OS X El Capitan is here, and we're super-excited about it. I've been using the OS X beta for a few months now, and I love how solid El Capitan feels. But moreover, I love all the little bits hidden away in it. So without further ado, let me introduce you to my favorite hidden features from this year's OS X release.

1. Photos for OS X gripes begone

This makes the very top of my OS X El Capitan list: improvements to the Photos app. Not only has El Capitan brought in third-party in-app editing extensions (yes!) but it's also offering sort-by-date for albums (yippee!) and batch editing (wahoo!). Lack of editing extensions was one of my biggest Photos 1.0 gripes, and I'm so excited to edit with tools other than OS X's defaults. A "Open in" menu would still be nice, but hey: Beggars can't be choosers.

2. Find your cursor

If you have a large monitor or constantly find yourself losing your cursor, this OS X El Capitan feature may save your life: When you jiggle your cursor up and down to find it, it auto-magnifies, to help you quickly find where it might be hiding on your screen. (It's also ridiculously fun to do while procrastinating.)

3. Record, list, and save webpages in Notes

My next three picks are Notes app features. I'm not sorry, because Apple's improvements to Notes in OS X El Capitan are awesome. First off, Notes isn't limited to plain text and the occasional attachment anymore: It can ingest and pin sketches from your iOS devices as well as audio notes, webpages, photos, videos, documents, and map locations—all interactive.

Adding photos, links, and more to Notes is all well and good, but what if you want to find a specific image? The new Notes app in OS X El Capitan makes this easy by taking a page from the Messages app: It now has an Attachments browser, modeled after Messages's Details menu. I realize that apps like Evernote have been doing this for years, but it's great to see Apple incorporating more advanced features at the OS level.

And copy and paste is so 2014: In OS X El Capitan, you can automatically add information, links, and more to Notes and Reminders—all by using the Share button to send your content to your other apps.

4. You can resize (and move!) Spotlight

Though it's a wonderful app, this was the nail in my third-party launcher's coffin: Not only is Spotlight getting natural language improvements and additional search options, but it can now be resized and moved around your screen. So nice. I use Spotlight constantly for calculator conversions because of it.

5. There's a Find my Friends widget

Want to find your friends outside of the Messages app? There's a Notification Center widget for that. Just click the Edit button, then add Find My Friends from the Items screen. Clicking on someone's profile will provide you with a map tile which you can then zoom in on.

6. AirPlay video files from Safari—in full screen

Who needs Chromecast? In OS X El Capitan, Safari can use AirPlay to send full-screen video from any website to your Apple TV. Mirroring your Safari windows to watch wftda.tv roller derby playoffs? A thing of the past.

7. Mute auto-playing video

Apple has tackled the worst part of the internet in OS X El Capitan: auto-playing videos. Ugh. I hate these things, and Apple does too, and now you can mute anything that makes noise from the Safari URL bar, as well as quickly select the offending tab and dispense of it.

8. Drag and drop windows to new desktops

In OS X Yosemite, you could drag a window from space to space by bumping it up against the edge of your screen, but were out of luck if you didn't have an additional space to drag to. Not with the new version of OS X: El Capitan will not only let you create a new space from your window by dragging to a corner—regardless of how many spaces you have—but also combine windows together into Split View mode, drag spaces around, and more. It's probably my most-used feature on my 11-inch MacBook Air.

9. Add suggested events and contacts

If someone emails you a dinner invitation or a meeting time suggestion, Mail in El Capitan can automatically suggest an event be created based on that info. It's smart enough to figure out if the sender of the email is someone in your Contacts database, and lets you add them with one click. If their email address changes, Mail will try to keep you up to date as well.

10. Tabs in Mail

Tabs have long been commonplace in Safari and last year Apple brought tabs to Finder windows in OS X Yosemite. If you have a bunch of emails open at once and you need to copy and paste between them or want to compare information, now you'll have a much easier time thanks to Tabs in Mail.

Your picks?

Even with this list, I've just scratched the surface of new OS X El Capitan features. There's lots of other exciting things: the new San Francisco system font; time to leave integrated into your appointments and notifications; renaming files from the context menu; strikethrough in Mail; and a new Disk Utility app. What's on your list?

](/wwdc-2015)

In 2013 it was the radical redesign. In 2014 it was the functional revolution. This year it was more than pixels or bits. It was about showing what that redesign and functionality will enable for the future.

It was also about comedic bits and musical guests that proved far more divisive with the traditional audience than any new operating system or feature set ever has. And as much as everyone has spoken about the new Apple, that clash of culture will be a challenge for all of us.

Backstage

"Backstage" preceded the show. At almost 5 minutes long, it was slickly produced but a departure from the shorter, nerdier Siri-style intros or developer vignettes of year's past. It was a bold beginning but also a risky one — comedy is always hard but meta-comedy is even harder. There's a very fine line between laughing with a group of people and laughing at them. (Just ask Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Big Bang Theory.)

I thought it was cute and clever in parts, and cringe-worthy in others. Some people liked it a lot more than I did, and some liked it a lot less. That's something that would continue to play out for the 2.5 hours to follow.

Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, took the stage to start things off, and to thunderous applause. Cook remains a unifying force for Apple, someone who brings smiles to the people in the crowd and at home alike. His role as Apple's moral center has only grown over the last few years, and the respect it's earned him is palpable. Yet this year that aspect was downplayed. There was no "we believe" or "only Apple" moments. There were still segments, notably privacy-releated, where both of those things were clearly on display, but it was more show rather than tell this year.

The baseball

After Cook gave us the show stats, he took a tangent. A baseball player had a career-highlight 100 home-run ball held for ransom, with the note demanding various Apple products for its release. Cook announced that Apple had paid the ransom, had the ball, and would be returning it to the player.

On one hand it shows the cultural dominance and cachet of Apple's brand — all those baseball players and they wanted Apple Watch, MacBook Air, or iPad. It also gives sports fans a cross-over thrill. On the other hand, it interrupts the momentum of the keynote and leaves non-baseball fans confused. It was a short segment, but was it vital to the show or the message? That's a question my inner editor pondered several times as the hours marched on.

OS X El Capitan

Cook did what he's done a few times in recent years: skipped the state-of-the-company update by simply saying, "everything is going great." He didn't skip the setup though. We'd be getting news on OS X, iOS, and — stated right up front — native apps for watchOS.

Apple's senior vice president of software, Craig Federighi, came up to handle the first two. Federighi has only been doing keynotes for a few years but has rapidly accelerated to become one of the most energetic and engaging presenters in the industry And, for the most part, Apple making great use of him.

Federighi started off with a quick recap of OS X Yosemite, announcing a 55% adoption rate for the free update released last October. That might not sound like much compared to iOS adoption rates — more on that below — but compared to the adoption rate of Windows, it's stratospheric. It's also, according to Apple, the fastest adoption rate for any PC operating system ever.

The next version of OS X was then immediately positioned as not something new and different but as a refinement and advancement. Just like Snow Leopard was to Leopard, and Mountain Lion was to Lion, Federighi introduced OS X 10.11 as the tock to 10.10's tick.

Here's where the comedy came back. Last year Federighi killed with a set on Apple's marketing team going on a tour to find the perfect name, including literal and figurative flirtations with OS X Weed. This year we got hot tubs, "free-bottom Fridays", and a mountain top MacBook-wielding guru.

Traditionalists bristle at moments like these, where Federighi's obvious connection with the audience may be over-used, or the desire for comedy over-indulged. Modernists love it. Personally, I liked last year's bit more than this year's because it was new and fresh at the time. It's really hard to do that with sequels.

Should Apple be above the baser humor? The answer to that will likewise vary from person to person. I think this is the type of segment Federighi delivers well, and they should bring more humor where and as it fits. And easter eggs like "unread mail from Phil Schiller" should never go away. Never.

