New Updates at the Apple WWDC19

Apple has been one of the world’s biggest tech pioneers. The yearly WWDC is the biggest conference Apple will host. At the WWDC19, Apple released many new updates on its products and services like the wallet-breaking “Cheese Grater” MacBook. In this article, we will be taking a closer look at the topics that will affect app marketing and app developments.

Sign in with Apple:

When registering for a new app or online service, may require users to either sign up with Google, Facebook, or email. Signing up with these platforms promises a more personal experience, but it can also result in unwanted information sharing or location tracking. Therefore, Apple developed a new sign in option called “Sign in with Apple” that does not allow any information sharing or tracking without user consent. So how does it work?

1. Once you have decided to log in with Apple, you are authenticated with Face ID on your device and logged in with a new account without revealing any information.
2. Apps are allowed to request a name or email to send you notifications or updates when you are outside of the app. However, you can choose whether you would like to share that information.
3. If you decide that you do not want to share your personal information, Apple will then generate a random email that will link to your actual email. Therefore, the notifications sent to the “fake” email will be automatically forwarded to your actual email without revealing any personal information.
4. Apple will provide each different app and service with a different random address. This way you can disable any email whenever you like.

Location:

Similar to signing up with social media platforms like Facebook, Sharing your location with an app can enable a better user experience. However, it can also allow companies to track where you are without your permission. To stop the abuse of the location setting, Apple has developed a few precautions that will ensure your location is shared only when you want it to be shared.  

1. You can share your location just once in an app. If the app requires your location again, it can then ask you again.
2. If you do permit an app to continuously monitor your location in the background, Apple will give you reports on the app’s activities.
3. Some apps may try to work to access your location through your Bluetooth or wifi location. Apple has decided to block this completely.

App Size:

To further improve user experience, Apple has decided to upgrade its app size and speed. Download speed is probably one of the most difficult factors to measure since wifi speed contributes to the download speed. However, this does not discourage Apple from improving its app size and download speed. So what’s new?

1. Apps should launch twice as fast.
2. Smaller apps should download in half the time and update 60% faster.
3. Face ID should be able to be processed in 30% less time.
4. Downloading large apps of over 150 MB now no longer require wifi and can be done so via cellular data.

With these new adaptations, people can now download more applications on their phones. Apps can now add more features to their platform, and customers will have a better user experience when using apps from the App Store.

SwiftUI:

SwiftUI is a tool used to help developers manage and write codes for their apps. Apple’s senior VP of Software Engineer, Craig Federighi, introduced the newly updated tool on June 3rd. The improved SwiftUI now offers a variety of new features such as:

1. An interactive development experience. Click on the text box you would like to change. The text box’s code will immediately appear on the left side of the screen. Developers can then type the new message they would like to display in the text-box,and an immediate sample of the update will appear on the right side of the screen.
2. With one click you can now change the format of your page from a cover page to a scrollable list.
3. You can now also click out of the editing mode and into the interactive mode in one click (view the app as if you were a user). This feature will conveniently allow developers to see the app from a third party point of view.       

SwiftUI now enables developers to compress a hundred lines of coding into a dozen. Apple has made coding more simple and convenient for app builders.

Other Changes:

Apple has decided that in order to keep children’s data safe and private, apps in the “Kids” category and apps that are intended for kids may not include third-party advertising or analytics software. This decision ensures that there is no transmitted data to any third-parties. From a marketing perspective, marketers now have to think of innovative ways to reach the kids demographic without direct advertising.

 

To Conclude, the WWDC 2019 revealed many of Apple’s newest products and updates. Some of these updates were made the public skeptical but there are updates, like the Sign in With Apple, that has amazed and gained praise from Apple users and non-users alike. Overall this year’s WWDC was full of surprises and excitement. Cannot wait to see what Apple will release in the future!

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Written by Susanna Wang