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Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2023 commenced last week with an impactful keynote by CEO Tim Cook. The highly anticipated five-day developer’s event began with a bang as the company introduced its groundbreaking mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. Additionally, Apple provided a sneak peek into the forthcoming upgrades for its major operating systems, including iOS 17, iPadOS 17, MacOS 10, and more.
Didn’t have time to tune in? We’ve got you covered. Watch the video of the WWDC 2023 Keynote here.
Let’s delve into the key highlights of the event that unfolded last week and how it impacts marketers.
New features for Safari were announced at the event including one where users will be able to turn their favorite websites into instant apps that can be easily accessed from the Dock, offering a powerful way to engage with your website directly from the Dock on MacOS. By clicking on the icon, users can access any website as a dedicated web application. This feature eliminates the need for traditional browser bookmarking and allows users to access their favorite websites more easily. Additionally, you can leverage push notifications and badging for web apps on both Mac and Home Screen web apps for iOS and iPadOS. Back in March 2023, Apple announced support for Push Notifications for Web Apps on Safari and other third party browsers on iOS and iPadOS*.
Web apps offer marketers the opportunity to create a more seamless and immersive user experience, increasing brand visibility. By converting a website into a web app, users can conveniently access a website directly from their desktop without the need to open a web browser and navigate through multiple tabs or bookmarks. When users add the web app to their Dock or Home Screen, the brand’s logo becomes a constant presence on the user’s device, serving as a reminder and reinforcement of the brand. These implications can ultimately lead to improved customer engagement, and retention.
Apple introduced the Game Porting Toolkit, a new tool aimed at simplifying and streamlining the process of bringing PC games to macOS. By enabling developers to test unmodified Windows games on Mac and assess their performance before fully porting them, the toolkit significantly reduces development time. Previously, porting Windows games to Mac required complex and time-consuming steps, but Apple’s toolkit aims to provide developers with a better understanding of game optimization for macOS. The launch of this toolkit has generated excitement among developers and the gaming community at large*.
The toolkit allows for easier and faster porting of PC games to macOS, which means marketers can tap into a broader audience of Mac users. This expanded target audience provides an opportunity to reach new customers and potentially increase their market share. By optimizing games for macOS using the toolkit, a growth marketer can deliver improved and richer gaming experiences to their users. Engaging and immersive games can capture users’ attention, increase their time spent on the platform, and foster a deeper connection with the marketing campaign.
Apple unveiled its latest advancements in privacy and security, which encompass significant updates to Safari Private Browsing, Communication Safety, and Lockdown Mode, along with improvements in app privacy.
New features were introduced such as Check In, NameDrop, and Live Voicemail, all designed with a strong focus on privacy and security. Live Voicemail makes it easier to know when to answer a phone call. Users can choose to answer the call at any point if they wish to speak directly with the caller. With Silence Unknown Callers enabled, unknown numbers are sent directly to Live Voicemail without causing the device to ring. Spam calls are instantly declined, ensuring that users can ignore unwanted calls while not missing important ones. Additionally, Link tracking protection has been implemented in Messages and Mail to enhance user privacy. So any links opened from those apps will not have tracking details. Furthermore, Safari’s Private Browsing mode will also eliminate such tracking information from the links, offering an additional layer of security for user’s online activities*.
Apple’s focus on privacy and security reinforces user trust in their devices and services. For marketers, this can translate into increased user confidence in sharing personal data or engaging with marketing campaigns. Features like Live Voicemail simplify call management and help users differentiate between important calls and potential spam calls. Marketers can leverage this to optimize their communication channels, ensuring that users have a seamless experience when interacting with their marketing campaigns or customer support. As a growth marketer, you can leverage the in-app calling capability to expand your reach and connect with a wider audience. Don’t worry about your numbers getting marked as SPAM. Stay tuned! Learn more here.
Apple unveiled enhancements for Live Activities for iOS last year, which provides an interactive and glanceable way for a user to keep track of the progress of a task or event within the app. They have now announced support for iPadOS, too. Live Activities enable users to stay informed about real-time updates, such as workout progress, ride-share updates, journey updates or food delivery order status, right from the Lock Screen. With ActivityKit, developers can create convenient experiences for the Lock Screen, the Dynamic Island, and StandBy mode. Learn how to update your app’s Live Activities, monitor activity state, and take advantage of WidgetKit and SwiftUI to build richer experiences.
Live Activities enable marketers to create more engaging experiences for their app users. By providing real-time updates and progress tracking within the app, marketers can keep their users actively involved in their marketing campaigns, help cut through the noise and track what is most important for them at that point of time. The goal is to manage the influx of notifications by providing timely information, like when an order is picked up, on its way for delivery, or arriving at the doorstep. By utilizing Live Activities, marketers can provide users with valuable insights in real time, resulting in improved efficiency and productivity, as users can quickly assess the status of their marketing activities without the need for manual tracking or constant monitoring.
One of the most remarkable revelations at WWDC 2023 was the unveiling of Vision Pro, Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset set to launch in 2024, making it a highly anticipated offering. Vision Pro is a groundbreaking spatial computer merging digital content seamlessly with the physical world. It enables users to stay connected and engaged with their surroundings while interacting with a vast range of apps on an expansive canvas that goes beyond traditional displays and introduces a three-dimensional user interface. Powered by visionOS, the world’s first spatial operating system, Vision Pro offers a unique experience that allows users to interact with digital content in a way that feels like it is physically present in their space.
Apple Vision Pro’s spatial computing capabilities and three-dimensional user interface offer an immersive and interactive experience. Moreover, this technology presents marketers with an additional device to connect with their audience and extend their reach. Marketers can leverage this to create more engaging and personalized campaigns that captivate users in entirely new ways. They can design visually stunning and interactive content that seamlessly blends with the physical world, enhancing user experiences and increasing brand engagement. Marketers can explore and develop new advertising formats that take advantage of the device’s capabilities, thus providing a more impactful and memorable advertising experience.
We’re excited to see these user friendly features and enhancements being unveiled. And we’re gearing up to release new CleverTap SDKs for customers that will be compatible with the upcoming iOS 17 and Safari Web App changes. We encourage you to promptly upgrade your SDKs and stay informed about upcoming releases. Be sure to watch for further updates as the release dates draw near, providing you with relevant information to make the most of these advancements.
