Another year, another of Apple’s famous Worldwide Developer Conferences! This year, the conference was completely digital, which gave more people than ever access to all of the announcements, sessions, and tips that the company shared with its software creators around the world.

I always look forward to WWDC because it gives us our first glimpse of the new software updates coming to all of Apple’s products in the fall. If you enjoy getting that big update to your iPhone, iPad, or Mac every September, then the conference is a great way to get a preview of what’s coming your way.

Throughout the conference last week, I did my best to keep up with all of the headlines, tidbits, and announcements big and small to get a complete look at what’s coming for Apple users in the next few months. I even downloaded a few of the software betas to get an idea of how these new updates are going to work. I’m happy to report that these updates are going to be amazing, and I thought I’d share the things that I’m looking forward to most when they become available to everyone.

iOS 14: Home Screen Makeover

The iPhone’s home screen has looked pretty much the same for the past 13 years, and users have been begging for a little more customization. Apple is delivering on those requests this year in two big ways: home screen widgets and the app library.

If you’ve ever seen an Android home screen, then you’re familiar with widgets. Basically, they’re little panes of information that live on your home screen so you don’t have to open an app to check the weather or see what’s next on your calendar. These widgets can be resized and rearranged to fit the look you’re going for, and any app maker can create widgets for you to add to your home screen.

I’ve been playing with widgets on my home screen and so far settled on the two most important ones: Reminders and Calendar. Now, instead of having to open those apps to see what’s happening on any given day, I’ve got a constantly-updated quick view of everything I need to accomplish for the day. So handy!

And then there’s the app library. Have you ever wanted to have an app available when you need it but not put it on your home screen? I know I’ve spent countless hours meticulously trying to organize and arrange the icons on my home screen, and when I have to add a new one, it throws everything off. Maybe you don’t have that problem, but I know a lot of nerds who do.

But no more! Now, every app on your phone doesn’t have to be on your home screen. All of your apps are intelligently organized into one page called the app library, and you can save your precious home screen space just for the ones you need the most often. I’ve managed to trim my phone down to just a single home screen of the apps I use every day; the rest are just a slide away in the app library.

For something as pivotal as the home screen, any change is huge. And I can honestly say I’ve never been this happy with the look of my home screen before! The ability to customize it just the way I want is amazing, and I think that once you’ve had a chance to try these new organization features, you’ll see how useful they can be for you, too.

iPadOS 14: Taking Advantage of the Big Screen

The iPad has come a long way from being just “an oversized iPhone.” In fact, a lot of people like me use their iPads every day for all of their computing needs. The iPad is a powerful device, but sometimes, it can feel like it’s being held back by its software.

That’s why this year, Apple is introducing the Designed for iPad campaign. The company is pushing itself and other developers to create iPad apps that take advantage of the device’s unique shape and set of use cases, rather than just making blown up iPhone apps.

For now, that looks like the addition of some more Mac-like features to core iPad apps. Photos, for example, now has a sidebar that makes navigating and organizing your library a breeze. And the Files app has new toolbar menus that offer great functionality without taking up a lot of screen space. These new concepts are applied to most of Apple’s stock apps in iPadOS 14.

These might seem like simple changes, but for those of us who use the iPad every day, they’re great quality-of-life improvements, and hopefully they’ll inspire all of developers to think a little more deeply about how their apps can be designed to best take advantage of what the iPad has to offer.

macOS 11: All-New, Modern Design

This might be the biggest updated to the Mac’s software that I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been a Mac user for ten years, and I’m so excited to see the design of macOS finally catch up with the look that the iPhone and iPad have had for a long time.

Everything in macOS 11 is beautiful, modern, and bright. The icons are all-new. The window design highlights content and minimizes all of that extra chrome that used to get in the way. And best of all, Apple’s software now all looks uniform and coherent. There hasn’t been this level of design parity on Apple’s platforms in all the time I’ve been using them, and that really excites me.

Combine this major software update with the announcement that Apple is going to start making their own processors for Macs the way they do iPhones and iPads, and you’ve got probably the biggest WWDC for Mac fans ever. Even though I love my iPad and use it for most of my computing needs, I’m still happy to see the Mac getting the attention it deserves. And this will make those times I do have to use a Mac much more enjoyable!

watchOS 7: Sleep Tracking

The Apple Watch has become a key health device in the lives of so many of its users over the years. I use mine to track my activity level, to make sure I don’t spend too much time sitting each day, and even to keep tabs of my heart rate to make sure nothing funny is going on there. The Watch’s health features have literally saved lives, and Apple keeps adding new health angles every year.

This year, the big addition is sleep tracking. Now, users who wear their watches to bed can keep track of how long and how well they sleep. It starts by setting a sleep goal and a schedule of when you’d like to go to bed each night. Then, your watch will alert you when it’s bedtime, wake you up at the set time, and let you know if you’re meeting the goals you set.

I’ve never worn my Apple Watch to bed before, but I started trying it to test out this sleep tracking feature, and I have to say it’s been great. I actually enjoy being woken up by my watch rather than my phone, and the bedtime reminders help me stay on a better sleep schedule. I could definitely still use some improvement in this area of my health, but I think that this feature might be just what I need to get to where I want to be.

tvOS 14: User Profile Switching for Games

My wife and I subscribe to Apple Arcade because we love the high-quality, ad-free games that the service offers. The most fun way to play these games is on our living room TV. However, the Apple TV is tied to my iCloud account and not hers, so she can’t play games on it without using AirPlay from her phone. This is not an ideal user experience.

With the new tvOS update, Apple says that family members will be able to switch profiles and sync their gaming data down from iCloud. That way, no matter who’s playing, all of their progress will be saved for the next time they play, even if it’s on a different device. This is how gaming on shared devices should work.

I haven’t had a chance to try tvOS 14 yet. (After living through last year’s rocky beta cycle, Katherine told me not to put any betas on devices we share. 😅) But I’m really looking forward to giving this feature a try in the fall, and I’m happy that Apple is working on making these shared devices more useful to everyone in the home!

And More

Of course, these are just my highlights. There are so many new things coming in the fall. One other update that I didn’t mention and will vastly improve my experience on the phone: Incoming calls no longer take up the whole screen! They just show up as notifications like anything else.

I’m still playing with the betas and learning what’s new in them. So far, they’re running great and haven’t gotten in the way of anything I do on any of my devices (except for Pokémon Go, but that’s not Apple’s fault). This beta season is shaping up to be much smoother than the last one, and I’m happy to be a guinea pig in exchange for early access to these great new features!

Do any of these changes sound exciting to you? What are you looking forward to when the updates come out in the fall? I’d love to hear your thoughts on Apple’s software and the new features that are coming! Hit me up in the comments or on social media, and we’ll talk all about it.

Thanks for reading my nerdy WWDC overview, and I’ll see you again soon. Have a great week, friends!