As an ordinary user who updates the iOS developer preview version as soon as it comes out, I have already prepared myself mentally for the new version that is full of bugs.

As an ordinary user who updates the iOS developer preview version as soon as it comes out, I have already prepared myself mentally for the new version that is full of bugs. But after I updated it and used it for a period of time, I found that I was being sentimental - iOS12 is actually very stable and easy to use.

Image source: pixabay

At 1 a.m. on June 5, Beijing time, the 29th Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) was held in San Francisco San Jose. Apple's unique charm has attracted a lot of attention to this developer conference, which costs US$1,590 to buy tickets, but the seats still need to be grabbed.

WWDC conference is usually a system update, not a hardware release. The iPhone SE 2, new MacBook Air, and full-screen iPad Pro that everyone was looking forward to have not appeared. As usual, the focus of this conference is still iOS.

At first glance, iOS12 does not give people a stunning feeling. Some people even complained that this should not be called iOS12, and perhaps it is more suitable to call it iOS11.5. But the reason why the new version is a new version must have its reason. As an ordinary user, in my eyes, the new idea of ​​iOS12 is that it is more fun, but less useful.

Let’s first take a look at the main points of this WWDC.

1. Good news for old devices, 5S can also be upgraded

Every round of iOS upgrades will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among old users. The most common complaint among old users is that the new version update makes the phone more and more stuck. There was even a period of time when the "Apple conspiracy theory" about , Apple, and deliberately slowing down old mobile phones caused a wave of heated discussions on the Internet. The downclocking function that Apple added to iOS11 last year directly caused Apple to fall into "downclocking." "Gate" in the whirlpool of public opinion.

I don’t know if it is out of reflection on the “condensation gate”. This iOS12 update has greatly improved the smoothness and stability of the system. According to official reports, the iOS 12 system can increase the startup speed of applications by 40%. The input method display speed is increased by 50%, and the camera startup speed is increased by 70%. As far as my personal experience is concerned, this extremely silky feel is indeed the first time since the iOS11 update.

But at this time, I couldn't help but think about it. Although most users will regard smoothness as the main reason for updating, this article discusses the evolution of iOS. Can it be called evolution just by speeding up? No, this is just a "non-degeneration". The top priorities of this update are still the following points.

2. More fun - AR, photo albums and SiRi

It seems that AR has become part of Apple's strategy. Since the launch of AR games last year, AR has ushered in a major update. Apple and Pixar have collaborated to launch a new AR format called USDZ, which is even supported by the Adobe Creative Cloud suite. The developer-oriented development kit ARKit has also been comprehensively enhanced. This means that more and more ideas will be used in the design of AR applications in the future, and I look forward to this.

Picture source: WWDC

The enhancement of the photo album function is a reflection of the deep intelligence of Apple mobile phones. In this updated photo album, a new intelligent search function has been added, which will automatically organize photos by theme and even remind you to add the appropriate ones. Share the photos with your friends. I finally don’t have to search for a long time to find a photo.

The upgrade of "artificial intelligence retardation" Siri is another manifestation of deep intelligence. Siri has indeed become smarter, but she is still difficult to use. For the sake of efficiency, I still operate the phone directly.

In addition, there is also the group chat function of Facetime. However, in China, I choose WeChat.

3. Don’t be addicted - the anti-addiction function is online

In addition to being more fun, the biggest highlight is that Apple now wants you to use your mobile phone less. In early 2018, Apple’s two major shareholders, Jana Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement Fund, publicly accused them of failing to take anti-addiction measures, making the problem of iPhone addiction among teenagers increasingly serious. Subsequently, Apple responded that it planned to make improvements in future iOS updates and launch new features to strengthen parental control.

As a company that shoulders social responsibility, Apple has quickly launched a series of anti-addiction applications this time.The anti-addiction function mainly has the following functions:

Do Not Disturb (Don’t Disturb Me) function will turn off the visual notification of the mobile phone and prevent the screen from lighting up in the middle of the night.

