We didn't really expect to see any hardware announced at WWDC, but if we were to be treated to anything new and shiny, we'd have put our money on a Retina iMac being part of the equation. Alas, that was not to be, but the rumors of a new super-high resolution iMac aren't going to die quite so easily, and the firs beta of OS X 10.10 Yosemite may hold yet more clues as to where the iMac line will be going this year.
It took Apple a fair while, but having seen some signs in iOS 7 that some attention was being paid to the great tweaks gracing Cydia and the jailbreak scene, it appears that the company has taken more than a fleeting interest this time around. In fact, several of the newly-announced software's features first appeared through Cydia in one form or another, and here, we look at how the jailbreak scene has been a key influencer of iOS 8.
With almost all major new software releases from Apple, older devices and machines tend to get left behind, and having just announced iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite at its WWDC keynote earlier on this week, it has since been confirmed that the the iPhone 4 will not be carried over to the next generation of Apple's mobile software line. Yosemite hasn't, however, claimed any victims, and so if your Mac is compatible with OS X 10.9 Mavericks or indeed 10.8 Mountain Lion, then you should have no problem applying this free Yosemite update when it eventually does release.
In an effort to make its mobile OS as seamless as possible, Apple is set to bring contextual, location-based shortcuts to the lock screen with iOS 8. This means if, for example, you're whimsically wandering around near a shopping mall and just so happen to be looking at your phone, iOS 8 may throw up an icon relating to the nearest Starbucks or Apple Retail Store, as well as other outlets of interest that aren't so closely affiliated with Apple.
iOS has certainly helped in pushing the evolution of the mobile gaming scene over the past few years, but while Apple's decision to bring official third-party game pad compatibility with Made for iPhone (MFi) controller support was initially met with a warm response, things haven't taken off as intended. Now, though, it looks as though Apple plans to expand upon the groundwork already made by allowing iPhones (and their MFi peripherals) to serve as controllers for the wider ecosystem, encompassing devices like the iPad and Mac.
Those hoping to see some exciting new hardware revelations at WWDC were left sorely disappointed as Cook, Federighi and co. waxed poetic about the new software features of iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 Yosemite. But just because nothing was unveiled at the conference's keynote, this isn't to say that some of the touted products aren't on their way, and having delved the new beta of Xcode 6, one Apple enthusiast has already spotted signs that newer, larger iPhones and iPads could be on their way.
Even though we've not had a chance to properly acquaint ourselves with Apple's in-progress CarPlay technology, we'd imagine that it would be just that little bit more enjoyable to try out from a $300,000 Ferrari FF as opposed to a more regular car. With Apple showcasing its in-car flavor of iOS at this week's WWDC, attendees have been trying CarPlay for size at the wheel of the Ferrari FF super car, and luckily for us folks who haven't had the privilege, there's a walkthrough video of the new feature in action.
Apple likes to tout its iOS range as advocates of productivity as well as simply entertainment, and with new indication of the company offering peer-to-peer AirPlay with iOS 8 and Apple TV, that claim may soon hold even more legitimacy. Apparently, the new infrastructure will allow owners of iOS 8 devices to stream and broadcast to a host's Apple TV without being connected to the same network, which deals with a common issue related to complicated enterprise networks in which the host often doesn't play ball.
At the 2014 annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced copious amounts of software upgrades and improvements to their operating systems, mobile and desktop alike. On the OS X side of things, we saw the announcement and Developer Preview release of OS X Yosemite, the successor to OS X Mavericks. Whilst on the mobile device side, we got our first look at all of the new features to be coming within iOS 8.
iOS 8 beta is out, up and running on one of our iPhones, and we have wasted no time in comparing it with iOS 7.x, to give our precious readers an idea of the visual changes and features they should expect when iOS 8 final is available to everyone this fall.
