WWDC 2020: The Future of Computing According to Apple
Originally Posted: July 6th, 2020
My Lukewarm Take on WWDC 2020
Like millions of others, I watched Apple's 2020 WWDC keynote live and reacted in real time. There were no shortage of hot takes. If you need an overview of what they announced, MacRumors has a comprehensive guide. The biggest announcement was Macs transitioning away from x86 Intel CPUs to Apple's custom-designed ARM CPUs. Since the keynote we've learned a lot more, and I've spent time with all of the first betas. For lack of a better term, this is my lukewarm take.
What is Apple's Grand Vision for the Mac with Apple silicon?
We don't have the full picture yet. We know the software side of the story, which is as comprehensive and carefully planned as we've come to expect from Apple. The hardware is the more exciting part, and we can only speculate there.
Infinite Possibilities. Image credit: Apple.com
It's safe to assume the Apple-designed processors are going to be either faster or more power-efficient, and probably both. Apple isn't doing this for fun, or to lock you into their ecosystem. They're doing this for the same reason they transitioned to PowerPC in 1994, and Intel in 2005: better performance-per-watt. Intel CPUs are a big portion of the cost, power consumption, and heat of a Mac. This is most obvious in MacBooks, but it applies to desktops as well.
Apple has been designing their iPhone and iPad processors for over ten years. They're the best in the world at creating low-power, high-performance ARM processors. Only Apple is in the position to do something like this. Google relies on Samsung and Qualcomm, and Microsoft mostly relies on Intel. We'll likely see new Apple laptop and desktop designs that are only possible with the lower power consumption of the new processors. This is vertical integration at it's finest.
There's a lot we don't know. We don't even have the official branding, because Apple Brands Everything and there's no way "Macs with Apple silicon" is the name. Speaking of branding, an Apple designed Mac CPU likely requires a new letter. iPhones and iPads have the A series, the Watch has the S series, headphones use the H series, etc. The M series seems like the obvious fit, but M is used by the motion coprocessors first included in the iPhone 5S. I could see them using X, just because it sounds cool. Maybe they'll steal M from the motion coprocessor and use it for the new family of Mac processors. Maybe it'll just be the same A14 that is coming in the next iPhone. We'll know this fall.
B-b-b-baby, You Ain't Seen N-n-nothin' Yet
It's worth emphasizing that the only Mac with Apple silicon we've seen so far is the Developer Transition Kit. The DTK uses a two year old iPad CPU in a modified Mac mini case. Developers are using it to test compatibility and get started on developing native ARM Mac applications. We can't read much into it performance-wise, despite what the clickbait headlines want you to believe.
For years, people have been comparing Apple's custom iPhone and iPad processors to other manufacturers. With the A12X in the 2018 iPad Pro, Apple exceeded the performance of most low-powered Intel processors. In 2020, we still haven't seen the next step in that progression. The 2020 iPad Pro and the DTK use the A12Z, which is the same as the 2018-era A12X with a slight GPU bump. Apple is holding their cards close to the vest, like always.
That A12Z in the DTK is 2018 Apple, designing for a thin, fanless iPad. I believe it was John Gruber that mentioned on his excellent podcast Dithering ($5/month, worth every penny) that the A12X and A12Z have been kicking around internally for a few years at this point. The exciting Mac processor announcements are still ahead of us. Johny Srouji's chip design team at Apple is the best in the world. They are the reason the A12Z outperforms most mobile Intel CPUs while using less power. The potential for Macs running Apple-designed CPUs is exciting, and it feels good to be excited about Mac hardware and performance again.
What can 2020 Apple do with a traditional laptop form factor and one of their world-leading processors? How about in a desktop, with all the thermal headroom and power that entails? What will 2021 Apple be able to do? Or 2030 Apple, for that matter? The possibilities are enticing, for sure. Let's take the platforms one by one, look at the latest changes, and try to peer behind Apple's curtain together.
macOS 11 and Multi-Input Computers
Get ready for macOS 11.0 — Big Sur. Image credit: Apple.com
Software-wise, the visual redesign is the headline. I'd bet a lot of money that touchscreen Macs are coming. Apple wouldn't allow apps designed for the iPad or iPhone onto the Mac without touchscreen support. The arguments they used to make against the ergonomics, whether valid or not, died with the introduction of the Magic Keyboard for iPad. Maybe we'll see a MacBook with a similar hinge to make touching the screen easier. Apple loves to say things are a bad idea until they have a product to sell. Touchscreens on laptops (and desktops?) are another example of that.
This macOS UI overhaul is a long time coming. We've been on macOS 10 (née Mac OS X) for almost twenty years now, and this is the biggest UI change we've seen since 2001. With the new UI, the Mac, iPad and iPhone feel more related than ever, and that's a good thing. Those three platforms are slowly blending together, and moving between them is seamless.
The future of the Mac is multi-input. iPads can take advantage of what you have available at the time — touchscreen, trackpad, Apple Pencil, keyboard, game controller, or voice — and apply them to a flexible operating system filled with great applications. Multi-input computers like the iPad are more comfortable, adaptable, and accessible. They're simply better, when done correctly. We already see this in action on the iPad with Magic Keyboard, and I believe we're going to see that on the Mac soon. Sign me up.
If you want an example of what not to do, look at Window's 10 mishmash of old UI, new UI, UI designed for touch, and UI designed for a mouse cursor. Some of this is personal preference, but I'm far from the only person to point out that Windows 10's design is still inconsistent. A common example I run into often is the difference between Settings and Control Panel. Some settings are in both places, some aren't. Some use the modern UI, some look like they haven't been updated since Windows 95. Updates move things around but 3 years later, it still feels half-baked.
