The apps that Apple Sherlocked at WWDC 2024 | TechCrunch

Apple has recently started a new campaign, earlier this week at its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) it announced several new features for its various devices.

But many of these features were already available to some degree on Apple devices through third-party apps. So, as in years past, we’ll check out the ideas Apple “Sherlocked” into this year’s update.

But what do we mean by Apple doing something “Sherlock”?

In the late 90s, Apple launched a search app called Sherlock for macOS 8 that you could use to search the web and files on the local system. Now, a company called Karelia Software already has a $29 search app called Watson with plugin-like features for better internet searching. In 2002, Apple released Sherlock 3 with Watson-like features, rendering Karelia’s app useless. Since then, people in tech circles use the term “Sherlocking” whenever they want to refer to a new feature from Apple that does the same thing as an existing third-party app.

Feature: New Password App

Sherlocked Apps: 1Password, last pass, Bitwarden, Proton Pass

Apple is launching a new standalone password manager for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, VisionOS, and Windows. Until now you had a password manager, but it was inside a sub-menu in the Settings app.

This new app will essentially do the same thing as a third-party password manager, which may have fewer new users as some people may choose to use the in-built password manager right now. However, most third-party apps in this space also offer apps and integrations on Android, Windows, and Linux, and can store other information like addresses and credit cards.

Feature: Call recording and transcription

Sherlocked Apps: TapeAcall, Truecaller

Apple has finally introduced native call recording and transcription within the Phone app. TapeAcall And Tuberculosis While Apple has been offering call recording for quite some time now, you had to call another number to activate it. This was because Apple did not allow third-party companies to access its calling stack.

Specialty: Voice Transcription

Sherlocked Apps: Otter, Audiopen, voicenotes.com

Apart from call transcription, Apple will also introduce voice transcription in apps like Notes with the upcoming update. This will take over the space taken by apps like Otter, AudioPen and Voicenotes.com till now.

Still, third-party apps can do a number of other things – for example, Otter is great for transcribing meetings and video calls, and AudioPen and VoiceNotes.com offer AI-supported summarization and formatting capabilities. So users will have to choose how much functionality they want from voice transcription services.

Feature: iPhone Mirroring on Mac

Sherlocked App: bezel

Apple’s new updates will bring the ability to mirror your iPhone to a Mac, allowing you to control your phone remotely. Users will also be able to receive iPhone notifications on their Mac devices, and easily drag and drop files, photos, and videos between the devices.

Until now, you had to use the bezel to do this, but this required plugging your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch in using a cable to mirror the device. The developer of the app has said that with the update from Apple, they will evaluate their next steps.

Feature: Window Tiling on Mac

Sherlocked App: Magnet, rectangle

This isn’t a revolutionary feature as Windows and Linux have allowed you to tile windows for years. On a Mac, you’ll need to use a third-party app such as Magnet And rectangle The operating system allows you to easily organize windows in different ways.

Apple is eventually going to include this feature in the upcoming MacOS Sequoia, but third-party apps may still be able to retain their users by providing better customization features, such as different size options for windows, the ability to rearrange workspaces with a shortcut, hide windows on the edge of the screen, and pin apps to one side.

Feature: Custom Emoji

Sherlocked App: Newsy

Another upcoming feature is the ability to create new emojis using prompts and the new AI engine. You can type in a prompt like “A fox as a DJ” to create a new emoji. Until now, you could use an app called Newsy To do the same thing.

Feature: Custom Maps

Sherlocked App: AllTrails

Apple Maps is getting an update as part of iOS 18 that will let US-based users explore national park trails, create custom routes, and save them for offline use. AllTrails There is no one app to do all of this yet, but the advantage of this app may be that it already has a community. Also, it offers routes beyond national parks in other countries.

what lies ahead

It’s important to remember that Apple has to strike a balance here: it has to stay competitive with Google and Microsoft, but at the same time, it makes money from the App Store, so it can’t add features that completely kill off third-party apps. That being said, some of these Sherlocked apps may survive by offering customized or enterprise solutions, but some small-scale indie apps will eventually lose users to Apple.

One unique addition this time around is Apple’s Writing Tools suite, which is powered by the company’s AI. The App Store currently has dozens of email and note-taking apps that let you change the tone of a piece of writing, rewrite it, reformat it completely, or summarize some of the text. You can also count Grammarly as a Sherlocked app since Apple is now offering proofreading features as well.