MENU

This post is a long one, but it’s full of super important info!

Apples 32nd World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicked off earlier this month. At this conference, Apple developers from all over the world come together to learn how to enhance the apps the they build. WWDC kicks off with an Apple Keynote Event. These events are jam packed with new announcements, new products and more. Thats cool and all, but why the heck should Creatives care about these updates?

Because new updates and new features mean changes in how we work.

And here’s the kicker – this matters even if you aren’t an Apple user. While you may not personally use Apple products, your clients and customers and audience do. These upcoming changes can impact the way we work in our businesses. It’s important to know what’s coming, when it’s coming, and have a plan for necessary adjustments in your business!

At the WWDC 2021 Keynote event, Apple announced big updates for it’s four main Operating Systems (OS): iOS 15, iPad OS, Mac OS Monterey, and WatchOS 8. (If you have a spare 2 hours, you can watch the whole event here!). These OS updates share similar features, so let’s talk about them!

Privacy Updates

While not the sexiest of the updates, the new Privacy features are going to make a big impact on Creatives. Apple has always had the privacy of its users at top of mind and while enhanced privacy is a great thing, it is going to impact how businesses interact with their audience.

 

Hide My Email

The “Hide My Email” feature will allow users to create unlimited unique email addresses that forward to their main email address. This allows them to receive emails without giving out their primary email address.

So, how does this impact Creatives? Creatives and businesses that rely on email marketing are going to feel the greatest impact of this update. This feature will allow users to easily filter emails from their inbox, and use unique “throw-away” emails to download opt-ins and freebies. Again, this is a great privacy enhancement for users, but it will change how small businesses interact with their audience.

While this may result in lower quality email leads, this actually may not be too big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. A good, quality, lead who wants to know more about you and your services isn’t likely to filter out your emails. Those quality leads who actually do want to hear from you are going to make sure you stay in their inbox regardless of what email address they used. It will be interesting to see how this impacts Creatives who rely heavily on email marketing!

 

Mail Privacy Protection (Email Tracking)

Another big privacy update making its way to Apple devices is called Mail Privacy Protection. This privacy feature will disable the use of email tracking. This means when you send a client a proposal, marketing email, or even just an email reply, you will not be able to see if the recipient has opened or clicked the email. As somebody who uses this feature quite often, this one is going to be painful. When his upcoming change, businesses will need to get more creative on how they follow up with their email recipients, especially in the world of stronger (and often, less accurate) spam filters. We have a few months before this new feature becomes available to the public, but now is a good time to start thinking about how we are going to change our communication with our clients.

 

Productivity Updates

Okay, I know those features are a big bummer to creatives, but let’s talk about some exciting updates that will make you more productive!

Apples new updates introduce some amazing productivity that will help the way you work every single day. As a creative, we are constantly tethered to our devices. Wow this is great for working on the go, it is so easy to become distracted. Apple’s new updates will help you keep focused on the task at hand and be more productive and organized than ever!

 

Focus

Apple’s newest productivity feature, “Focus”, allowed to create different “focus modes”. In each of these modes, you can determine what apps and individuals are able to send you notifications. For example, you may have a “working” focus mode where you only receive messages and notifications from your clients and project related apps. If somebody messages you and they are not on your notification list, they will receive a small note saying that you are currently focused on work and. you will respond shortly. However, if it’s an emergency, they can force the notification through to you.

 

Live Text

If you are Creative who prefers pen and paper but loves the convenience of digital, Live Text is going to be a big feature for you! With Live Text, you will be able to use your camera to take a photo of anything that has writing on it (hand written notes, whiteboards, signs, business cards, etc).  Live Text will identify the writing, and let you take action on it. This means you can copy it, share it, save it into your contacts, and even paste it as text into your notes. With this feature, you will never have to decide between a good whiteboard brainstorm session or using a word doc ever again!

 

Universal Control

Y’all, this feature just blows my mind. Universal Control will allow you to use one keyboard and mouse with multiple devices. You will literally be able to drag your mouse from your iMac to your MacBook Pro to your iPad and work between those devices using one mouse and keyboard. Pretty crazy right? You have to see this one for yourself, so check out this small snipped from the Keynote Event!

 

Communication Updates

The upcoming OS updates introduce some great communication and collaboration enhancements. For Creatives who use Apple devices, I think you’re going to like these updates!

Facetime Enhancements

Big changes are coming to FaceTime, making it a solid alternative to Zoom, Google Hangouts and others. Some of the most exciting new features include screen sharing (yes, from your PHONE!), Background noise canceling, portrait mode, and more. Apple is also introducing “Grid View” for your multi-person FaceTime calls, making collaboration easier than ever.

 

FaceTime Links

Here’s the big update though – the new update introduces FaceTime links. This means that non-Apple users will have access to FaceTime calls through the browser. This is a huge step in making FaceTime a possible Zoom replacement. FaceTime calls can be scheduled, added to calendar events, and again, accessible from any device!

 

When are these changes coming? Should I update my devices?

We can expect these updates to become available for Beta users in the summer, and then to the public in late 2021. For more info and a full list of features, check out the previews on Apples Website: iOS 15, iPad OS, Mac OS Monterey, and WatchOS 8. When a big OS update is released, I always recommend that you move forward with these updates. Just make sure you back up your device first!

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links and I would love if you decided to use them. Affiliate links + referrals programs help educators like me to fund the free content that we provide on our blogs.