Andrew Griffin
Apple's
about to hold its Worldwide Developers Conference – the event where it
shows off the future of the company, and of all its products.The event is one of the biggest company in the world's biggest events. While there won't be a new iPhone revealed – that gets saved for its own event in September – there will be new iPhone software, and plenty of glimpses at where the handset might be headed.
Here's everything we're expecting when Apple takes the stage for its big keynote presentation on 5 June. But with Apple the most reliable expectation is that there'll be a surprise, so while a lot has leaked it's sure not to be everything.
For that you'll have to join The Independent's coverage throughout the event.
New iOS and macOS
Though Apple tends to use WWDC for new launches, that's not really the official point: as the name suggests, it's a software event. And the two central bits of Apple's software – its operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Macs – will be getting their own updates.There's been very few clues about what those updates might actually bring. Usually there's some hint from inside Apple about what the new update will bring – whether it's going to be focused on big new features or housekeeping and speed improvements, for instance – but there's been nothing of the sort this time around. That's in keeping with an announcement that has been kept almost entirely under wraps.
What is for certain is that there'll be a range of changes to the operating systems to get read for the new hardware detailed below.
So Apple is likely to update iOS to add more features just for the iPad, for instance. It has long been rumoured to be working on more ways of making the tablet into a full-scale professional computer – and with the release of new and even more powerful iPads, it makes sense that will be released now.
It's also likely that Apple will extend the work it has already done to let apps integrate with Siri, given that they'll be required for whatever the Siri speaker turns out to be. At the moment, Siri can talk to other apps, but only in a very limited way – it can only do specific requests, like "order me a taxi". If the Siri speaker is going to be useful, it'll need to be able to do much more than that.
That will probably come with a range of improvements to the way Siri works, like quicker operation and improvements to the ways it understands speech.
Updated apps
The other big part of WWDC is that a lot of Apple's own apps tend to get updates.Some of the company's current favourites – like Apple Music and iTunes – have had announcements in the last two years and are certain to get another refresh this time around. Others might just get smaller updates to add the new features that Apple reveals for its software.
There might also be some entirely new apps, too. Apple has launched a whole bunch of them over the last couple of years, and seems to be in a generous mood: it's given away new apps like its Clips video editor and coding training programming Swift Playgrounds recently.
But none of those features or new apps have leaked, unlike in recent years. Which might mean there's nothing happening, or might mean that Apple has something so huge it's hidden it completely up its sleeve.
Siri speaker
This is going to be the big one: probably the only big thing announced at WWDC that's an entirely new product, rather than a refresh of existing software or hardware. As such it's going to be a big test for Apple – and a big surprise whatever happens.(This will not only be the first big new product since the Apple Watch, it will also be the first time that Apple announces a hardware product at WWDC for years. And it won't be the only one.)
There's very little known about the Siri speaker, beyond a few basic details: it's probably going to have lots of tweeters inside for good and loud sound, play music from Apple Music, and be built for listening to songs and controlling your house. There are some other suggestions: that it will include a screen, that it's going to be fairly pricey, and that it won't come out until later in the year. One certainty is that it will include Siri; everything else will have to wait.
New Macs
Apple's expected to unveil updates to at least one of its MacBooks, and maybe even more.The tiny, one-port MacBook has now gone a long time without an update, and so will probably at least get a speed bump. There's also been rumours that the MacBook Pros – which were only released earlier this year – will get new speed bumps, given there's new and fast chips available for them.
It's possible that Apple will release the Mac Pro – the high-powered computer that it said earlier this year would be resurrected. But that's probably not ready yet.
New iPads
We're also going to get to see the long-rumoured – and mostly elusive – new iPads.The re-designs are going to be dramatic, if leaks are to be believed. The new tablets will get rid of the bezel around the side of the screen so that the display can be much bigger relative to the whole thing – potentially allowing Apple to release new iPads that are smaller but actually have bigger screens. They'll probably boost the insides, too – though the current iPads are still nearly two years old and still plenty fast enough.
As well as being an interesting new hardware product, the new iPads will offer a hint at what Apple is aiming at for its tablet line. It has attempted to sell them as the future of computing and the personal technology of the future, but that entirely revolves around it having a plan for them to pick up the work that bigger kit like Macs can do.
Among other things, these might be a little tease of what's to come with the iPhone later this year. If Apple really does manage to get rid of or drastically reduce the bezel that surrounds the screen on the iPad, then it's almost certain to do the same thing with the iPhones come September. That will in turn bring with it a whole range of challenges – like how to grip the phone without accidentally pressing the screen – and so we'll get to see how Apple solves them before the new handsets debut at the big event.
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