San Francisco (AFP)
Your apps on your Mac: by the end of the year, it will be possible to use iPhone applications on the new computers in the range, in addition to the usual software, Apple announced on Monday.
The electronics giant will now manufacture its own chips for its range of computers, without completely abandoning Intel, in order to bring together the ecosystems of its various devices, iPhones, iPads and Macs.
This is the most notable news of the various innovations unveiled on Monday by the Californian firm at its annual developer conference, which is taking place online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tim Cook, the boss of Apple, presented the change as a "leap forward for the Mac".
The new chip should make the brand's computers more efficient while reducing their energy consumption.
The transition, orchestrated by "Apple Silicon", will take two years and the company will still release new models with Intel chips.
The new custom chip was inspired by the needs of other brand devices.
"It all started with the iPhone, which required capabilities that seemed impossible," said Johny Srouji, head of hardware technologies.
Developers will now have to adapt their applications. Apple assured that widely used software such as Microsoft (Word, Excel) or Adobe was already ready and working fine on the new system.
Apple also presented a myriad of innovations and improvements for its various devices and interfaces.
The latest version of its operating system, iOS 14, emphasizes simultaneity, prediction based on artificial intelligence.
Instead of a single application displayed on the screen, users will be able to watch a video while answering a text message, and a phone call or Siri voice assistant will no longer take up all the space.
The ergonomics are also reviewed, with groupings of applications and icons of different sizes, not to mention the ability of the smartphone to predict which one you are going to want to open.
Apple will also launch the "app clips", sort of mini apps that do not need to be installed and are displayed from other applications or in messages (to rent a bike for self-service or order at eat, for example).
© 2020 AFP