Apple opened its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday to much fanfare. As part of the beginning of the five-day meeting, the company unveiled its latest operating systems.
CEO Tim Cook took to the stage as the keynote speaker on day one and in doing so unleashed iOS 8, an update to the current mobile operating system that runs iPhones and iPads. He also unleashed his feelings about Android.
The new iOS upgrade is expected to be downloadable this fall.
The conference runs through June 6.
Sparking interest on the update was the addition of a new HealthKit application, which aims to allow users to gauge their heart rate, sleep patterns, weight, blood pressure and an assortment of other health needs. It is also full of medical information and has many excited about the app.
It also can connect with and send information from doctors at the Mayo Clinic, who can assist in diagnosis. Also, the app allows users to connect with a primary care doctor in their area, a feature that Apple hopes it can expand to assist people in other health-related needs.
The new iOS also includes a number of fixes, which users had long fretted over, including interactive notifications, suggested words when typing, quicker access to contacts, widgets and inter-app communication.
Dr. Dre, Apple's newest "employee" after the company purchased Beats Electronics, saw his name called, quite literally, when Apple software boss Craig Federighi showed off the "handoff" feature on OS X, or Yosemite, its newsest desktop operating system, by giving the hip hop star a call.
Apple bought Beats for $3 billion in late May.
"Our operating systems, devices and services all work together in harmony," CEO Tim Cook said in wrapping up Monday's talk. "Together, they provide an integrated and continuous experience across all of our products."
The Yosemite addition to the Apple family has a number of new additional features, including an iCloud Drive that allows users to sync all their folders -- from Mac, iPhone or Windows PC -- onto one cloud-based platform. Many observers say it functions similar to Dropbox.
Overall, day one was a success for Apple, but still it lacked the overall wow factor that many had expected to see this week in San Francisco.
There were the usual jabs at other companies, as Cook argued Apple users are more inclined to update their systems, as roughly nine out of 10 users do so. But, the CEO says, for Android users that number drops to below one in 10.
Day two has many conference-goers hopeful that a new product or new concept will be able to push them into the "wow zone."