Apple may take their time, and there are plenty of issues with the new macOS UI in beta 1. There's too much transparency, and readability and contrast should be improved. The centered text on the new dialog boxes doesn't look right, and long dialogs can be hard to read. Even with those issues, it feels purposeful, and part of a cohesive design. macOS 11 doesn't have two different settings panes, with two different UIs and a confusing overlap in functionality. It makes every version of macOS before it look old, and it's a great start for the new normal.
iOS 14
Compared to macOS, the iOS changes look small. The home screen got the biggest update. The new widgets and App Library are welcome, even if they are ideas borrowed from Android. Android and iOS borrow ideas from each other, and both platforms are better for it.
The new widgets in iOS 14 are handy, and iPhone home screen organization got a much needed overhaul. The App Library finally fixes the "which page or folder is that app in?" organization problem. Android has had that right for a long time, and it's nice that iOS finally caught up. The new widgets aren't interactive yet (besides Apple's own Shortcuts widget), but that seems inevitable.
App Clips are just like Android App Slices. With Apple's weight behind it, App Clips will likely become a real thing that real people use. I'm excited for those. Tons of single-purpose apps like parking apps will soon be a thing of the past. Besides those big things, there are a lot of other needed quality-of-life stuff, like phone calls and Siri not taking over your full screen. Hallelujah.
Overall, iOS 14 has a few big changes, but much more small, welcome improvements. iOS 14 Beta 1 is solid, especially compared to the mess that was iOS 13 beta 1. It should be a great release when it's ready this fall.
iPadOS 14
Get ready for iPad OS 14. Image credit: Apple.com
If you include the earth-shattering addition of the iPad cursor in iPadOS 13.4, the 2020 iPad software story looks really good. There are some weird lines being drawn between the new iPhone UI and the iPad UI, but those should go away with time. It's worth pointing out that we're still in the middle of a global pandemic right now, and Apple had to deal with drastic changes to work from home arrangements like every other company. I think Apple rightly focused on the iPhone UI first. I bet the App Library and freedom to place widgets wherever is coming to iPad, too. It was probably one of the things that had less focus due to the development restraints.
The "Designed for iPad" concept is letting Apple borrow the best ideas from the Mac, while increasing information density and versatility. More sidebars, menus, and the improved date and time picker are all welcome additions. I'm happy to see these changes, since a lot problems with the iPad were solved long ago on regular desktop operating systems. The iPad is growing up, and Apple is clearly putting a lot of care, time, and attention into it.
The Apple Pencil enhancements and Scribble are incredible. Being able to write in any text field, and all the magic related to handwriting recognition is Apple at its best. I don't have an Apple Pencil, but I was able to borrow one to check it out. Scribble is so good I may have to buy my own.
Overall, iPadOS 14 is a collection of small changes, and a few big ones, just like iOS 14. I'm excited to see what gets added next. I'd love to see them rethink multi-tasking and external monitor support soon. As it is right now, iPadOS is quickly becoming my favorite platform, and the iPad Pro + Magic Keyboard is becoming my most versatile computer.
WatchOS 7
I'm not going to go into too much depth here, but WatchOS 7 contains a lot of great quality-of-life improvements. Sleep tracking is a "finally". Multiple complications and Face Sharing will make the it more customizable, but I'd still like 3rd party watch faces. The loss of Force Touch is a bummer, but that probably points to a big hardware update this fall. Overall the WatchOS 7 changes are nice, but they definitely hide in the shadow of iOS/iPadOS 14 and macOS Big Sur.
Apple's Grand Vision: The Future of Computing
Putting it all together and stepping back, what do we have? Apple has a lot of platforms, some of which I didn't even bother to cover (Hi, tvOS). Their platforms are becoming more and more integrated. iPad software is borrowing from the Mac, the Mac is borrowing from the iPad. A few years ago Apple said they are not merging iOS and macOS. Craig Federighi made that point again this year, saying they have no intention to merge them.
Closer than ever. Now kiss!
Branding and naming aside, what matters is how they work. If one application is able to span from iPhone to iPad to Mac, does it even matter? Apple is merging the technology behind them, the input methods, and creating a cohesive ecosystem of computers that will function as needed for their form factors and input methods. To me, it doesn't matter if it's iPadOS, macOS, or appleOS. They look and act more similar than ever, while still behaving appropriately for the hardware they are on. The most interesting is the iPad and Mac split, especially if Macs gain touch support.
iPads are still touch-first devices, and Apple likes to stress that. You can add an Apple Pencil, keyboard, mouse, trackpad or other input methods, but out of the box, it's still an iPad. An iPad can do just about everything with just your finger. Since the Mac is still a mouse-and-keyboard-first OS, touch would be an option on top, just like how a cursor is an add-on to an iPad. macOS and iPadOS fit different roles and excel at different tasks. They both have a strong reason to exist separate from each other.
Microsoft's approach is one UI to rule them all, and in Windows 10, it's still a messy compromise. No company has been able to design a great UI that works equally well for fingers and for mice or trackpads. They are different enough to require different designs, and keeping those separate are what make both the iPad and the Mac so great.
In iPadOS 13.4, the iPad gained a lot of the benefits of a cursor, without losing it's touch-first nature. That's a hell of a design challenge, and Apple managed to nail it. Adding touch support to the Mac is another, but I have full confidence that they will be able to pull it off. It's a very exciting time to be in the Apple ecosystem. The next round of Macs that Apple releases should be the best computers anyone has ever made, period.
