My Takeaway’s from WWDC21

Alan Smithson
4 min readJun 7, 2021

Apple’s Developer Conference Key Takeaways — June 7, 2021

Tim Cook and team have done it again and this time with revolutionary software updates to every operating system; WatchOS, MacOS, iOS, etc. Some of the upgrades are cosmetic, like the new Safari tab system and others are fundamental game changers like the addition of anonymous email creation to slow down email marketers by blocking IP addresses and more.

Today’s talk was a 45 minute feature fest, but my two ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE moments were; Universal Control and Object Capture.

Tim Cook at WWDC21

These two new products unlock creativity by allowing the seamless use of all your devices from one mouse/trackpad and allowing creators to make 3D objects from photos instantly respectively. Each of these is a complete paradigm change in itself.

Apple’s new ‘Object Capture’ Photogrammetry system
Object Capture Demo
‘Universal Control’ allows you to control multiple devices from one mouse/trackpad

I cannot stress how awesome Universal Control is. I can now use my iMac, MacBook and iPad synchronously as multiple screens (with NO cables and NO setup required).

Here are some of the other highlights that I took away from WWDC21.

Apple has paid an aggregate total of $230 billion paid to developers.
The App Store has everything you want/need

Apple’s Swift Playground is a great place for new developers to start learning how to build and publish apps quickly using XCode.

Developers are making billions creating and publishing apps to the App store across MacOS, iOS and WatchOS.

Apple is really taking a BIG stand on privacy with the new updates allowing users to fully understand and decide which marketers they want to have their personal information (or not). This is a good step in the future of marketing (again the promise of less spam)

Apple Watch Face using your own photos!

With the addition of the above awesome feature of putting your photos directly on your wrist, you will be able to see yourself as pretty as ever before, but if you are not an Instagram model, you can also put pics of your friends or family. The Apple Watch also has a meditation and mindfulness app built-in. Exercise + Apple Watch = Health. The use of the Apple Watch as a health tool is no longer a distant concept, but a practical real-life product. This watch will make you healthier (if you use it for such).

Apple 3D Maps

Apple Maps finally went fully 3D and can understand things like overpasses and bridges giving you a beautiful view of the maps around you. Very nicely done, but a few years behind Google.

You can now build iOS applications using your iPad. That seems pretty huge!

They added a ‘Digital Legacy’ feature to add family members to access your account should you die.

Audio never leaves Apple devices moving forward. On-device speech recognition for Siri using their new neural network.

There was so much more, but truthfully, I was so caught up in the moment, I only managed to capture the above. You can watch the keynote replay here.

All I can say after that keynote is “TAKE MY MONEY!!”

All the things I want from Apple in one shopping bag.

About Alan Smithson

Alan Smithson’s purpose in life is to inspire and educate people to think and act in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible way.

Mr. Smithson is the Co-Founder of MetaVRse, a code-optional platform that makes it easy to create & share interactive 3D experiences instantly on the web enabling anyone to leverage the power of spatial computing. He is a proud Father, Business Leader, TEDx Speaker, and Podcast Host. Previous to MetaVRse, Mr. Smithson co-invented the World’s first touchscreen DJ system, Emulator — featured on Dragons’ Den and winning DJ Mag’s Innovative Product of the Year in 2011. His 10-year-old daughter invented sandals that leave a heart-shaped tan line on your feet called Love Sandal winning Top 20 Under 20 at only 10 years old. He is an Independent Global Advisor on the Business of XR for Fortune 500 Companies and UHNW Family Offices.

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Alan Smithson

Alan’s purpose in life is to inspire and educate future leaders to think and act in a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable way.