The ultimate reveal was for OS X El Capitan. It's a bit of a mouthful, so it'll likely be truncated down to "El Cap" for casual usage. Federighi said its focus was experience and performance, and the audience really loved hearing that.

Although not to the degree of iOS, OS X has just gone through a design reboot and gained some matching functionality, so spending 2015 on smoothing everything out and tightening it up is a smart investment, especially considering where computing looks to be going next.

We've already called out our favorite OS X El Capitan features, but the focus on experience and performance is more than just Spotlight, new apps, new window-management, and Metal-on-Mac deep.

It's arguable whether Yosemite really had any more issues than any previous version of OS X — humans tend to feel present pain much more severely than past pain — but it was clear Apple hadn't been measuring the all of the important metrics, and that P1 (high priority) bug fixes and crash-reports alone can't quantify the overall feeling of software quality. Everyday frustrations also need to be fixed.

If the recent discoveryd rollback and WWDC's focus are any indication, Apple understands that much better now, and going forward engineers might just have the time they need to fix not just the crashers, but the annoyers as well.

Federighi didn't mention any of that on stage, nor would it be appropriate for the WWDC keynote, but the language he kept using implied as much, and he maintained that focus as he transitioned from desktop to mobile.

iOS 9

iOS 7 was a redesign that transformed rich texture into rich interaction, sharpened interfaces and typography to high-density, print-like precision, and laid the foundation for size-independent apps and devices. iOS 8 was a functional revolution that turned pull-based computing into push, unbundled apps into extensions, and moved from syncing data to providing continuity for activity. They were both big jobs and big deals. Like Yosemite led to El Cap, iOS 7 and 8 led to iOS 9

Federighi said elevating the foundations of the platform was the theme. That included further extending battery life, shoring up performance, and enhancing security. Increasing the intelligence of Siri and unifying it better with Spotlight, improving apps, and paying some long-needed attention to the iPad were also key.

We've also listed our favorite iOS 9 features, and I'll be talking a lot more about them soon enough, but just like OS X it was made clear externally and internally that Apple wasn't just rounding out but polishing up.

Highlights for me personally included the privacy-centric Siri, unified Spotlight, and iPad advancements — and the later-revealed iCloud Drive app — I'd long been advocating for.

Transit was also important to see, though it's starting out in relatively few places outside China (where data is far more uniform and agreements possible at far higher levels.)

The iOS 9 segment wasn't devoid of humor. Similar to last year's Messages bit with Greg Jozwiak, this year Federighi and Phil Schiller showed off Siri's new smarts with some Karaoke arranging fun. There's always a risk bits like that will go on too long or be too silly, but again, it's ultimately humanizing and keeps the presentations from become too dry and too drawn out. I'll leave you to tell me on what side you fall on for Viking Schiller and Elvis Cue...

Jennifer Bailey and Susan Prescott

WWDC 2015 featured two Apple executives on the keynote stage who also happen to be women. Jennifer Bailey, vice president of Apple Pay, and Susan Prescott, vice president of application product management.

It was long past time. Apple has had plenty of vice-presidents, directors, and product leads on stage in the past, and Apple is full of amazingly talented women. Those two groups should have crossed over far, far sooner than they did. As the world's leading technology company, and as a company that's positioned itself on the front lines of diversity and opportunity, it's simply untenable for Apple not to lead by example.

To those who insist on nitpicking relative performances, I'll just say this — presenting on stage, even with the amount of practice and preparation Apple puts in, is beyond hard. Both Bailey and Prescott did better than most their first time out. Craig Federighi famously went from hands shaking to superhero in the span of a year. He did that because he had the opportunity to do it, and giving more, and more diverse, people at Apple that opportunity benefits the company. More importantly, it benefits the billions of people watching the company, seeing themselves better reflected in the company, and dreaming of one day being on that stage for the company as well.

Years ago some of Apple's engineering departments realized that only if you had diversity in the process could you have diversity in the results. That should have filtered up faster, but the past is the past. We learn from it, and we do better. Apple, at WWDC 2015, started doing better.

Security and privacy

Apple and Tim Cook have made privacy and security table stakes. Federighi's summations throughout the OS X and iOS sections of the presentation served to reenforce this, but not everyone really understands what that means yet. It's also a gamble as to whether or not consumers at large will choose to care. Regardless, it's an important conversation to have.

When we pay with money, we see it leaving our wallet or account. When we pay with time, we see the clock ticking away. When we pay with data, we don't see our contacts and URLs or purchasing behavior drifting up into the cloud, and that lulls us into thinking "free" has no cost.

Apple is trying to point out it does, and putting the company's code where its policy is. That means doing things like walling off root access on the Mac, forcing TLS 1.2 with forward security for server connections, bringing operations down to the device instead of bringing data up to the servers, locking down Apple Pay, News, Intelligence, and other information not just from merchants and providers but from other Apple services, and more.

"Selling your data" is a misused and misunderstood term. More often than not our data is the factory, not the shipment, and our metadata the fuel, not the package. Yet holding that data rather than merely transiting it is a cost and does create risk, and if we're adverse to that cost and risk, we need alternatives.

Apple is the only major company currently providing that alternative right now, and everyone should be ecstatic about that.

App Store

Tim Cook came back out following the OS X and iOS portion of the event and showed a video, narrated by senior vice president of marketing, Phil Schiller, that highlighted how big and how important the App Store had become. The numbers, in a historic context, were staggering. It's also the kind of video, more than the sketches and jokes, that plays to the core of the developer community. There was no Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive, video this year. No new hardware or software redesign to warrant it, and no new Apple Store opening videos with or without Angela Ahrendts.

This was classic WWDC, aimed and fired right at developers, with a message all about how they have and can continue to change the world. And it all prefaced a big part of what Apple is bringing next — native watch apps.

watchOS 2.0

Yes, watchOS. Lowercase watch like lowercase i in iOS. (though with an icon nowhere nearly as nice looking). Nine months post-introduction but only six weeks post launch, the Apple Watch is getting iterated. Vice-president of technology, Kevin Lynch, once again handled the presentation.

Much of what was announced was either the completion of features already slated for the Watch, including the return of the Photo and Time Lapse clock faces, the expansion of TimeTravel from Solar and Astronomy to the more complication-heavy faces, or features needed for parity with iOS 9, like Apple Pay, Maps, and Siri. That's not to say they're minor but to highlight how mature the Apple Watch already is as a product. (The expansion of the Friends interface made my wish list especially happy.)

Even though they'd been pre-announced from the start, Native apps remained the biggest news. They move the logic for Apple Watch apps from the iPhone and onto the Watch itself, alongside the interface. They're still meant to be companions rather than stand-alone experiences, but now they're going to be much better performing, much higher potential companions.

The new version of watchOS is also bringing with it ClockKit, which allows for third party complications. Those may just be more exciting than native apps. There was also a bedside mode and the ability to respond to mail messages right from the watch.

More a completion of the current roadmap than the beginning of next one, given the hardware just launched, it was exactly the right thing to do for now. WatchKit got developers to understand the constraints of the wrist, and now WatchKit 2.0 can take that understanding and provide for even better apps.

Apple Music

With about 20 minutes left, the developer and device-centric keynote ended, and the music one took over. Depending on your point of view, that was either hip and fresh... or a total disaster. That there is a split of opinion on this is what's led me to think and rethink so much about WWDC 2015.

I'm not very fussy about music. I like almost all kinds, listen when it's on, but don't often go out of my way to find it. I don't subscribe to any streaming services and don't buy much music any more. (I watch a ton of video instead.)

I'm capable of enough perspective taking, however, to realize I maybe shouldn't be the one judging what's good or bad when it comes to music these days. That may be why I didn't react with either hate or love for the Jimmy Iovine, Trent Reznor, Eddy Cue, or Drake segments, for Apple Music, Beats1, and Connect, or for the The Weekend at the end. But almost everyone else I saw and spoke with did.

