Apple Unveils New Operating Systems

Apple fans, dig in: Company CEO Tim Cook today unveiled the new iOS 8 and OS X operating systems at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The software won't be out until fall, but behold a few highlights, beginning with iOS 8:

• A HealthKit app is designed to monitor your blood pressure, weight, sleep, heart rates, and other health data, CNN Money reports. It will also let Mayo Clinic clinicians send health data to your app, which you can forward to a primary physician. Plus it syncs with fitness apps like Nike+, The Verge reports.

• HomeKit will let you control various things around the house, like thermostats, switches, plugs, cameras, door locks, and lights. Apple designed this with home automation developers, but HomeKit doesn't work with most systems now on the market, The Next Web reports.
• On iPhones and iPads, you'll be able to respond directly to texts right from the notification (including the lock screen). A home-button double tap will bring up frequent contacts you can then reach easily. Predictive text will offer word suggestions gleaned from your typing history. And for the first time, iOS will offer widgets in the notification center to let you quickly view app information.
• Family Sharing will let you share purchased content with up to six members of your family, the San Jose Mercury News reports. It will also allow parents to track childrens' locations, and approve their new app purchases.

In Yosemite, the new OS X for Mac, you'll find:

• A major design makeover that resembles iPhones and iPads. It also offers a translucent look that resembles Windows and a "dark mode."
• An updated "spotlight" search will let you search through the Mac and Microsoft Bing (but not Google!).
• In Mail, you'll be able to use a single gesture to mark a message as read, and click on a shortcut to add an event to your calendar, Ars Technica reports.
• Safari comes with a new Private Mode, faster JavaScript, and updated tab view and sharing options, CNET reports.
• With desktop iMessage, you'll be able to send SMS messages via your iPhone to other iPhones and non-Apple smartphones (or what Apple VP Craig Federighi called "inferior devices").

Other updates are designed to help you interact between devices:

• Expanded AirDrop will let you share files between computers and mobile devices. With the "Handoff" tool, you'll be able to take over editing from one device to another in real time. Proximity sensing will suggest that you finish a message on your computer, say, instead of your iPhone, The Verge reports.
• A new iCloud Drive will give each app its own folder in the interface (accessible via Finder), synced across your Apple devices. But there's no iCloud Drive app per se—you'll have to access the files through each individual app, The Verge reports.

(More Apple stories.)