Apple just made it more attractive to go all-in on iPhone, iPad and Mac
Apple just made it more attractive to go all-in on iPhone, iPad and Mac
The tech industry often refers to Apple's ecosystem of devices as a "walled garden," an idyllic world of tech where each of the company's devices work together because Apple controls intricate details of how they work. In a few months, that wall will get a bit higher.
Sometime this fall, the tech giant will release iOS 14, iPad-OS 14 and Mac-OS Big Sur, the software that powers its iPhone's, iPad's and Mac computers, respectively. The company has added new features to the software, which will be free to existing device owners, offering both convenience and an even greater pull to bring you even deeper into Apple's world.
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The "Sign In with Apple" feature, introduced a year ago, will more closely connect with apps to allow you to create accounts, sign up for new apps and log into existing apps using your Apple ID. Apple's also got a virtual car keys feature that creates a digital key to unlock and start your car with just your phone. And if you want, you can share those car keys with friends through Apple's encrypted i Message service.
Speaking of messages, that app has new features too, making group chats more appealing by offering threaded conversations as in Facebook and Slack, as well as the ability to grab someone's attention by writing their name.
"Today, the world is counting on all of us and on the products and experiences that we create to move forward," Apple CEO Tim Cook said Monday during the live streamed keynote at his company's Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC for short. "We have not stopped innovating, doing the work that will enrich people's lives for years to come."
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Apple's efforts to tighten the connections among its services is nothing new, but the announcements the company made Monday bring that interoperability to a level users haven't experienced before. Apple's efforts to control the experience on its devices has helped it to build well-regarded software to power popular devices like the Mac computers, iPhone's, iPad's and Apple Watches. But increasingly, you need to either go all-in on Apple devices, or risk missing out on many of the key benefits.
At the same time, governments around the world have been questioning the ways the company wields that power, potentially shutting out rivals. The European Union has opened two investigations into how Apple treats outside developers. Apple also hasn't made key popular technology, like the i Message encrypted chat service, available to phones powered by Google's Android software.
"Apple has always wanted to build this world that people want to live in," said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst now at Technalysis Research. What's unclear is whether Apple's latest features are enough to convince people to commit to only Apple.
The company did quietly open up two key elements of iOS, with the next version allowing you to change the default email and browser on your iPhone. Apple never mentioned the capability during the keynote, with the revelation coming in one of the presentation slides.
The number of people who have iPhone's, iPad's and Mac computers is small, O'Donnell said, noting that many more people have an iPhone and a computer made by different company. But as Apple continues adding features that competitors have had for years, such as small apps known as widgets on its home screen, or threaded conversations in its messages app, more people might be wooed over to the company's side.
"You do spend so much of your time with these devices," he added.
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