Jimmy Iovine is a music industry legend, not a typical Apple presenter. People who like Apple presenters did not like Jimmy Iovine. And they hated Drake. Yet others, those who cover entertainment and music or general culture, liked Iovine and Drake a lot.

Same with Connect. Some called in "Ping 2", but others, those who are into producing music, were either cautiously optimistic, or very much interested in it.

What's clear is that the Apple Music segment, objectively, broke the rhythm of the show. It was slower paced and it felt less polished and focused.

There was some pushback on Tim Cook using the sacred "One more thing..." line for Apple Music. He'd used it before for Apple Watch, and that was big enough no one batted and eye. Music should have been big enough as well—it's part of Apple's DNA—but again the execution let the subject matter down.

I am I'm looking forward to my three month trial of Apple Music. I don't see myself using Connect, but I also see that as myself, not any indication of how others will feel about the service. I do see myself liking the streaming a lot. All those songs, always available, has huge appeal to me. Beats1... I have no idea. I'll have to listen and figure it out. (I do look forward to Beats1 running 24/7 from WWDC 2016, though!)

The crossroads

There's no getting around it — the WWDC 2015 keynote was the most strangely divisive I've experienced. There's always been a challenge in programming WWDC, given that the room is filled with developers, but a world of customers is watching. Every moment becomes a balancing act. Too technical and the audience watching the stream might get lost. Too flashy and the people in the seats might feel abandoned. This year it was the latter. A lot of the humor and most of the music fell flat for many of the people at the show and in the media.

Some felt it was padded, or that music was drawn out. Given how much wasn't even mentioned, however, like Safari View Controllers, the iCloud Drive app and mail attachments, TestFlight updates, text replies for third-party notifications, HomeKit management in Settings, NSCollectionView, content blockers, app slimming and easier upgrades, and much, much, more, it's hard to make that argument.

The WWDC keynote isn't a session, it's a show. It simply can't be all operating systems and features, SDK and API. There has to be a rhythm. There has to be substance but also has to be fun. It's getting that fun to enhance rather than distract from the substance that's the tricky part.

I think the key might be in how Apple has always viewed products. "A thousand nos for every yes' is a true for bits on stage as it is bits on devices. Saying "no", even to executives and partners who think they know better than audience reaction reveals, would make the ones they do say "yes" to even stronger and more impactful. Like music, the individual notes matter, but so does the whole song.

And only Tim Cook, and maybe Phil Schiller, can do that.

The bottom line

Those who felt Apple had moved too fast in previous years got the focus on stability they were craving, but not at the expense of continuing to move forward. Those who felt Apple had fallen behind on machine learning got to see how smart our data could be while remaining safely on-device.

Those who called Apple out on diversity got to see outstanding women take the stage. And those who'd been wondering how Apple would tackle music in a post-download world got their answer.

There were no radical redesigns or fundamental functional changes at WWDC 2015. There was no race for developers to figure out how they would have to redo their apps to strip away textures, add Auto Layout or TextKit, implement size classes or extensions. This year, if they'd done all that, they got their reward — San Francisco as the new system font, multi-window multitasking on the iPad, search APIs.

They got a future that's starting to come to them.

](/wwdc-2015)

We're a month away from iOS 9's public beta and still a few months from any sort of release, but Apple's already teased a ton of information about the iPhone and iPad's next major operating system. And, like I do just about every year, I've compiled a collection of my favorite tiny features you may not have heard about yet, thanks to the onslaught of info.

Spoiler: There's a lot.

1. Settings gets a search option!

I can't remember how long I've wanted to search in the Settings app, but it's been a long, long time. And soon, all my wildest dreams will come true: I'll be able to type in "Bold Text" in the search field and immediately get the option in question.

2. Turn Siri into Jarvis

Siri has long been able to talk to you in multiple accents and dialects, but prior to iOS 9, choosing a British Siri meant that you were also telling your iPhone or iPad to listen for a British voice. No longer: Come iOS 9, your language and Siri's voice will be split into two distinct preferences. If a virtual English butler is what you desire, Siri will soon be able to make that happen. (British Siri not guaranteed to stop insane AI or build you an Iron Man suit.)

3. Siri won't talk if your ringer is silent

If you'd prefer that Siri not talk to you when you've silenced your phone, there will soon be an option to enable just that. Instead, Siri will use text responses only to chat with you — useful if you want to use voice communication in a crowded area.

4. The beauty of low power mode

Apple mentioned iOS 9's new Low Power Mode during the WWDC keynote, but didn't really get into detail about it; at the State of the Union, however, engineers talked a bit more about how the switch will work. Enable it, and you'll switch Mail from push to fetch; disable background app refresh; and turn off motion effects and animated wallpapers. The goal is to increase your battery life by a few extra hours — and anything that gives me more time on my iPhone is a good goal indeed.

5. Apple fixed the shift key... sorta

Our long national shift key nightmare is soon to be over... mostly. No, Apple hasn't really altered the graphic for the shift key in iOS 9, but it has introduced lowercase keys as an option whenever shift isn't enabled. It definitely fixes the "Is my shift key on?" problem, but if it's not your visual cup of tea, don't worry: You'll be able to disable it.

6. Do more with an iPad and a Bluetooth keyboard

When you're using your iPad with an external keyboard, that keyboard will soon have a lot more control over what you're doing. For one, you'll be able to use a version of OS X's popular Command-Tab switcher to quickly move between apps. In addition, developers will even be able to build custom keyboard shortcuts for their apps using the command, option, or control keys.

7. There's an iCloud Drive app

Longed for by many, prayed for by some, iCloud Drive will at long last get the option for a physical app — if you want it. By default, the app is hidden, but you'll be able to turn it on come iOS 9 in iCloud's settings screen.

8. Android switching just got easier with the Move to iOS app

Apple is building not just one Android app this year with the launch of Apple Music, but two — the company is also creating a Move to iOS app for potential Android switchers that expedites and cleans up data transfer between your old Android phone and new iPhone.

You'll be able to move contacts, message history, your camera roll, web bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, wallpaper, and any DRM-free songs or books you've downloaded; in addition, it notes which free apps you downloaded on Android and offers them as a suggested download list on your iPhone. (Any paid apps you owned on Android that exist on the iPhone go into your iTunes wish list.)

9. Your passcodes are now six digits

As part of Apple's increasing emphasis on security, new devices will need a minimum six-digit passcode, not a four-digit one. (If you've already set up a four-digit passcode, it looks like you may be grandfathered in unless you change it at some point down the line.)

10. iPad-only: Quickly add attachments from the shortcut bar

One of the iPad's new productivity features in iOS 9 is a fancier software keyboard, including the new shortcut bar. The bar has universal shortcuts like cut, copy, and paste, but each app can also customize this bar. This leads to awesome quick shortcuts like having an attachment button when composing or replying to new email. Goodbye, tap-and-hold contextual menu!

11. Choose which of your devices get phone calls and texts

Don't want your phone calls to ring your iPad? Prefer your texts stay off your work Mac? In iOS 9, you'll have granular control about what rings where, and you'll be able to turn certain machines off entirely.

12. Double-press the Home button to activate Apple Pay

A particularly welcome change, Apple Pay will, in iOS 9, trigger on your iPhone when you double-press the Home button. This should prevent accidental credit card popups when you're walking by an NFC terminal or interacting with an NFC unit that isn't properly equipped with Apple Pay.

13. Reproductive health comes to the Health app

The last year has seen many people reach out to Apple about adding Health app entries for bodily functions like menstruation, ovulation, and more, and it looks like they're getting their wish: Health in iOS 9 will support a whole host of reproductive health features, including menstruation, spotting, ovulation, sexual activity, cervical mucus, and basal body temperature. These readings can be incredibly important for couples trying for children, and it's awesome to see Apple build in support for this area in Health.

