Apple’s WWDC 2022: 5 Key Takeaways for Developers

Apple’s annual event to announce new products and advancements for existing products is not quite like how others do. It is a rather one way process where the company announces a range of new products and its features along with their latest OS update. They like to call it the WorldWide Developers’ Conference which is more like an exhibition. Usually it takes place at Apple’s global headquarters in San Francisco. 

What exactly is WWDC?

The conference has main highlights like keynote and awarding the best contributors like the Apple Design Awards. There are a few presentations for the new products, some events, lab sessions and a party afterwards. The invitation for this developers’ conference is sent out on honorary as well as on lottery selection basis.

The sessions are the real juice where the developers at Apple interact with other developers. These sessions include discussions about new APIs and frameworks for the new version of their operating system, the iOS. These sessions are also available online to watch later for anyone offering mobile apps development service. 

The event has generated so much buzz that any decent iOS app development agency in San Francisco or nearby area keeps an eye on it and hosts a range of their own events surrounding WWDC to get an opportunity to meet the best people in the business.

What is New for Developers?

There are no doubts about the popularity of this event. The event concerns so many different industries and people that it creates a media frenzy. The counterparts for instance with their android development service also monitor this event closely. If you are a developer working with iOS then it definitely is a case study for you. 

There are always some cryptic and some obvious takeaways from the annual conference. Amidst the flashy device reveals and keynotes, there are some really meaningful takeaways for developers. Here is our list of notable takeaways from this year’s WWDC.

Improved Machine Learning with CreateML

Machine learning which is affectionately called Artificial Intelligence of our devices plays a key role not just from the user experience perspective but also from the revenue point of view. Offering customized solutions or products to the user based on their behavior has proved to be a great business trick. So far, developers mastering Python & Java had a stronghold on this feature. 

Apple always has a unique way to not just do the popular things but to redefine them. For the improvement of machine learning, they are now offering machine learning “builder”. Their CreateML app allows developers to build, train and deploy finest machine learning modules into the apps. This app does not require any coding and that’s the beauty of it. The interface is so convenient that something as prolific as machine learning looks interesting and exciting on it. The app even lets you control the training of your module as well.

Emphasis on SharePlay

Continuing from last year’s announcement of SharePlay, Apple wants to take things on to another level on their iOS devices with this feature. For any ios app development agency, the focus must be on the cross platform features more than the aesthetic ones. Understanding the full feature gives us a great idea about Apple’s plans for allowing users to share everything across platforms.

For all those who wanted an extension of this feature on their app, Apple already launched their official support for the native apps. Apart from that, this year they also launched a supporting SDK called GroupActivities that allows developers to build custom apps that power this feature. GroupActivities as the name suggests is an SDK that will allow file sharing on a video call or a virtual meeting. The access for it will be shared with everyone instead of just one admin. This opens new horizons for developers as now the sharing of data and information is literally happening in another dimension.

SwiftUI Improvements

It is not even a secret that Apple wants every developer to make their apps on their own programming language Swift. It has so many similarities with popular programming languages like Java & Objective C. Apart from being capable of building an app from scratch, Swift can also create codes that are compatible with apps already built with other programming languages. 

To attract developers into the universe of Swift, Apple rolled an interface called SwiftUI a couple of years back. This is an interface that allows developers to build and deploy intuitive and creative user interfaces for their apps. Just like the programming language, SwiftUI also works for bootstrapped apps or apps that are already built with another programming language or interface. 

New features for SwiftUI in 2022 include things like Charts, Forms, Tables & Custom. Once you declare the definition of an interface, the OS then renders the correct and optimized compatible format. Different iOS devices need different interfaces and this feature helps developers narrow it down on a single interface generator. 

Improved Xcode

Xcode is Apple’s integrated environment for macOS in which developers can create apps for iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS. This year, the version 14.0 for Xcode was launched at WWDC. New features in this version of Xcode include code completion, enhancement, navigation and other major as well as minor performance improvements. Apple claims that the new update makes the whole program 30% smaller with a faster processing speed that helps you build projects up to 25% faster. 

Xcode is a start to finish funnel to build an app or software for any of Apple’s operating systems across devices. It can help developers create, test and distribute apps across platforms. 

There is a new build timeline that helps you keep a check on the coding timeline. The new multiplatform target lets developers create a single SwiftUI interface that gets recalled by different operating systems across different devices based on its compatibility. This also stands true to design an app icon. You need to provide just one size and Xcode will generate different sized icons for different devices and different operating systems. 

AppTransaction API

The AppTransaction API is an interface that powers the in-app purchase in an iOS app. The concept of in-app purchase for a very long time was limited to buying game tokens or informational products. But in the last few years with the eruption of online retail, the in-app purchase phenomenon has taken over the businesses. 

The in-app purchase thing is now considered to be one of the biggest revenue streams for any businesses. Sighting that, Apple revised their APIs for transactions in this year’s WWDC. This API is used to showcase product information, display in-app purchases in your store, manage access for subscriptions and receive transaction information signed by the App Store.

To access this API, you have to first register your deliverables from your app in App Store Connect. You can also do that with your existing apps. 

The Final Word

Contrary to the popular beliefs, Apple takes the much glorified annual conference very seriously. This event is not only a mark to showcase the latest line of products and services but is also a huge opportunity to show the world what the company and its developers are capable of pulling off. Much of the recent conferences have been about showing the world how developers in the Apple universe can change the world with the endless possibilities they always offer.

This year’s event was nothing different in terms of its intent. Beneath the glamor of new devices was the real source material. New features that have so many possible outcomes that agencies working on different frameworks like Flutter app development companies, ones already using Swift or even classic users of Objective C or Python can’t wait to get their hands on them. With new sharing features and a refined UI interface in 2022, Apple seems to be ticking all the boxes just at the right time.

Pinal Goda

Pinal is a React Native Developer working with Gtech Web Infotech Pvt. Ltd., a leading mobile app development company in India. Being capable of building cross-platform applications that are highly proficient and offer intuitive user experience is her forte.