MANILA, Philippines – Since 1990, tech giant Apple has been holding its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) to showcase the company’s newest developments.

Its latest, held at 10:00 AM on June 8 in San Francisco, California (1:00 AM in Manila, Philippines) unveiled a slew of software updates across all 3 Apple platforms for desktop, mobile, and its latest product, the Apple Watch.

Here are some of the highlights from this year’s WWDC:

OS X: El Capitan

Developer beta: June 8, 2015

Free upgrade: Fall 2015

1. Trackpad swipe gestures make it easier to delete, flag, or archive individual emails, allowing the user to veer away from the click command. Gestures are uniform to mobile.
2. Safari now has Pinned Sites, making frequently-visited sites easily accessible with tabs ready for browsing at the drop of a hat.
3. Spotlight’s search is more intuitive and up-to-date, ranging from updated sports scores to directions to overlooked emails.
4. Drag-and-drop functionality enabled across all native applications – from Safari to Mail to Notes.
5. Multitasking made easy by the new Spaces bar, allowing the creation of multiple desktops and splitscreen functionality.
6. Metal, an API for graphics, debuts on Mac after its launch in iOS 8 last year. 

iOS 9

Developer beta: June 8, 2015

Free upgrade: Fall 2015

1. Siri’s intelligence goes up a notch, transforming from mere virtual assistant to a “proactive” one. Didn’t save someone’s number in your phonebook? Siri can scan your email and give an intelligent guess.
2. If you add a location to a Calendar event, iOS 9 will suggest what time you should leave, taking traffic into account.
3. When you wake up in the morning iOS9 intuitively suggests apps to use based on your daily routine. For instance, if it remembers your routinary morning jog, it will automatically suggest the Health app along with iTunes, if you like to listen to music.
4. Just like in OS X, search on iOS 9 promise the ease of showing results across all apps, whether native or 3rd party.
5. Apple Pay includes support for the Discover payment system, joining Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Users may also add loyalty and reward cards to Apple Pay. It also expands its retail partners and will launch in the United Kingdom this coming July. Passbook is renamed Wallet.
6. Enhancements: for Notes – more formatting options, including checklists for those who like to keep to-do lists. Similar to OS X, users can add content from Safari directly to notes by simply dragging and dropping.
7. More enhancements: for Maps – focus shifts from the motorist to the commuter, with the release of the Transit functionality with metro guides and commuting directions. Will roll out in key cities in the US and China.
8. The launch of the Apple News app. Apple partners with major publishing groups such as the New York Times and the Conde Nast group to deliver rich multimedia content to the smartphone user. News will roll out first in the US, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
9. Multitasking for the iPad. Just like in OS X, users can do two things at the same time, like watch a movie while checking email, or chatting via iMessage while writing a document. Apple released Multitasking’s API during the keynote for the developers to start making their apps splitscreen-friendly come public release.
10. Low-power mode. The feature allows the iOS device to run on energy saving mode, extending power to as much as 3 hours.
11. iOS 9 will still be supported by the same devices supporting iOS 8, keeping 4 year-old devices iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 off the chopping block.

watchOS 2

Developer beta: June 8, 2015

Free upgrade: Fall 2015

1. WiFi compatibility. The Apple Watch will no longer have to rely on the iPhone’s WiFi connection, but will be able to connect on its own.
2. Enhancements for new Watch faces – option to use photos, use a photo album as a slideshow, enable timelapses depending at which part of the globe you are in.
3. Nightstand mode. When charging the Watch, letting it rest on its side activates this new option, along with an alarm clock.
4. Users may reply to email via Siri and answer Facetime audio calls.
5. Gamified workouts on the Watch lets users gauge their fitness milestones with badges that could be shared with friends.
6. Apps that use the microphone and speaker can be used such as Instagram and Vine. 
7. The Time Travel function allows the user to spin the time forward to gauge how battery life and weather will look like in the next few hours, or even days.

 – Rappler.com