14. Maps will report transit incidents and delays

iOS 9's new Transit feature for Maps not only offers bus and train directions — and shows you where the entrances to those depots and stations are — but it also will display any delays you might run into while traveling. Granted, data for these delays depends on the reliability of the city transit group supplying that data, but it's still a nice feature to have.

15. There's a ruler option for drawing straight lines in Notes

Wondering how Apple was able to make such nice-looking floor plans in the Notes app? It's not because they have impeccable touchscreen artists at their beck and call (although that's partially true): Come iOS 9, you too will be able to draw straight like an arrow with Notes's Ruler tool.

16. Use your CarPlay-equipped car as a geofence

This was mentioned in the keynote briefly, but with iOS 9, you'll be able to use any CarPlay-equipped car as a geofence location for your reminders. This means that if you tell Siri "Remind me to take my roller derby gear when I leave the car," it will trigger when I turn off my car — and CarPlay, with it.

17. Spotlight will search within apps

In iOS 9, if your third-party app supports it, Spotlight will be able to search not only app names, but within the apps themselves. So if you search for a recipe, for example, you may be able to get results from within your recipe app.

18. Back to the app

When you follow a link in iOS 9 that takes you into another app, you'll get a nice little arrow in the upper left corner that offers to take you back to the previous app after you're finished reading. It's a nice option in lieu of the double-press multitasking shortcut we all know and love.

... And so much more

There are a ton of other little cool things buried in iOS 9, too: Travel time recommendations for your Calendar events; the side-switch locking rotation or mute on both iPhone and iPad; Safari's find on page and desktop site commands moved to the Share menu; editing your HomeKit home from the Settings app, rather than a third-party HomeKit app; more touch accessibility options; grouping incoming notifications by app; and so much more.

And iOS 9 is still a few months away from its public release, so these features may change or disappear entirely, replaced by newer and shinier features.

What are you looking forward to about iOS 9? Let us know below.

](/wwdc-2015)

The WWDC 2015 keynote started off with a fun little sketch by Bill Hader and a handful other other notable comedians pretending to prep a big show. Tim Cook took the stage to talk about how many attendees were coming from around the world, and the sessions they'll be offering.

OS X El Capitan

First was OS X 10.11 named El Capitan coming this fall and available to developers as beta today. New touchpad gestures allow for easily marking e-mails as read, Safari tabs can be easily pinned and muted, Spotlight search has been in enhanced, new window management is available with Split View, and there's a new notes app (more on that later).

OS X El Capitan developer preview available today, public beta in July{.cta.large}

Apple brings Metal to the Mac, bringing graphics down to the chip{.cta.large}

OS X El Capitan will bring enhancements to Mission Control and window management{.cta.large}

Spotlight gets contextual search and more in OS X El Capitan{.cta.large}

Safari in OS X El Capitan will allow for sites to be pinned to the tab bar{.cta.large}

On top of experience improvements, there's significant progress in performance. The Metal technology used on iOS devices will be available on Mac to reduce processor load for graphics rendering, both mundane and high-demand. This cuts out OpenGL and allows game developers to optimize for Mac at an unprecedented level. The new Unreal Engine plays nice with Metal.

iOS 9

The WWDC keynote then moved on to talk about iOS 9, including improvements in foundation, intelligence, apps, and more. iOS 9 enters public beta in July, will be a free update in the fall, and won't be dropping support for any devices.

Apple officially unveils iOS 9 at WWDC

iOS 9 beta goes to developers today; public beta coming in July{.cta.large}

iOS 9's performance boosts focus on efficiency and battery life{.cta.large}

Siri will see an improvement in location-based reminders and proactive assisting, such as predicting incoming calls from numbers not in your address book, easily adding contextual reminders, or offering music to listen to in certain situations. Search now has an API available for developers to get their hooks into, not to mention new kinds of tailored results out of the box. The search presentation closed with a reassurance talking about Apple's dedication to privacy, and affirming that the user is always in control.

Siri in iOS 9 gets a new look and more intelligence{.cta.large}

Apple Pay was next up. New partners are signing up with Apple Pay, including Square with a new reader. 1 million locations will be using Apple Pay as of next month. Apple Pay is big with apps too, getting twice as many checkouts. Pinterest will allow users to buy pinned items with Apple Pay soon. Apple Pay is coming to UK in July with support for many major banks, with more coming in the fall. 250,000 UK locations, including Oyster, will support Apple Pay at launch. Apple Pay is adding store, credit, and debit cards. Passbook has been renamed to Wallet in light of all of the new features.

Apple Pay now being used by 2,500 bank locations in US, will launch in the UK in July

Following Apple Pay, the Notes app was shown off with checklists, photos, drawing, web links, and a new view which highlights attachments. Apple's native Maps app is getting an update too with transit information in major cities in China and the U.S. Maps now has search based on category.

Maps in iOS 9 brings detailed transit maps to the fore{.cta.large}

Add photos, create checklists, draw sketches, and more with Notes in iOS 9{.cta.large}

One of the more exciting iOS announcements was a brand new app called News. Slick transition animations, embedded video, in-line photo galleries, and rich typography are all available. Bookmarks help you pick up where you left off, and suggestions help you find other publications based on your reading habits and manually-entered interests. Major publishers like Conde Nast, ESPN, Wired, and Wall Street Journal are on board. U.S., U.K., and Australia will be the first to get the News app.

Apple introduces News to keep you up to date with your favorite publications

iPad is due for some updates in iOS 9. The QuickType keyboard will have cut, copy, and paste shortcuts, along with a few others up beside your text predictions. A nifty double-swipe gesture allows you to select text without leaving the keyboard. Additional optimization has been made for hardware keyboards.

New multitasking features are coming to the iPad as part of iOS 9{.cta.large}

iPad keyboard gains new shortcut bar, can become trackpad, and more in iOS 9{.cta.large}

Multitasking on iPad is getting a big upgrade in iOS 9. SlideOver is a new feature that lets you swipe in a split view of two apps running at once. Split View is unfortunately only available on the iPad Air 2, though you'll be able to peek at incoming notifications on older devices. A new multitasking interface now shows larger previews of the apps immediately available. Picture-in-picture video lets you shrink, resize, and move thumbnails of videos while you're in other apps. APIs are going to be available for developers to make use of PIP video.

Talk about iOS 9 closed off with a smattering of additional announcements. An extra three hours of battery life are going to be available through a new battery saver mode. Two-factor authentication is coming to iCloud. The over the air update to iOS 9 will only require 1.3 GB of free space, as opposed to much larger historical updates.

iOS 9 brings a variety of developer goodies including GamePlayKit, ReplayKit, and more{.cta.large}

iOS 9 will be a space-friendly update, two-factor authentication coming to iCloud{.cta.large}

Then there was a lot of great stuff for developers. Three new frameworks are going to be available to developers called GameplayKit, Model I/O, and ReplayKit. HealthKit can now monitor hydration and reproductive health. HomeKit is adding support for sensors, window shades, and security, with remote control over iCloud. CarPlay is adding wireless support, and expanded support for car manufacturers. Swift 2 was announced at WWDC 2015, with a bunch of improvements, and will be going open source. iOS, OS X, and Linux compilers will be available in late 2015.

Swift 2 programming language will become open source project by Apple{.cta.large}

CarPlay will be going wireless in future cars{.cta.large}

HomeKit supports remote access via iCloud, wide variety of connected devices

watchOS 2

Tim Cook got back on stage to sum things up, and announce the the App Store has served up 100 billion downloads, has 1.5 million apps available, and paid out $30 billion to developers.

