If you’re an Apple Nerd like I am then you know WWDC kicked off yesterday with a keynote discussing all the OS updates for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. I was watching the live stream yesterday and there are a few things that I’m particularly excited about that would be really practical for entrepreneurs and creatives!
Let’s start with iOS 12. Though it seems that Apple is focusing more on performance updates (not complaining here) there are some new features that I think are going to be really useful for us productivity nerds.
1. The Photos app is getting an update with a better search option. If you’re someone that uses their phone to take photos almost exclusively like I do, this is going to be a big one for you.
2. Siri is getting an update. I honestly only use Siri for my HomeKit functions but have always wanted to use it more. I have to admit she wasn’t as great as she used to be so this update will be a good one. From an entrepreneurial and productivity the things I’m most excited about is the Shortcuts app which will give you the option to add commands to Siri. For example, if you tell Siri you’re “going home” then it’ll trigger a series of commands such as showing you the latest traffic with the quickest route home, it will play your specified playlist, and turn on your lights and fans at home.
This feature was an app called Workflow in the past, and while I’ve had it for a while I’ve never really been able to use it to its full potential. When I got word that Apple had acquired it I was really curious to see how they would implement it. I’m also excited to see how many apps will utilize this feature (I hope they do!) cuz yo’ girl will be all over that ish.
3. Voice memo comes to iPad. I use this often, not that often but have always wondered why iPad didn’t have this standard.
4. Grouped notifications will be great since my notifications drive me crazy some times!
5. If you’re an entrepreneur that has a lot of remote workers or you work with fellow entrepreneurs FaceTime group calling is going to be great!
6. I’m also excited about the new Do Not Disturb features that are coming to iOS. I’m the type that is glued to my devices since I use technology in almost every aspect of all my businesses. It’s easy to get distracted because of a notification. The notification leads to opening the app that leads to scrolling and next thing you know over an hour has passed. This is a feature I’m definitely going to use to up my productivity.
Now, for watchOS 5 updates. The updates didn’t really apply to me since I have the series 2 but if you do have the series 3 and an LTE version this will be an exciting update.
1. Podcasts are coming to Apple Watch! Podcasts are my new jam so I’m excited about that one.
2. Truthfully I’m excited about the walkie talkie feature! This would be soooo useful at Ninong’s! But only a few of us have apple watches. Not even sure if this works for anything but the newest watches.
Last but not least, MacOS. This was probably the most impressive update for me personally. I think there are numerous things in the Mojave update that are going to be great for entrepreneurs or even just help with every day productivity.
1. Dark Mode is coming to MacOS. Though I don’t use my laptop at home anymore like I used to (I use my iPad more) if you use your computer in low light situations this is going to be great!
2. Desktop Stacks are going to help me keep my desktop so much more organized.
3. Finder has some really great updates that I’m most excited about! Nerdy, I know. But you can now apply customizable buttons that could create multi page PDF’s, cut and video, and edit photos right in Finder. So excited for this one!
I know a lot of people thought that this keynote was pretty boring. WWDC keynotes are always software focused, so I don’t know why so many people were expecting hardware releases. I think these updates are going to be really good for the end user and are necessary. Some of these things are features users have been asking for while others are nice surprises. Let me know what feature you’re most excited about in the comments!
Xoxo,
