4 things that music makers learned from Apple's WWDC15 keynote

Keynoteworthy

It might not have seen the launch of any new hardware, but Apple's WWDC15 keynote still had enough announcements to keep the world's media interested.

We've picked through the press releases and come up with the four major headlines for anyone who makes music...

Apple Music isn't just about listening

While the big news to come out of WWDC15 is undoubtedly that Apple is launching a music streaming service, the Apple Music project isn't just about consumption.

The Connect feature is designed to bring artists and fans closer together, which could have implications for aspiring musicians as well as established ones.

A statement on the Apple Music for Artists page says: “Apple Music is for you, the artist, to connect directly with your fans. Share your thoughts and ideas, post demos, remixes, lyrics - really, anything you can imagine - and connect with fans all around the world.”

Given that Apple Music will work not only on Mac and iOS devices but also on Windows and (from the Autumn) Android, Connect might turn out to be a valuable platform for anyone who wants to get their music 'out there'.

iOS 9 offers new multitasking features for iPad

Audiobus and Inter-App Audio may have enabled us to use multiple music making apps together in the same project, but we can still only have one of them displayed on the screen at any one time.

It's all change in iOS 9, though: using the new Slide Over feature for iPad you can simultaneously work in a second app without leaving the first, while the Split View puts two apps on the same screen, side by side.

iOS 9 also promises to optimise battery usage, meaning that an average user should get an extra hour of life. It'll be available in the Autumn.

There's a new version of OS X on the way

The next iteration of OS X will be known as El Capitan, and will arrive in the Autumn.

Of course, we're being told that this will bring with it a raft of improvements - snappier and more efficient performance, for example - and the Split View for working in full screen with two apps at once is here, too.

Better apps for Apple Watch

Up until now, developers have been limited in the kind of apps they can create for the Apple Watch, but WatchOS 2 looks set to change all that.

This will, in Apple's words, give developers the tools “to build faster and more powerful apps running natively on Apple Watch”. They'll be able to take advantage of the Watch's hardware features (including the Digital Crown, Taptic Engine, heart rate sensor, accelerometer and microphone), which may mean that we'll start to some 'proper' music making apps for Apple's wearable.

Of course, whether they'll actually be of any benefit to you remains to be seen; we'll find out in the Autumn, when WatchOS 2 will be released as a free update.