Then there was watchOS 2. The developer beta launched today, and coming to the public in the fall. Apple Pay, Maps, Siri, and Timepiece are all getting improvements on the Apple Watch. Individual photos and albums can be used as faces, alongside new city-based timelapses, and customizable "complication" faces with additional contextual information like weather and upcoming flights.

Apple announces watchOS 2: native apps, more friends, smarter Siri

Apple watchOS 2 Developer Beta available today, public launch this fall{.cta.large}

Apple Watch app creators will be able to put in more native features{.cta.large}

Time Travel comes to watchOS, shows what you have coming up quickly{.cta.large}

Time Travel is a neat new feature that lets you zip forward with the Digital Crown to see how those complications will change, such as which meeting is after your next one. Nightstand mode is a new landscape alarm mode that can kick in while your Apple Watch is charging.

The friends system lets you add buddies more easily and have multiple sets of friends. Digital Touch now supports multiple colors. E-mail will have the ability to to reply, and FaceTime can handle audio now.

Fitness apps can work independently and sync up whenever it restores an iPhone connection. Fitness has some cool new achievements. Apple Pay on Apple Watch includes the membership cards we'll be seeing in iOS 9. Transit directions on maps will be there complete with Siri commands. Siri will also support home control over your Apple Watch.

For developers, app logic will be able to run natively on the watch, without needing to rely on your iPhone. Developer access to audio and video playback will be available on watchOS 2, plus HealthKit, HomeKit, accelerometer, microphone, Taptic Engine and the Digital Crown.

Apple Music

Tim Cook came back on again for "one more thing", which was Apple Music. Apple Music aims to tie together video, audio, and social into a unified service. It comes out June 30 in over 100 countries for $9.99/month, or $14.99 for a family up to 6 users. The first three months will be free, and the app will be coming to Android later alongside a new version of iTunes.

• Apple Music is official with on-demand streaming, a global radio station, more
• Apple Music coming June 30 for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Windows

Jimmy Iovine took the stage to introduce the service, and Trent Reznor appeared on video talking about his creative involvement. In addition to on-demand streaming of iTunes music is a 24/7 radio station based out of three cities called Beats One. There's also a curation section of the app that allows you to view songs suggested by Apple's human musical experts. Drake took to the stage to introduce the Connect feature in Apple Music, followed by Eddy Cue who did a walk-through of the app.

The show closed off with a concert by The Weeknd. That's about it, but be sure to read up in more detail on all of the announcements below!

](/wwdc-2015)

Apple's much-rumored streaming music service is finally official. Called "Apple Music," the service includes on-demand streaming, hand-picked playlists, a worldwide radio station, and much more. The aim of Apple Music is to be your one-stop shop for music in a single app. In addition to being able to stream the entire iTunes catalogue on demand, the service includes hand-picked, curated transitions between tracks. The new "For You" section in Apple Music suggests new artists and playlists based on your taste. Similarly, the "New" section includes hand-curated selections of new music. Further, the new Music app asks you to select the genres and artist you're into upon first starting the app. From there, it will combine this information with the artists and playlists already in your library to make suggestions for music you might be interested in. And if you're into a little visual flair with your music, Apple Music will include ad-free high-definition music videos as well.

Additionally, Apple Music includes access to "Beats One," a worldwide 24/7 radio station led by former BBC DJ Zane Lowe, and including guest DJs. The radio station is broadcast out of New York, London, and Los Angeles.

Another big feature of Apple Music is "Connect," a sort of social network for artists. Through Connect, any artist, from the indie outfits to the big dogs can interact with fans. Connect will let artists share songs, remixes, videos, and much more with their fans.

Finally, Siri has gotten schooled on Music in a big way. Siri integration with Apple Music will allow users to ask the digital assistant to play songs from specific genres, years, and much more. And you don't even have to be specific; the demos shown off on stage included asking Siri to play the top song from a particular year, the top ten in a genre, and even vague requests such as "play the song from Selma."

When can you get your hands on this? Apple Music will launch June 30 in more than 100 countries alongside iOS 8.4. Users will get the first three months for free, with pricing afterwards set at $9.99 per month for individuals, and $14.99 per month for family accounts with up to six users with their own accounts and recommendations. Additionally, iTunes will get a redesign on Mac and PC, with an Android app set to launch this fall.

Press Release:

Introducing Apple Music — All The Ways You Love Music. All in One Place.

Worldwide Debut June 30

SAN FRANCISCO ― June 8, 2015 ― Apple® today unveiled Apple Music™, a single, intuitive app that combines the best ways to enjoy music — all in one place. Apple Music is a revolutionary streaming music service, a pioneering worldwide live radio station from Apple broadcasting 24 hours a day and a great new way for music fans to connect with their favorite artists. Apple Music combines the largest and most diverse collection of music on the planet with the expertise of world-class music experts who have programmed playlists for your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac®, PC, Apple TV® and Android phones.* Apple Music will be available starting on June 30 in over 100 countries.

"We love music, and the new Apple Music service puts an incredible experience at every fan's fingertips," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "All the ways people love enjoying music come together in one app — a revolutionary streaming service, live worldwide radio and an exciting way for fans to connect with artists."

"Apple Music is really going to move the needle for fans and artists," said Jimmy Iovine. "Online music has become a complicated mess of apps, services and websites. Apple Music brings the best features together for an experience every music lover will appreciate."

Apple Music

Apple Music is a revolutionary streaming service and app that puts the entire Apple Music catalog at your fingertips across your favorite devices. Starting with the music you already know — whether from the iTunes Store® or ripped CDs — your music now lives in one place alongside the Apple Music catalog with over 30 million songs. You can stream any song, album or playlist you choose — or better yet, let Apple Music do the work for you.

Curation is the soul of every playlist created on Apple Music. Apple has hired the most talented music experts from around the world, dedicated to creating the perfect playlists based on your preferences, and they become better curators the more you listen. The "For You" section of Apple Music provides a fresh mix of albums, new releases and playlists, which have been personalized just for you.

In addition to human curation, Siri® is also dedicated to helping you enjoy great music and have fun with Apple Music. Ask Siri to, "Play me the best songs from 1994," "Play the best FKA twigs song," or "What was the number one song in February 2011?"

Apple Music Radio

Beats 1℠, Apple's first ever live radio station dedicated entirely to music and music culture, will broadcast live to over 100 countries. Beats 1 is a 24-hour listening experience led by influential DJs Zane Lowe in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden in New York and Julie Adenuga in London. Listeners around the globe will hear the same great programming at the same time. Exciting programs on Beats 1 will offer exclusive interviews, guest hosts and the best of what's going on in the world of music.

Apple has also redesigned radio with human curation taking the lead. Apple Music Radio gives you stations created by some of the world's finest radio DJs. The new stations range in genres from indie rock to classical and folk to funk, with each one expertly curated. With membership, you can skip as many songs as you like, so you can change the tune without changing the dial.

Apple Music Connect

Artists and fans now have an incredible way to connect with one another directly in Apple Music with Connect. Through Connect, artists can share lyrics, backstage photos, videos or even release their latest song directly to fans directly from their iPhone. Fans can comment on or like anything an artist has posted, and share it via Messages, Facebook, Twitter and email. And when you comment, the artist can respond directly to you.

Pricing & Availability

Starting on June 30, music fans around the world are invited to a 3-month free membership, after which a $9.99/month subscription fee will apply. There will also be a family plan providing service for up to six family members available for just $14.99/month.

Requires initial sign up. At the end of the trial period, the membership will automatically renew and payment method will be charged on a monthly basis until auto-renewal is turned off in account settings. Family plan requires iCloud® Family Sharing. See www.apple.com/icloud/family-sharing for more information.

*Apple Music is available on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and PC starting June 30. Apple Music will be coming to Apple TV and Android phones this fall.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple's three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

](/wwdc-2015)

Apple News is a new application for iPhone and iPad coming in iOS 9, built around your favorite news content. It lays out your news in a grid, animating as you scroll. News allows publishers to create custom content, including typography and layouts, bringing their branding into the app.

