Digital drivers licenses, SharePlay to watch with friends, live text — see what the Product Hunt team is most excited about from Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.
Yesterday, Apple hosted its Worldwide Developer Conference to the human world and to a lot of Memojis.
Here's what we believe to be the best updates from WWDC2021, with a dash of data based on what tweets you liked the most.
Digital Licenses
Apple is working with TSA in the U.S. to put your driver's license in your Wallet. It will be tested in select states at first and will be accepted at security screenings when ready.
FaceTime Links
FaceTime just got Zoomy. You can now send FaceTime links to your friends. Even Android users will be able to participate by joining via browser and desktop.
Watch Together
iPhone and iPad users will be able to share audio and video streams through SharePlay so you can watch video and listen to music together with loved ones. (These updates would have been even better a year ago!) Launch partners include Disney+, Hulu, TikTok, MasterClass, and ESPN+ but Apple is also making an API available to developers so they can integrate their own apps with SharePlay.
Productivity Mode
There's a new "Focus Mode" to help you with productivity and the like. If you have a work mode, for example, you'll be able to batch work notifications together, control when they get sent, and customize a space on your iPhone for work-related apps. Copy and repeat concept with personal vacation mode.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
"Live Text" means you can now copy and paste text from images. Your iPhone camera can recognize handwritten text, so you can take a pic of the whiteboard after a brainstorming sesh, copy and paste it into an email, and send to your team.
Phone a Friend Recovery
Finally. Your partner or more memory-abled offspring can pitch in and help when you forget your Apple ID. Add trusted contacts and you'll be able to recover your Apple ID and also transfer your devices to new people more easily.
Universal Control
Use a single mouse and keyboard across your Mac and iPad with ease — another step towards making your iPad a super-powered screen.
Do Not Disturb
The downside of texting these days is the pressure to respond instantly. This will help: Do Not Disturb mode is like the "away" message on Slack.
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What updates were your favorite?