Apple kicked off the week with a lengthy keynote at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), which included news about iOS 8 and Mac OS X Yosemite.
Prior to the keynote, we polled PCMag staffers to see what they most wanted Apple to include in iOS 8. We came up with a wish list of 10 desired features, but did Apple deliver? Let's see what we got.
Split-Screen Multitasking: One of my biggest pet peeves on my iPad is not being able to do two things at once. If I'm watching a movie on Netflix, I'd like to be able to check my email halfway through or even post a comment about what I'm watching on Twitter without having to close the Netflix app.
Did We Get It? Sadly, no. But it's not a total lost cause. Ahead of WWDC, The New York Times's Brian Chen tweeted that split-screen multi-tasking is a work in progress at Apple, but wasn't quite ready for a WWDC preview.
Built-In Fitness Tracking: PCMag's resident fitness expert Jill Duffy wanted to see Apple step up its health game in iOS 8 with built-in fitness tracking at the OS level.
Did We Get It? Not really. Apple did unveil a new "Health" app that will link up with third-party services to provide you with "an easy-to-read dashboard of your health and fitness data," Apple said. But that's not exactly a built-in pedometer. However, Apple did release a new tool for developers called HealthKit, which might result in some impressive options down the line.
Enhanced Touch ID: Junior software analyst Max Eddy, a frequent contributor to our SecurityWatch blog, wanted to see a more full-featured Touch ID.
Did We Get It? Yes, Apple did indeed open up Touch ID to third-party developers, so you'll eventually be able to use it for more than unlocking your phone and paying for things on iTunes, should developers adopt it. "For the first time, you'll have the option of using Touch ID to sign in to third-party apps — there's no need to enter a password. Your fingerprint data is protected and is never accessed by iOS or other apps," Apple said.
Better Theft Protection: Max also wanted enhanced theft protection overall, like the Theft Alerts feature from Lookout Mobile Security, which provides users with contextual alerts any time suspicious activity occurs on their device.
Did We Get It? Apple talked up some security enhancements for the enterprise, but beyond the Touch ID expansion, Cupertino didn't have any consumer-level security announcements.
Stability, Please: From random reboots and iMessage problems to the dreaded blue screen of death, iOS 7 has had its share of bugs. A number of staffers requested that Apple just get it together for iOS 8 and release a less buggy mobile OS.
Did We Get It? WWDC is largely focused on the positive things Apple has accomplished, so it's not surprising that it did not focus on iOS 7 glitches. We'll likely have to wait until the fall, when iOS 8 is released for consumers, to test it out and see whether our iOS devices hum along or are hit with battery drains, reboots, and the like.
Alternative Keyboard Support: "Apple needs to loosen the controls ... and realize they did NOT make the perfect on-screen keyboard for all fingers," said Features Editor Eric Griffith.
Did We Get It? Indeed, we did. Apple announced that iOS will now support third-party keyboards, and highlighted Swype on a presentation slide. SwiftKey has also pledged to launch on iOS, as has Fleksy.
Lock Screen Options: Lock-screen requests included the ability to dismiss notifications on the lock screen in a way that also clears the associated app badge count; lock screen widgets for weather, stocks, scores, and other app notifications; and a lock screen that uses your Facebook photos or Flickr images.
Did We Get It? We did get widgets, but it seems they will be restricted to the Notification Center in iOS 8. However, the mobile OS does add interactive Notifications, which allow you to respond without closing out of your current app. That also works on the lock screen – pull across and select an action.
Camera Timer: Jill also requested a timer for the Camera app within iOS 8.
Did We Get It? We did. Though Apple execs didn't specifically call it out during the keynote, one of the final slides - which call out "hidden" or lesser-known features - said that iOS 8 will include a camera timer.
Fix Music App Quirks: Our camera analyst Jim Fisher has a bone to pick with the iPhone's Music app. "It changes the view when the phone is moved from portrait to landscape orientation," he said.
Did We Get It? Apple didn't mention it during the keynote, nor did it include any music-related features in the "hidden features" post, so we'll just have to wait until we get our hands on iOS 8 to see if Apple got the memo.
NFC: Though other mobile operating systems have embraced wireless, mobile payments via near-field communication (NFC), Apple is not a fan.
Did We Get It? Nope, keep waiting!
For PCMag's first take on the Apple announcements, check out the video below.