At WWDC 2019 event in San Jose, Apple unveiled its latest iOS 13, watchOS 6, tvOS 13 which comes with a lot of new changes and interesting features. Alongside those, Apple also introduced its next-generation macOS Catalina with a new Music app for Mac, Sidecar feature, Screen Time feature and more.
iTunes replaced with Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and the Apple TV app
Apple, with its latest macOS Catalina, is replacing iTunes app with three new apps namely Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV. The new Apple Music app for Mac is supposed to be faster where users can discover their favorite songs, movies, podcasts, etc. The Apple TV app has also got a refresh and the latest version for Mac now comes with Apple TV+ video subscription along with 4K HDR, Dolby Atmos-supported content. The ‘Watch Now’ section now features ‘Up Next’ where viewers can keep track of the playback.
Although Apple replaced iTunes with its other apps, users can still sync media by connecting their device to Mac and when they do, it will immediately show up in the sidebar of Finder, enabling them to back up, update or restore their device.
Sidecar
With the new macOS Catalina, Apple has introduced a new feature for iPad and Mac users named ‘Sidecar’ where the iPad can be used as an extended display for Mac and across Mac supported apps. This feature works on a wireless connection and users can spread their work out over two displays. According to Apple, this is useful for editing video with Final Cut Pro X, drawing with Adobe Illustrator or marking up iWork documents.
Improved security
Apple has improved the security with macOS Catalina and now all Macs with the T2 Security Chip support Activation Lock. Along with this, all the applications are checked for known issues with ‘Gatekeeper’, while new data protections will require all apps to get permission before accessing user documents.
Apple also introduced new ‘Approve with Apple watch’ feature which allows users to approve many security prompts by simply tapping the side button on their Apple Watch.
Screen Time
With macOS Catalina, Apple introduced a new ‘Screen Time’ feature which is similar to ‘Digital Wellbeing’ on Android. Screen Time gives users insight into how they spend time in apps and on websites and the tools to help decide how to spend their time. With this feature, users can schedule time away from their Mac and determine how much time they want to spend within individual apps or websites and they can sync Screen Time settings and usage with iCloud.
Availability
macOS Catalina will be available this fall, which is around September for Macs introduced in mid-2012 or later and the developer preview of macOS Catalina is available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com, and a public beta program will be available to Mac users next month at beta.apple.com.
Commenting on this, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering said:
With macOS Catalina, we’re bringing fresh new apps to the Mac, starting with new standalone versions of Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and the Apple TV app. Users will appreciate how they can expand their workspace with Sidecar, enabling new ways of interacting with Mac apps using iPad and Apple Pencil. And with new developer technologies, users will see more great third-party apps arrive on the Mac this fall.