you walk up to a supported car, you’ll unlock it via NFC, then start the engine once your phone is resting on a pad. The keys are stored on-device, and it can be deleted from the cloud if you need to. What’s also cool about this feature is that you can create unique driving profiles for other iPhone users, giving user-specific permissions for, say, your kid, or no restrictions at all for someone else, like a spouse or other trusted person.

App Clips:

Apple has debuted App Clips, which are like its version of Android’s Instant Apps. The gist is that you won’t need to download a full app to be able to gain access to what it offers, in addition to being able to make a purchase through it via Apple Pay.

Minor changes on iPAD OS 14

widgets are coming to the next version of iPadOS. It’s not clear yet if you can bring those out of the today view and into the home screen, like you can on iPhone.

Apple is touting a new sidebar as its way of making it much easier to navigate apps. It showed it working on Apple Music, and other apps. If you’re using your iPad as a laptop replacement, the sidebar should make it easier to do more without having to touch the screen.

Handwriting with Apple Pencil:

Apple debuted a new feature called Scribble, which allows you to write in any text field with the Apple Pencil, then it will be automatically converted to text. The feature can automatically detect the context of information you write, like a phone number or address, then direct you to the correct app when it’s tapped.

This feature can also render handwriting in multiple languages into text on the iPad.

AIR PODS: Seamlessly switch between platforms:

Apple is updating the software running on AirPods to let them connect automatically to whichever paired device starts playing audio. You’ll no longer need to manually select which source you want to connect to. You can see it working in the GIF above.

Watch OS 7:

A watch face that you like, but don’t know how to get it? Apple is making it easier to share watch faces with a new features called Face Swapping. You can add a watch face to your Apple Watch by finding one on a developer’s website, or through social media.

New macos big sur:

Apple debuted its next major desktop software update, called macOS Big Sur. It features a big overhaul in design that brings it more in line with where iOS and iPadOS has been heading for the past few years. It’s even getting a lot of the features coming to iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, like widgets, messaging improvements like grouping and pinned conversations, and the ability to edit your Memoji.

Apple’s Silicon

It’s a big change for hardware, unleashing Apple’s own efforts in making components instead of being tied it to Intel’s progress, but it’s also a huge shift in software. Apple is making it possible to run apps made for Intel-based apps on the new Macs, as well as apps from other environments, like Linux.

Developers can request the Developer Transition Kit beginning today, with units shipping as soon as this week. The DTK must be returned to Apple at the conclusion of the program, however. Joining the Universal App Quick Start Program costs $500.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company expects this Intel to Apple Silicon transition to in-house chips to be completed within two years.