Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts on June 7 and will once again be held online. While this is first and foremost a developer event, that doesn’t preclude some news that is of interest to the millions of consumers who use Apple devices.
While there may not be a bombshell like the transition to Apple Silicon to announce this year, there are plenty of rumors about hardware and software announcements that could be happening over the course of the five-day event. Most of the big reveals will come during the keynote on June 7, but there will no doubt be details that emerge about iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS 12 during the developer sessions.
Here’s a quick look at how to watch WWDC 2021 and some of the highlights we expect from the event.
How to watch
Registered Apple developers can view and attend the full schedule of events, but for most people, the keynote will be enough. It begins at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT on June 7. As we’ve seen with all of Apple’s recent events, it will be streamed live from Apple Park. The keynote is open for anyone to watch and you will be able to tune in from Apple’s website, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, or YouTube. We’ll update this article with the YouTube link and an embedded video when it is available.
Following the keynote is the State of the Union, which will start at 2 p.m. PDT/5 p.m. EDT and will cover what’s coming to each of Apple’s platforms. This event and the rest of the streamed engineering sessions are limited to registered Apple developers who paid a $99 annual fee. We’ll be sure to bring you any particularly exciting news out of those sessions as well.
New hardware
While WWDC is about the developers, we do occasionally get some new hardware during the event and it looks like at least one new device could arrive at this year’s conference.
The oft-reliable Jon Prosser claims the new 14-inch MacBook Pro and/or 16-inch MacBook Pro will be announced at WWDC. Prosser merely said he could confirm they are coming, and nothing more, but you can read our full coverage for everything we know about both laptops.
i can confirm macbook pro is coming https://t.co/p2Hzh5TVSmMay 24, 2021
It’s a plausible announcement for WWDC for a couple of reasons. The first is that these are Apple’s high-end laptops which are naturally the most popular among Apple developers. Second, they are rumored to include Apple’s second-generation Apple Silicon, which may open up some new possibilities for macOS developers.
Those are certainly the most likely announcements, but there are some added possibilities. A new, more powerful Mac Mini would presumably use the second-generation Apple Silicon chipset. In keeping with the Pro theme, we could also hear about a new Mac Pro. While it’s likely to be the last Apple hardware to make the switch to Apple Silicon, the Mac Pro is supremely relevant to this audience.
Last up would be AirPods; Apple took some heat last week for its newly announced lossless music being unsupported by any current Apple headphones. Maybe Apple takes this chance to announce that it has new headphones arriving that do support the new feature.
I’d stress that everything beyond the MacBook Pro models is a reach, but they are outside possibilities.
iPadOS 15
While it may not be the most popular of Apple’s primary operating systems, perhaps the most intriguing software updates at WWDC are with iPadOS 15. This is due to the newly announced iPad Pros using the Apple M1 processor. The raw power of these tablets is just completely unnecessary for iPadOS but that could change with iPadOS 15.
The iPad enjoys some multitasking and split-screen features that the iPhone lacks, but the longtime claim that it is “just a big iPhone” still rings true in some ways. At a minimum, we hope to see Apple take some additional strides in better utilizing the screen real estate of the iPad Pro models. There have been some rumors to this effect suggesting a home screen refresh will finally happen with more customizable widgets available.
However, we fully expect to see Apple push further and continue to stress how these tablets can be legitimate laptop replacements, which is irrefutably true from a performance standpoint, but a bit harder sell when it comes to the current features.
iOS 15
iOS 15 will share quite a bit of DNA with iPadOS 15, but here’s a look at the current rumors for what to expect on the iPhone this fall.
There’s some hope that we see further loosening of Apple’s iron grip on default apps. While Safari and Mail can finally be replaced in iOS 14, the Music app failed to get the same treatment in iOS 14.5, and with Apple seeing continued pressure for some of its more monopolistic tactics in its trial with Epic Games, it seems plausible that this is a point they could concede.
Another feature we expect to see on the iPhone, as well as the iPad, is greater flexibility with widgets. PhoneArena reported that this would include the ability to reshape widgets to more distinct sizes and shapes.
Another new feature that could be exclusive to the iPhone 13 is a notification system for the rumored always-on display of the iPhone 13. According to some details shared with EverythingApplePro, this may include a persistent battery level and clock display along with temporary pop-ups for notifications.
macOS 12
Rumor has it that macOS 12 is going to be a much more minor and stability-focused update after the major redesign of macOS Big Sur. Given the rumor, it’s unsurprising that we have seen very few rumors regarding new functionality coming to the operating system.
macOS typically lags behind other operating systems; we don’t expect it to be ready until November, which is a couple of months after the others. Hopefully, Apple will have some surprises in store for us with macOS 12.
watchOS 8
Much like macOS 12, we don’t have a lot of information to go off of for watchOS 8. Based on some of the rumors regarding Apple Watch 7, we can infer that it may add support for blood glucose monitoring. We’ve also seen new watch faces in some of the leaks, but little else.
Apple finally appears to be getting some meaningful competition from Google again with Wear OS so here’s hoping that lights a fire under them and we see some interesting new updates for Watch OS this year. Apple may be the front runner but in a lot of ways that is more damning of the competition than praise for the Apple Watch. Apple still has plenty of room to grow with watchOS with improvements to sleep tracking, more refined fitness tracking, longer battery life, and better controls.