In addition to custom typography, publishers can also insert inline photo galleries, videos, and more. Publishers include The New York Times, Quartz, and ESPN. The New York Times offers users 30 free articles every day.

When you first open News, it will ask for your favorite publications. While reading, you can scroll through articles, and swipe left and right to move to a new one. You can bookmark articles to read later, and save your favorite publications and topics. News will also suggest new things to read based on what you read.

News will roll out first in the U.S., U.K., and Australia.

Stay tuned to our WWDC liveblog for more.

Press Release:

Apple Announces News App for iPhone & iPad

Delivers News in a Beautiful & Uncluttered Format

SAN FRANCISCO — June 8, 2015 — Apple® today unveiled an all-new News app delivering the best news reading experience on any mobile device. Available with iOS 9 this fall for iPhone® and iPad®, News combines the visually rich layout of a magazine with the immediacy and customization of digital media. News follows over a million topics and pulls relevant stories based on your specific interests that can be easily shared or saved for later — without compromising your privacy. News is powered by the new custom-designed Apple News Format™, a digital publishing format that allows publishers to create beautiful layouts.

"News seamlessly delivers the articles you want to read in a beautiful and uncluttered format, while respecting your privacy, because Apple doesn't share your personal data," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We already have nearly 20 publishers representing more than 50 titles joining us, including Condé Nast, ESPN, The New York Times, Hearst, Time Inc., CNN and Bloomberg."

News conveniently collects all the stories you want to read in one place, in a customized newsfeed called For You. Readers can see the publisher channels and topics they're following in Favorites, and to discover new content, Explore makes great suggestions based on what you've already read. The more you read, the more personalized the News app becomes, refining the selection of stories delivered to your iPhone or iPad.

Apple News Format allows publishers to create stories that look beautiful and take advantage of the full power of iOS. Content can include photos and galleries, audio, video, maps and rich interactions such as parallax and animation. When publishers create their stories for News, content comes alive with custom fonts and intuitive Multi-Touch™ gestures. Apple News Format automatically customizes the layout for each screen size, so News content looks great on both iPhone and iPad.

"Condé Nast's premium content deserves a premium mobile experience and the News app delivers that," said Bob Sauerberg, President of Condé Nast. "News offers an environment that combines the rich, immersive design of our photography, artwork and editorial expertise with the interactivity and dynamism of digital media — it's stunning."

"ESPN fans are incredibly engaged in the way they consume our content, so the more vibrant experience we can offer, the happier they'll be," said John Skipper, President of ESPN Inc. and Co-Chairman of Disney Media Networks. "We've seen incredible success with our ESPN apps on iOS, and News is only going to make a richer, more personal experience for our readers so they can stay up-to-date on the sports news that matters to them."

Publishers interested in signing up can visit www.icloud.com/newspublisher with additional publishing tools available later this year. iOS 9 will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 4s and later, iPod touch® 5th generation, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini™ and later. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple's three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

](/wwdc-2015)

During Apple's WWDC 2015 keynote event today, Apple provided an update on their Apple Pay service. The company revealed that 2,500 bank locations in the US support Apple Pay and that it will launch in the UK in July, confirming earlier rumors. Apple stated that the UK support will come to eight of the country's popular banks, with more coming this fall:

• M&S Bank
• Bank of Scotland
• Halifax
• Ulster Bank
• NatWest
• American Express
• Santander
• Royal Bank of Scotlank
• Nationwide
• HSBC,
• First Direct
• TSB,
• MBNA,
• Lloyds Band

Apple Pay will support 70% of the UK's credit and debit cards. 250,000 UK merchant locations will support Apple Pay, including the London transportation system

Apple also repeated the news that Apple Pay support will be coming to Discover Card owners this fall in the US. An all new Square reader is launching this fall with Apple Pay support, with pre-orders starting today. Apple claims that there will be one million Apple Pay locations by July. Developers are seeing 2 times of an increase in their checkout rates when using Apple Pay. The Pinterest app will also add support for Apple Pay for buying from partner stores.

For iOS 9, Apple Pay will add support for store credit and debit cards along with rewards programs from stores like Kohls, and Walgreens. More retailer such as Trader Joes, Baskin Robbins, and JC Penney plan to add Apple Pay support. Finally, Apple is changing the name of its Passport app to Wallet.

Press Releases:

Apple Pay Coming to the UK

Bringing the Easy, Secure & Private Way to Pay to Customers Internationally

SAN FRANCISCO — June 8, 2015 — Apple® today announced that starting next month, Apple Pay™ will be available to customers in the UK, bringing them the easy, secure and private way to pay. Whether buying groceries, grabbing coffee, picking up lunch or taking the Tube, UK shoppers will soon be able to make many of their daily purchases with Apple Pay. At launch, over 250,000 locations will accept Apple Pay, with support from eight of the UK's most established banks, across all of the major credit and debit card networks.

"Apple Pay has quickly become a big part of millions of users' everyday shopping routines, providing a simpler, faster and more secure way to pay," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We're thrilled to bring Apple Pay to the UK with support at launch from the most popular banks, an incredible roster of merchants and many of our users' favorite apps."

Paying in stores or within apps has never been easier. In stores, shopping with Apple Pay is fast and there are no extra steps — simply hold your iPhone® near the contactless reader while keeping a finger on Touch ID™. With Apple Watch™ just double click the side button and hold the face up to the contactless reader to make a purchase right from your wrist. Shopping in apps with Apple Pay can be as simple as the touch of a finger, so iPhone and iPad® users can pay for physical goods and services, including apparel, electronics, health and beauty products, tickets and more.

Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. In the UK, users will soon receive all the benefits of protecting personal information, transaction data, and credit and debit card information with the industry-leading security Apple Pay brings. When adding a credit or debit card, the actual card numbers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the Secure Element on your device, and each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code.

Apple Pay will support UK credit and debit cards from American Express, MasterCard and Visa Europe, issued by many of the UK's most popular banks, including first direct, HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank. Other major issuing banks will follow by this fall, including Bank of Scotland, Coutts, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, MBNA, M&S Bank and TSB Bank.

"As part of our goal to be number one, we are absolutely focused on giving our customers the best and most innovative experience possible," said Ross McEwan, CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland. "Whether on the high street, in a small shop or on the go within apps, Apple Pay offers a simple and secure way to pay. We are pleased to be among the first UK banks to offer this service to our customers."

Starting in July, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch users will be able to make purchases anywhere contactless payments are accepted. In addition to the 39 Apple Stores in the UK, leading locations for everyday shopping that will accept Apple Pay include Boots UK, BP, Costa Coffee, Dune, JD Sports, KFC UK & Ireland, Liberty, LIDL, Marks & Spencer (M&S), McDonald's UK, Nando's, New Look, Post Office, Pret A Manger, SPAR, Starbucks, SUBWAY stores, Wagamama and Waitrose. Transport for London will also accept Apple Pay, so you can use your iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for your travel or daily commute.

"We are proud to be one of the first retailers to introduce Apple Pay at our stores across the UK. Whether customers are enjoying our special food range or our clothing collections, our early introduction of Apple Pay will provide them with a seamless and secure way of checking out," said Marc Bolland, CEO of Marks & Spencer.

