Apple’s WWDC: Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming Event
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off on June 22, and here’s everything you should know about the upcoming event, according to a report from MacRumors.
“The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off with exciting reveals, inspiration, and new opportunities to continue creating the most innovative apps in the world. Join the worldwide developer community for an in-depth look at the future of Apple platforms, directly from Apple Park,” the event’s description reads on Apple’s website.
This year’s conference will be an online-only event for the first time ever, due to the coronavirus pandemic. WWDC will run for a week, offering developers the opportunity to attend a host of sessions and meet one-on-one with Apple engineers to learn more about its technologies. The conference will commence with a special keynote on Monday, at which time the company is expected to announce new software, including iOS 14 and macOS, along with a few highly anticipated hardware updates.
iOS/iPadOS 14
The main announcement at WWCD will be iOS 14. Apple typically shows off its latest version of iOS during this conference before their official release in September. During last year’s event, Apple announced its decision to split iOS by introducing iPadOS, which was created specifically to take advantage of the iPad’s hardware. Since its introduction, iPadOS got several major updates, including support for trackpad and mouse input. The updates came as a part of Apple’s plan to make the iPad comparable to a laptop.
When it comes to iOS 14, there are expected to be new augmented reality features that will utilize the LiDAR sensor on the newer iPad models, as well as the sensor rumored to be on the 2020 iPhones. iOS 14 is also expected to bring improvements to Apple’s password manager, a revamped Podcast app, full Apple Pencil support, and other features aimed at boosting overall productivity for power users.
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macOS 10.16
As for the software updates coming to Macs, Apple is expected to introduce the follow up to macOS Catalina 10.15. The firmware is expected to include a new version of the macOS Messages app, which will be the same as the app found on the iPhone and iPad. Apple’s invitations for WWDC included several Memoji characters sitting in front of MacBooks, and many believed this to mean that the stickers would be coming to macOS.
It’s not yet known what Apple will officially call its new macOS.
watchOS 7
According to the report, Apple will be bringing new watch face features to its wearable device, along with parental control, blood oxygen tracking, and other overall improvements.
Redesigned iMac
Stepping away from software updates for a moment, Apple is also expected to announce a totally redesigned iMac. It’s been several years since the desktop computer has seen any significant changes, but that could all change during next week’s event. The new iMacs are rumored to be ready to ship and may feature a sleek new design inspired by the boxy build of the current iPad Pros. As for its internals, the updated iMac will be getting a number of spec bumps but tech enthusiasts are already excited about the fact that Apple will be ditching its outdated Fusion Drives in favor of full SSDs.
Apple is also expected to talk about its decision to move away from Intel chips and start producing Arm-based Macs. The first Arm-based Macs aren’t expected to be available to the public until 2021, but the company could surprise its customers in the week ahead.
