Double clicking on the home button now shows frequently contacted people in addition to background apps. For instance, if you receive a text message, you could pull down on the notification and answer without having to switch to the messages app. Notifications are now interactive and users can take action by pulling down on a notification or dismissing them by swiping up. iOS 8įrom an end user perspective, the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system is less about interface changes and more about increased functionality and user task refinements.
AirDrop is also now compatible between mobile devices and OS X and iCloud Drive will allow easier file sharing between applications and devices. In addition, Apple is introducing a technology known as “Handoff” which allows you to begin a task on either OS X or iOS and, through device detection, immediately pick up and continue your task on another device. Likewise, if you receive a text message from a non-apple device on your phone, it will also appear on your computer. If you receive a phone call on your mobile phone, it will display a notification on your desktop and give you the option to answer your call from an iOS device or your computer. First is the concept of “Continuity”, which helps unify the platforms. I won’t spend too much time with the interface and functionality updates since we’re primarily looking at this from a mobile application development perspective, but I do want to highlight some of the continued integration between the mobile and desktop platforms. The next iteration of Apple’s desktop operating system ,OS X 10.10 Yosemite, was unveiled first. I expected fragmentation between supporters of each interface style, but 90% adoption after one year is astounding and if these numbers are to be believed, users are consistently moving forward and keeping up with the latest technology. Apple has historically great mobile OS adoption rates, but I had doubts about iOS 7 due to its radical interface update, as outlined in last year’s WWDC blog post. The iOS 7 transition figure honestly surprised me. The keynote began with the usual adoption statistics (close to 90% iOS 7 adoption after one year) and development program participation numbers (9 million total developers with the last year seeing the highest annual increase since inception at 47%). Today’s keynote further supports this notion as many expected, and some quite unexpected announcements were made public. Apple has historically split their developer program between their desktop and mobile platforms, but over time it has become apparent that the two are slowly being integrated. Apple kicked off the 2014 Worldwide Developer Conference (today with their annual keynote address, separating the presentation into three areas of focus: OS X, iOS, and Development.