In apps, checkout is simple and there is no need to manually fill out lengthy account forms or repeatedly type in shipping and billing information. Apps that will accept Apple Pay in the UK include Addison Lee, Airbnb, Argos, Booking.com, British Airways, Domino's, easyJet, Hailo, HotelTonight, hungryhouse, JD Sports, Just Eat, lastminute.com, Miss Selfridge, Ocado, Stubhub, thetrainline.com, Top 10, Topshop, Uncover, Vueling, YPlan, Zalando and Zara, among others. When paying for goods and services within apps, Apple Pay is compatible with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air® 2 and iPad mini™ 3.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple's three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Apple Pay Giving Shoppers Even More Ways to Pay

Expanding Benefits with Merchant Rewards & Store-Issued Cards

SAN FRANCISCO — June 8, 2015 — Apple® today announced Apple Pay™ is making everyday payments even better by adding support for rewards programs and store-issued credit and debit cards with iOS 9. Apple Pay will also give shoppers more ways to pay in the US, expanding merchant acceptance to over one million locations next month and bringing support for Discover this fall. With this addition, Apple Pay will accept credit and debit cards across all major card networks, issued by the most popular banks, representing 98 percent of all credit card purchase volume in the US.

"Apple Pay has kicked off a new era of payments and our users love the incredibly easy, secure and private way to pay," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We're bringing our customers the most requested features with support for rewards and store-issued cards, and expanding how and where Apple Pay is accepted, which truly transforms the way people pay."

With the addition of Apple Pay, the Passbook® app in iOS has become much more than simply a place for keeping coupons, gift cards, boarding passes and tickets. Starting this fall with iOS 9, Passbook evolves to become Wallet, bringing additional options at checkout with Apple Pay support for rewards and store-issued credit and debit cards.

To get the most out of purchases, users simply add participating rewards and store-issued cards to the Wallet app and seamlessly use them at checkout with Apple Pay. This fall, more than 80 million active members of Walgreens Balance Rewards program, the nation's largest drugstore loyalty program, will be able to easily and securely use their rewards with Apple Pay. Additionally, Kohl's Department Stores will begin rolling out Apple Pay to its 30 million Yes2You Reward program members. Others bringing rewards programs to Apple Pay users include Coca-Cola, Dunkin' Donuts, Panera Bread and Wegmans Food Markets. Favorite store-issued cards available to Apple Pay users will include BJ's Wholesale Club, Kohl's Department Stores and JCPenney, with many more to come.

"Our customers around the country already depend on Dunkin' Donuts as their all-day, everyday stop to keep them going," said Nigel Travis, chairman and CEO, Dunkin' Brands. "We can't think of a better way to reward their loyalty than by offering Apple Pay and the option to use personalized rewards with their purchases."

"Providing our shoppers with innovative ways to pay while offering flexibility, supports our commitment to delivering a simple and convenient customer experience," said Kevin Mansell, Kohl's chairman, CEO and president. "By integrating with Apple Pay in all of our stores, Kohl's customers can choose how they want to pay, whether using their Kohl's Charge or Yes2You Rewards loyalty points, payments are easy and secure."

Apple Pay launched last October with 200,000 locations in the US and will soon surpass one million. Just a few of the newest merchants accepting Apple Pay in stores this year include Baskin Robbins, Best Buy, BevMo!, Big Lots, Dunkin' Donuts, El Pollo Loco, EXPRESS, Forever 21, JCPenney, Johnny Rockets, Kohl's Department Stores, LEGO Brand Retail, Levi's, Peet's Coffee, Trader Joe's and White Castle. Additionally, today Square announced that it will launch its new Square Reader this fall, which will enable even more small businesses to accept Apple Pay.

Popular apps continue to add Apple Pay support so checkout can happen with a single touch. New apps bringing Apple Pay to customers include Best Buy, Delta Air Lines' Fly Delta app, Dunkin' Donuts, Gilt, HauteLook, Kickstarter, Munchery, Nordstromrack.com and zulily. Pinterest will also launch Buyable Pins later this month, so users can purchase millions of items from over a thousand stores like Cole Haan, Macy's and Neiman Marcus from right within the Pinterest app with Apple Pay, only on iOS.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple's three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

](/wwdc-2015)

Apple has announced iOS 9, the latest version of their mobile operating system. This latest version of iOS focuses on making your phone smarter, and helping it work more efficiently.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Siri gets a new look and more intelligence in iOS 9
• Add photos, create checklists, draw sketches, and more with notes in iOS 9
• Apple Pay now being used by 2,500 bank locations in the US, will launch in the UK in July
• Apple introduces News to keep you up to date with your favorite publications
• iPad keyboard gains new shortcut bar, can become trackpad, and more in iOS 9
• iOS 9's performance boosts focus on efficiency and battery life
• iOS 9 brings a variety of developer goodies including GamePlayKit, ReplayKit, and more
• New multitasking features are coming to the iPad as part of iOS 9
• iOS 9 will be a space-friendly update, two-factor authentication coming to iCloud
• iOS 9 beta goes to developers today; public beta coming in July
• More than 100 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store
• CarPlay will be going wireless in future cars
• Swift 2 programming language will become open source project by Apple
• Apple announces watchOS 2: native apps, more friends, smarter Siri
• Time Travel comes to watchOS, shows what you have coming up quickly
• HomeKit supports remote access via iCloud, wide variety of connected devices
• Apple Watch app creators will be able to put in more native features
• Apple watchOS 2 Developer Beta available today, public launch this fall
• Apple Music is official with on-demand streaming, a global radio station, more

Be sure to keep it locked to iMore for the latest from Apple's developer conference.

Press Release:

Apple Previews iOS 9

SAN FRANCISCO — June 8, 2015 — Apple® today unveiled iOS 9, giving a preview of new iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch® software that will be available this fall. In this upcoming release, iOS devices become more intelligent and proactive with powerful search and improved Siri® features — all without compromising users' privacy. New multitasking features designed specifically for iPad allow you to work with two apps simultaneously, side-by-side or with the new Picture-in-Picture feature, to keep watching a video while browsing the web, composing email or using any other app. Built-in apps become more powerful in iOS 9 with detailed transit information in Maps*, a redesigned Notes app with new ways to capture ideas, and an all-new News app for the best news reading experience on any mobile device.

"iOS 9 is packed with more intelligence throughout, and delivers big updates to the apps customers use most — Maps supports public transit, a redesigned Notes app provides great new ways to capture ideas, and a beautiful News app delivers content that's personalized to your interests," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering. "With our new iPad features, users can take advantage of the power of iPad, working in two apps at the same time with Split View, Slide Over or Picture-in-Picture."

Intelligence

Siri features an all-new design in iOS 9, contextual reminders and new ways to search photos and videos. Proactive assistance presents the most relevant information without compromising users' privacy and suggests actions at a particular moment — even before you start typing — automatically suggesting apps to launch or people to contact based on usage patterns, and notifying you when you need to leave for appointments, taking into account traffic conditions. iOS 9 can even learn what you typically listen to in a certain location or at a particular time of day, so when you plug in headphones at the gym or hop in the car before work, it can automatically display playback controls for your preferred app. Typed search queries deliver more relevant results from more categories, including sports scores and schedules, videos and simple math calculations.

New iPad Features

With a simple swipe, the new Slide Over feature lets you simultaneously work in a second app without leaving the first. And with a quick tap, you can access the new Split View feature so you can work in two apps at the same time, side-by-side. Picture-in-Picture lets you continue a FaceTime® call or video while using your favorite apps. These new multitasking features are supported by built-in Apple apps, and APIs make it easy for third-party developers to add support into their own apps. Typing is faster and easier with an all-new Shortcut Bar that displays actions tailored for the app you are in, and new Multi-Touch™ gestures make it even easier to select and edit text.

Built-In Apps

In iOS 9, Maps adds support for metropolitan transit systems and schedules, and subway station entrances and exits are precisely mapped, providing every step of your trip. When you plan your trip, Maps can offer a combination of trains, subways, buses and walking, and with the new Nearby feature, quickly see what's around by searching for food, drinks, shopping and more.

