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What to Expect from Apple's WWDC 2021 Internet Conference
Butcher79
If you're the type to take Apple's word for it, WWDC 2021 will be "the biggest and best," which brings us to the obvious question: what the company has plans to showcase this year.
Short answer: a lot, and if you don't mind spoilers about what we expect to see after WWDC launches, we've got you covered.
Details
WWDC kicks off June 7 with a keynote at 10:00 AM PT / 13:00 PM ET, where Tim Cook and the rest of Apple's executives take us through some of the biggest changes coming to iOS, iPadOS, macOS and more. These usually last over two hours, so be sure to allow enough time.
Of course, WWDC is so much more - after all, the show will run until June 11th. There's just one catch: while WWDC is technically free to participate, it's only open to registered developers. This means many sessions, deep dives, and individual developer labs are closed to the public. At the time of publication, Apple is still keeping the full list of sessions under wraps, but don't worry - we'll keep you posted on any major events that come up after the show.
iOS 15
At last year's WWDC, iOS received a significant overhaul - expanded widget support, a new app library, app clips, and limited support for changing default apps are just some of the changes found in iOS 14. Reports suggest we may be looking at a quieter year. for the iPhone, but we still expect it to get the lion's share of the attention.
The most juicy details we've seen so far come from Bloomberg , which claims that, among other things, Apple has changed how notifications work in iOS 15. Obviously, you'll be able to set your iPhone to handle incoming notifications differently depending on what you're doing - say, when you're driving or sleeping. Bloomberg also suggests setting iOS 15 to automatically reply to messages depending on which of these statuses you've set. It almost sounds like a spiritual successor to the deleted messages from the AOL Instant Messenger days. For a nerd who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, this is very interesting.
We've also heard that Apple may be preparing to show off a new look for the iPhone's lock screen, which would make sense if they plan to promote the concept of "statuses" or "availability". This also aligns with rumors that the iPhone 13 could support constantly the Android-style on display is a feature that's only possible because Apple has started using OLED screens in the iPhone Last year.
Now, given how aggressively Apple has been stating its focus on privacy, I can't say I'm surprised that the company seems to be leaning on the app tracking transparency work that debuted. in the recent release of iOS 14.5 . For iOS 15, Apple reportedly created a feature that shows users which apps are silently collecting information about them. We've also heard that Apple plans to add more social features to iMessage to help it compete with platforms like WhatsApp, but who knows if that'll be ready for the fall update launch.
Apple has already highlighted several interesting accessibility features that coming to iOS 15, including a feature that plays soothing background sounds like rain, crashing waves, babbling streams, and what Apple calls "bright" and "dark" noise. It may not seem like a big deal, but for people who are very easily distracted - like many of us here - this iOS 15 feature may be the most useful.
iPadOS 15
Since iOS and iPadOS share the same basic feature set, you can expect all the improvements we've talked about so far to apply to Apple tablets as well. With all of that in mind, we're expecting some big changes this year, and that's mostly thanks to this year's powerful iPad Pro. Our review, like almost every other review, calls for Apple to better take advantage of the M1 chipset in the company's high-end tablets. After all, it's the same flint that powers Apple's current MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac—would be a waste if the company didn't find a way to make the iPad better at multitasking and make it more like a computer.
Of course, this is easier said than done. For now, all we've heard about Apple's efforts in this direction is that iPadOS 15 will get a redesigned home screen that you can fully load with widgets - iPadOS 14 only allows you to place them in a small Today View sidebar. This report is courtesy of Mark Gurman of Bloomberg , and that's the only fairly solid rumor we've heard about the new iPadOS, although we could take some justifiable steps in logic.
If support for full-screen widgets moves from iPhone to iPad, we wouldn't be surprised if the iOS App Library makes its way to iPadOS. This means you will finally have a place to put all the apps you need but don't want to look at all the time. Beyond that, though, Apple has managed to keep its tablet-centric work under wraps, so we'll just have to see what the company has to say about the future of the iPad.
macOS 12 and Apple Silicon
Apple has long believed that the iPad represents the company's vision for the future of computing, but a surge in Mac sales last year proved that people aren't giving up on more traditional computers just yet. At least in part, because last year's WWDC was a big one for the Mac - we finally saw Apple ditch Intel processors in favor of their own, surprisingly powerful chipset.
With Apple still grappling with the fallout from this shift, it's entirely possible that Apple won't announce significant changes to macOS this year. Given the relative paucity of rumors and leaks about Mac software leading up to the show, we're inclined to believe this is true. We're still waiting for a detailed look at the work being done in this year's macOS 12 update, but the most compelling reports we've seen so far suggest that Apple plans to expand its Apple Silicon Mac range.
For example, prominent leaker Jon Prosser claims that we'll be seeing the new MacBook Pros for the first time: they'll be 14-inch and 16-inch models, which are said to lack "love-em-or-hate-em" touchpads. Prosser also suggests we may see the reintroduction of long-lost features such as a MagSafe charger, an SD card reader, and a proper HDMI output. It may feel like Apple is going back to the good old days of laptop design, but there won't be a shortage of modern elements. These MacBook Pros are expected to use mini-LED displays like those found in the new iPad Pro, not to mention Apple's next-generation high-performance chipset purportedly called the M1X.
Apple hasn't said anything publicly about its next-gen chips yet, but in Bloomberg's May report states, that the company is working on processors that are "significantly superior in performance and capabilities to the current M1 chips." This is reportedly due to the ten CPU cores in the new chipsets - eight for high performance tasks and two for more power efficient use - as well as 16 or 32 integrated GPU cores depending on the Mac's configuration.
Watch 8
As for the Apple Watch, we don't really know much beyond what the company has already confirmed about watchOS. For example, the next watchOS update will include a new feature called AssistiveTouch that will allow people to control their Apple Watch by simply clenching their fists and pinching with their fingertips. It's already a pretty wild concept, but not as wild as the way the company has implemented it - the watch will use its motion sensors, heart rate monitor and machine learning to detect minute movements in the wearer's muscles.
If the name wasn't already a giveaway, AssistiveTouch is part of Apple's push for more accessibility, and it could make a big difference for people who only use one hand, but I wouldn't be surprised to see other people. also tried. As usual, we also expect to see a lot of new watch faces, but for now, nothing more. The rest of the watchOS 8 story remains a mystery, but hey - at least we won't have to wait long to get the answers.
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