Deliver Quietly (quiet notification) is pushed quietly, and you will only know if you take the initiative to see it.

Grouped Notifications can group notifications of a certain type to separate work and life.

Reports (application report) is in the form of a weekly report, telling the user what application usage time, number of notifications, etc.

App Limits (Application Limits) stipulates the usage time for an application, such as adding some restrictions to games on the "naughty kid"'s iPhone.

In addition, I prefer the new feature "Screen Time". Before this feature, I had no idea how I used the iPhone in my hand, but now through "Screen Time", I can get usage information for the current day or the past 7 days, including:

1. How long has it been used? What applications do you use on your mobile phone? Which app has the longest usage time

2. How many times has the phone been woken up, how many minutes at a time, and which time period has the most wake-up times

3. How many notifications have been received in total? Which app has the most notifications

With the help of this data, I believe everyone can better understand their dependence on mobile phones. Based on this data, you can also actively limit the usage time of a certain application or type of application. For example, if I set restrictions on social network applications, a prompt will appear when I open Weibo, , and WeChat.

I believe this will be helpful for parents to manage how long their children use mobile phones. At the same time, it will also serve as a warning for some users with poor self-control ability and symptoms of mobile phone dependence.

4. Cheaper - the new iPhone pursues an aggressive pricing strategy

Coincidentally, on the eve of the conference, well-known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo released his first Apple-related investment report after joining Tianfeng Securities. As we all know, the growth of world mobile phone sales this year has been almost zero. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple's pricing strategy will be "more aggressive" for the three iPhones rumored to be released in September 2018. This move is to stimulate sales of this year's new iPhones.

Ming-Chi Kuo mentioned the reasons for Apple’s new pricing strategy in the report: “We expect Apple to adopt a more aggressive pricing policy for the following reasons: (1) Worry about the impact of high prices on sales momentum in a saturated smartphone market Negative impacts, (2) improved cost structure, which is mainly related to the improvement of final product and 3D sensing component qualification rates and the decline in component costs, (3) the promotion effect of the increasing number of Face ID users on Apple's services and ecological chain. "

In anticipation of these good news, Apple's stock price hit a new high again last night and continues to rise today.

Quotation source: Futu Securities

So, can the stock price still rise in the later period? What are the growth drivers?

is like , has Apple entered middle age? Analyst: Yes, but it is good for the stock price This article said that with the saturation of the hardware market, Apple has reached a year of cycle change, but Apple can rely on the information released by WWDC to alleviate investors' concerns about the future. New features such as AR augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and cross-platform application development for iPhone/Mac have been presented. Daniel Eaves, head of technology research at GBH Insights, believes that these features, combined with the new iPhone this September, will revive iPhone sales and stimulate investment interest on Wall Street. He predicts that about 350 million iPhones will undergo "massive" upgrades in the next 12 to 18 months.

This year's WWDC also provided new developments for Siri. Apple will expand Siri’s machine learning intelligence while using new data sets to provide more precise search results. "Apple will make Siri more conversational and integrate it into powerful apps," said Matus, co-founder and CEO of mobile drive analytics company Zendrive. An improved Siri could drive the next stage of development for platforms like iCloud, Apple Pay, Apple Music, AppleCare and iTunes.Over the past 12 months, Apple's services segment had revenue of $33.4 billion. That's roughly in line with Nike and Coca-Cola's combined revenue last year. GBH's Ives estimates that Apple's services revenue could hit $50 billion a year by 2020.

Apple may be about to enter the "Microsoft cycle." While many investors worry that Apple is losing its drive for innovation and growth, leaving at this time would cause them to miss out on Apple becoming a more mature company that may not change quickly but still has a lot of room to grow. .

(Editor\Li Haoyu)

Risk warning: The opinions of the author or guests shown above have their own specific positions, and investment decisions need to be based on independent thinking. Futu will try its best but cannot guarantee the accuracy and reliability of the above content, and will not be responsible for any loss or damage caused by any inaccuracies or omissions.