New features of the completely redesigned Notes app include the ability to draw a quick sketch using your finger, easily create checklists to keep track of your to-dos, or snap a photo directly in a note. Easily save important items to your notes directly from other apps, and keep them in sync across all your enabled devices with iCloud®.

The News app delivers a reading experience that combines the rich, immersive design of a print magazine with the interactivity of digital media. News can learn your interests and suggest relevant content that's easily shareable with friends or saved for later. News delivers the best articles from a variety of publishers and over one million topics to help you personalize your reading experience, all presented in an elegant, uncluttered design. News is powered by the new Apple News Format™, a digital publishing format supporting custom typography, galleries, audio, video and interactive animations, allowing publishers like Condé Nast, ESPN and The New York Times to create beautiful editorial layouts for iOS users.

With iOS 9, Apple Pay™ adds support for Discover, rewards programs from merchants such as Walgreens and Kohl's Department Stores, and participating store-issued credit and debit cards. Shoppers will be able to manage their cards in the new Wallet app. Apple Pay will also be available to users in the UK starting next month.

Foundation

iOS 9 makes the foundation of iOS even stronger with refinements including battery optimization that provides a typical user with an additional hour of battery life**, and a low-power mode to help further extend battery life. Software updates require less space to install and an Install Later feature can perform updates to your device when it's not in use. Enhanced security features in iOS 9 keep your devices and Apple ID secure by strengthening the passcode that protects your devices and improving two-factor authentication by building it directly into iOS, making it harder for others to gain unauthorized access to your Apple ID.

Developer APIs

iOS 9 APIs and tools for developers include: extensible search that deep links directly to content within third-party apps; GameplayKit and Model I/O for building better games and ReplayKit for recording gameplay; new HomeKit profiles for motorized windows and shades, motion sensors and home security systems; wireless CarPlay™ and support for auto manufacturers to develop apps within CarPlay; and new HealthKit data points for reproductive health, UV exposure, water intake and sedentary state.

Swift™ 2 brings powerful new features and performance improvements that produce faster apps. The Swift compiler and standard library will be made available as open source later this year, putting the language in the hands of even more developers.

Availability

The iOS 9 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iOS Developer Program members at developer.apple.com, and a public beta program will be available in July at beta.apple.com. iOS 9 will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 4s and later, iPod touch 5th generation, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and later. Features are subject to change. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages.

*Transit information in Maps will be available in select major cities this fall, including Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, New York City, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Toronto and Washington D.C., as well as over 300 cities in China, including Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai. **Battery life depends on usage and settings.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple's three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple's 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.

Ahead of the beginning of WWDC 2015 next week, Apple has started putting up banners for the conference at Moscone West in San Francisco. Decorations are only in the preliminary phases, so expect to see a lot more before the conference gets started on June 8. This first look comes to us from MacStories.

WWDC 2015 will officially begin on Monday, June 8, with the traditional keynote address at 10 a.m. PDT. For those not in attendance, you'll be able to stream the keynote live on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, as well as your Apple TV.

Source: MacStories

This week Apple opened registration for WWDC, the company's annual developer conference, which will be held June 8-12 in San Francisco.

WWDC is a huge deal in the Apple community, but it wasn't always so. I've been going to WWDC since the mid-1990s, when it was a sleepy affair that took place at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose. Probably the most memorable moment of any of the San Jose-based WWDCs I attended was the last one: That was 2002, when Steve Jobs laid the classic Mac OS to rest — no, seriously, there was a coffin on stage.

A worldwide Apple gathering

With the death of Macworld Expo and the Cupertino company's focus on invitation-only media events, WWDC is the most prominent Apple-focused event that's open to the public.

Yes, a ticket will cost you $1599 (plus a $99 developer membership, of course) — and you'll first have to win a lottery to pay that entry fee. Nor is WWDC designed to be an event for everyone in the community. But it's one of the largest gatherings for Apple developers, internal engineers, and the media.

While most members of the media are content to go to the keynote, write their stories about Apple's big announcements, and then head home, when I was at Macworld I always bought a developer badge and attended sessions. Yes, they were confidential — I couldn't write anything about what I learned there — but they also provided background material about how OS X (and later iOS) worked that proved invaluable when new versions of those products shipped.

Still, at many sessions, I would realize that after 20 minutes of solid introductory material, the slides were suddenly starting to fill with code. I am not a developer. Code makes my head hurt. Instead, I would retreat outside and hope that someone had re-filled the candy bowl.

But while the sessions at WWDC are absolutely not for everyone, in the past few years it's become clear that WWDC has still become an event for everyone who works in the Apple-related universe. Quite simply, there's no single event on the calendar that draws enough of us together in one location: WWDC has critical mass.

The un-conference conference

In the last few years, WWDC week has increasingly become not about the convention itself. A free alternative conference has sprung up across the street. And as tickets have become scarce, I've had several people tell me that they came to San Francisco for the week not for the sessions, but for everything that happens after the sessions are over.

During WWDC week in the area around the Moscone convention center, the bars and restaurants are filled with computer people. There are parties, meet-ups, live podcasts, group trips to Giants games, you name it. It's very much what Macworld Expo felt like, once upon a time — when it was the definitive week for the tribe to gather. But it passed the torch to WWDC many years ago.

These days, Apple streams some WWDC sessions live and makes most others available on video within a day. Just as WWDC week becomes the essential San Francisco social event for the Apple industry, it's becoming much less necessary to physically attend the conference portion.

So why pay for a ticket to the event at all? For one, the halls of Moscone West are still an amazing place for networking and social interaction. This is also the one week where a staggering number of Apple staff are available and focused on talking to developers. Whether you've scheduled a lab session with an Apple engineer or are just shooting the breeze in the hallway or at a bar, developers can forge connections with people at Apple that can pay off later. Knowing the right person to ask about a particularly vexing problem can be huge.

If there's one thing that WWDC week is missing that the old Macworld Expo had in spades, it's the fans — the regular people who use Apple stuff and love it. I haven't yet heard tell of someone who's just a big fan of Apple sites and podcasts flying to WWDC for the week just to meet people. Macworld Expo had a heavy serving of developers and media people, but there was also room for regular people to show up and hear from the people they read, or whose software they use. That aspect is gone — WWDC is Comic-Con, but without the fans.

Bring on the week of nerds

Still, it's one of my favorite weeks of the year. Most of the times I see my friends and colleagues in the Apple-related world, we are all running around, trying to cover all the announcements at the latest Apple media event. There's not enough time to settle in and actually spend time with these people. WWDC, being a week long, provides plenty of time for conversations and connections. It also ends up offering a huge amount of news, which we report back to people who read sites like this one, and primes the pump for months of coverage on the new stuff Apple tends to announce at its Monday morning WWDC keynote.

If you had told me in the mid-90s that Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference would end up becoming the social event of the season, I would have laughed long and loud. And yet this highly technical convention has, unconventionally, become the beating heart at the center of the Apple universe's year.

I'll be there. I hope to see a bunch of you there too. Ticket or not.

WWDC 2015 will once again be held at Moscone Center West in San Francisco, California. Registration is open to any member of the iOS Developer Program, iOS Developer Enterprise Program, or Mac Developer Program.

Apple is currently taking registrations through Friday, April 17 at 10 am PST (1 pm EDT). Like last year, after registration closes, Apple will hold a random drawing to assign tickets. Developers will be informed by Monday, April 20 at 5 pm PDT (8 pm EDT). Their credit or debit card will automatically be charged $1,599 at that time.

The WWDC keynote, held Monday at 10am PT, 1pm ET, is where Apple typically provides the first preview of the company's next generation operating system and services. This year that would include iOS 9 'Monarch' and OS X 10.11 'Gala'. There are also rumors that Apple could reveal a new versions of its Apple TV set-top box, as well as a new music service.

iMore will provide our usual coverage, color, and analysis throughout the week.