Apple’s WordWide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) is right around the corner – what’s it all about, and why should you care?
WWDC is a yearly gathering of software developers, in which Apple typically announces its upcoming changes to its operating systems so that devs can get a head-start building apps for its devices. It’s more glamorous than it sounds, and this year looks set to be a lot more exciting than usual…
The conference lasts a week, but for the average Joe the important part is the keynote speech which kicks off the event. This is where the big announcements are made – we always see software updates, and this year will be no different, with iOS 11 expected to be unveiled alongside updates for macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. However, Apple is also expected to announce some new and updated products at this year’s WWDC. So what will we see?
New iPad Pro
Well, Apple is expected to announce a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro to sit snugly between the existing 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch models. We’d expect to see a boost in power, and it’s also rumored that the new iPad Pro will shave down the bezels at the edges of the device to fit the large display into a chassis barely bigger than the 9.7-inch Pro. If true, this would nicely foreshadow the edge-to-edge iPhone 8 expected this September.
New Macs
We’re also expecting to see some iterative upgrades to Apple’s lineup of Mac computers. The MacBook Pro was refreshed just last year, adding a “touch bar” that proved divisive with users. WWDC could see some improved MacBook Pros, notably with more powerful and modern processors and more RAM. We could also see updated versions of the 12-inch MacBook and even the MacBook Air, which is still selling strongly despite looking like it was going to be phased out.
One more thing…
Lastly, we might see a brand new product line from Apple: the rumored Siri Speaker, to compete with similar products like Amazon Echo and Google Home. It’s expected to be a standalone speaker with excellent sound quality, which will tie together many existing Apple services and provide a hub for smart gadgets as well as music playing. Trusted industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks there’s a “more than 50%” chance that we’ll see a Siri Speaker at WWDC this year.
WWDC starts on Monday 5 June, with the big opening keynote set for 10AM PDT. You can watch the announcements live, or skip the two hour talk and wait for our full breakdown of all the big announcements throughout next week. Stay tuned!