Apple CEO Tim Cook will present the latest versions of Apple’s software for iPhones, iPads, Macs, Watch and TVs on Monday to kick off WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference.
The new “bits,” as attendees often call the update, are the biggest Apple software announcement of the year and set the public strategy for Apple’s platform over the next 12 months. For example, iOS 16, as Apple is expected to call new software for the iPhone and iPad, could include improved notifications, a redesigned lock screen, and updates to the Messages and Health apps. A report from Bloomberg News,
But Apple’s long-reported mixed-reality headset is unlikely to debut next week.
WWDC, which stands for Worldwide Developers Conference, and is nicknamed “Dub Dub”, is strategically important for Apple, even if the company doesn’t announce any new hardware.
Apple’s financial performance depends on the support of third-party software developers participating in WWDC. Without a strong selection of updated, quality applications, Apple’s platforms are likely to drop in value to consumers and users, which will ultimately hurt sales. Apple also generates as much as $20 billion per year from Selling Software on Your App Store,
Software for Apple platforms, such as iOS apps, typically use different tools or programming frameworks than other larger platforms such as Microsoftof windows, Googleof Android, or web. Apple gets programmers excited about these technologies through a hype-filled keynote to kick off the conference, a more technically-oriented presentation later that day called “Platform State of the Union”, and then One-week class-like sessions and one-on-one meetings where developers can receive feedback and guidance from Apple engineers.
The biggest difference this year for WWDC is that it will include an in-person component after two years of going completely virtual. The change is subtle – keynote presentations with new product announcements will still be pre-recorded, and developers around the world can still virtually participate in conference sessions.
But this year, Apple has invited a few hundred software developers, members of the press, and students to its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., to watch a video presentation, take a tour of the campus, and talk in-person with a few others. who made the software. It’s nothing like the 6,000 attendees who traveled to San Jose for WWDC before the pandemic, but it’s another sign that things are getting back to normal after two years of virtual product announcements. Apple employees were to begin returning to the office this spring, nearly two years after working primarily from home during the COVID pandemic.
Holding WWDC in-person this month sets the stage for a fall launch where Apple will show off new phones, and perhaps even a high-end mixed-reality headset, in front of a live crowd to receive immediate feedback from the press and partners. Just like the old days.
new software coming
Apple occasionally reveals new hardware at WWDC, but the products are usually expensive, high-powered, and aimed at programmers—usually Macs—who need to build apps for the iPhone.
The last time Apple announced hardware products at WWDC was in 2019 when it released the $6,000 Mac Pro and the $5,000 monitor. Earlier, it had announced updates for Mac desktops and laptops in 2017.
Apple may reveal the successor to the M1 processor at WWDC. Earlier at a product release event it was teased that a higher-end model called the Mac Pro was on the way with an Apple-designed chip. According to Bloomberg, the “M2,” as it might be called, will be the next generation of Mac processors and could come in a redesigned MacBook Air.
At the very least, discussing progress in Apple’s processors would be appropriate for a developer-focused conference. Apple originally announced the switch to its own processors at WWDC in 2020.
Apple’s next big product category, augmented or mixed reality hardware, is unlikely to appear.
Apple may be talking about new apps and software that lay the groundwork for a mixed reality headset Or pair of augmented reality glasses, and it frequently announces updates to its augmented reality development software, ARKit, at WWDC. (Augmented reality displays computer-generated images on top of transparent lenses that let users view the real world, while mixed reality is a fully immersive experience like virtual reality, but showing images of the real world with external cameras.) have been.)
But new product categories usually get their own launch events instead of attending WWDC and headsets Allegedly Haven’t entered mass production yet.
Major software updates are a better bet. In previous years, Apple announced the new version of its iOS software at WWDC in June, released public beta version It released the final version of the software to early adopters and testers later in the month, and again in September with the new iPhones.
While the iPhone has the most users and most importantly the App Store, Apple’s other software platforms, including the iPad, Watch, and TV, often received the same amount of attention at WWDC.
There could be some big changes, especially in iPads. iPadOS 16 CAN Allegedly Include the ability to resize windows in a trick that makes the device more appealing to power-users who like to multitask. Currently users can run two apps side by side, but the ability to customize the floating window will make it more like macOS.
Apple’s TV set-top box, the Apple TV, may be getting an update that will make it more useful as the heart of a smart home, according to bloomberg, The Apple Watch got new hardware with a physically larger screen last year, and its software is due for an update that includes new watch faces to take advantage of the larger screen.
One Apple product that will receive a lot of attention next week is Swift, the company’s open-source programming language, introduced in 2014. Invitations sent to developers and the media included a graphic with a large Swift logo, and one of the taglines for it. The convention is “coming fast.”