The takeaways from Apple's most unusual WWDC keynote

[View this email in your browser]( [Open Ars Technica in your browser]( [Image] [Catalina, an island off the coast of California and the new MacOS release name.]( "This is going to be a unique week delivered unlike any that we've done before," said Apple CEO Tim Cook as he started his annual WWDC keynote. The 2020 edition of the conference arrived in the middle of multiple crises in the US, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and continued violence against Black Americans at the hands of police. No one tuning to Apple's big day stateside could forget this context, but the livestream picture reinforced it. Cook stood in front of an empty auditorium as WWDC transitioned into an entirely-digital event, one free for all to access for the first time. And though Apple had plenty to discuss—not a ton of hardware beyond [directional audio coming to AirPods;]( lots of software and developer news—the company chose to first address the moment during its summer spotlight. "The events of the past month have made us face longstanding issues of inequality and injustice, and we must all aim far higher to build a future that lives up to our ideals. This means taking action," Cook continued. "Two weeks ago, we announced Apple's racial equity and justice initiative with a commitment of $100 million. We also announced something important for this community: the new developer and entrepreneur camp for black developers. We are committed to being a force for change." For this week's Orbital Transmission, we're focusing on the takeaways from Apple's big day, but Cook's opening remarks are a good reminder that no walk of life is unaffected by what's currently happening in the world around us. Some things are simply more important than even the latest technical updates from a billion-dollar tech giant (even when you're a tech news outlet). Continue to stay diligent, informed, and as safe as possible, all. —[@NathanMattise]( A quick reminder: As one small action towards improving the state of diversity in the media and supporting current protests, Condé Nast is pledging $1,000,000 in advertising support across the company's platforms to help give voice to non-profit organizations combating racial injustice. If you or someone you know works with an organization that could benefit from such resources, reach out to communications [at] condenast [dot] com. Orbital Transmission 06.24.2020 [(image) ]( [iOS 14 will bring a new home screen design]( It may have been an unprecedented WWDC due to COVID-19, but Apple reliably pulled the curtains back on [macOS]( and iOS once again. The mobile OS seems like the more interesting first glance since iPhones everywhere will evidently look a bit different this fall. The home screen will have at least two significant changes based on what we saw at Monday's WWDC keynote. First, Apple will introduce a concept called the "App Library" (pictured here), which will sit at the bottom of home screen pages and organize apps into like groups automatically (in theory, cutting down on the amount of time scrolling through pages to find something). Second, widget customization will finally arrive. Users can resize and drag widgets from Apple's traditional "Today" screen right onto the home screen (yes, it's something Android has had for awhile, but it's a welcome addition to iOS, too). [(image) ]( [We're cautiously optimistic about Apple's The Foundation adaptation]( Apple TV+ is fine. Just fine. See left us a little flat. We liked the concept of For All Mankind but wanted more. Docu-anthology Little America is indisputably the standout so far. So... we totally get why not many around the Orbital HQ are subscribing yet. But at WWDC, Apple unveiled the first trailer for its adaptation of Isaac Asimov's The Foundation and... it looks like it could be the best scripted thing Apple has produced so far. Production had already started before the pandemic shut things down in March, but from this footage it looks gorgeous. Jerad Harris and Lee Pace appeared to be inspired choices for the leading roles, so this might just be the kind of must-see content Apple TV Plus really needs to become a truly major player in the streaming wars. [(image) ]( [Apple Silicon is officially a thing as the company transitions away from Intel]( During his comments, Tim Cook pegged this switch as one of the four biggest transitions the Mac has ever had (alongside the move to PowerPC, the move to Intel, and the transition to Mac OS X). Apple is promising "a whole new level of performance" with a "Family of Mac SoCs," as Cook put it. There will be transition plans for various apps, of course, but the key announcement was probably the timeline: The first Mac with Apple silicon will happen by the end of the year, with the whole Intel-to-ARM transition taking around two years. And to help developers with the quick transition, Apple announced what is technically the first ARM Mac ever: the "Developer Transition Kit." This is a Mac Mini enclosure with an Apple A12Z SoC, the same SoC as an iPad Pro. As the name suggests, it's meant for developers who want to port their x86 apps to ARM macOS, and it comes with a beta version of macOS 11 Big Sur. [(image) ]( [COVID-19 continues to change life for Apple beyond WWDC]( A digital WWDC and production delays for things like Apple TV+'s The Foundation aren't the only obvious signs of COVID-19 influence at Apple, of course. Right before WWDC started, the company announced it was closing a handful of Apple stores it had previously re-opened. The change comes as the pandemic appears to be surging again in a number of states throughout the US, particularly in the South and West. Overall, Apple identified 11 locations in four states that will close: Six locations are being shut in Arizona, where daily new cases have spiked to 2,519, versus fewer than 300 in late May. And two locations are being re-closed in Florida, where daily cases have risen almost six-fold in the last month to 3,207. The other to-be-closed locations are in North Carolina and South Carolina, each of which has experienced daily records in the past week. “Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” Apple said. “We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible.” [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Copyright © 2020 Condé Nast, All rights reserved. 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