In less than a week, Apple's annual developer conference will take place in San Jose, California.
Thanks to the upcoming iPhone release this year8, expectations from WWDC this time are pretty high. In the end, this will be the tenth anniversary of iOS. Although previous releases have been very progressive, iOS 11 will be released during the ubiquity of AI and hardware. It is also expected to announce new versions of tvOS, macOS, watchOS and, according to rumors, the speaker a la Amazon Echo. Therefore, in this article we will present a small overview of the announcements that Apple should make next week.
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iOS 11
As always, the new iOS should be at the centerfocus on WWDC. The last major visual update was in iOS 7, released in 2014. Since then, despite some minor changes in the user interface, the appearance of iOS has not changed. As a result, he looks somewhat out of date. Since Apple is fundamentally redesigning the iPhone, it would be logical to do the same with iOS. Springboard, the home screen and the iOS launcher are especially in need of recycling. Updating the alert center would also be helpful, since for many years managing notifications in iOS has been categorically inconvenient.
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Despite the interest and noise around iOS 11, rumorsthey make hints about the new version. According to one of the messages, it will provide support for group calls in FaceTime, which will further improve one of the most underestimated features of iOS. Another redesign of the Music app is also expected, aimed at integration with the Apple Music service. In addition, the update should provide new unique features for the iPad. Nevertheless, there were no rumors and leaks (in addition to the multi-user mode) regarding them, so we can only guess what Apple has prepared for the iPad. Among other things, in the new iOS, an improved notification system and support for dark mode may appear.
Given the ongoing work on GoogleAssistan and Amazon Alexa, one of the main landmarks of iOS 11 should be Siri. Apple’s virtual assistant is inferior in many respects to its competitors, so for Apple it’s time to take up their hands and join the race. According to some of the rumors, Siri's integration with watchOS, tvOS and iCloud will improve; In addition, Siri will begin to learn based on user actions and personalize the results without sending, unlike Google, its data to the cloud.
tvOS and watchOS
In addition to iOS 11, Apple will also showcase newtvOS and watchOS versions. As with iOS, most of the information about them exists at the rumor level. So, for example, it was reported that tvOS 11 will receive support for Picture-to-Picture and multi-user mode. As for watchOS, new APIs may appear there, allowing developers to create more functional applications for this platform.
macOS
A few years ago, Apple switched to the annualMacOS release, as a result of which it receives regular, but not very significant updates. macOS Sierra was mainly aimed at inconspicuous technical improvements and Siri, but macOS 10.13 may contain some really important innovations. At the moment, it is already known that Apple will switch to the APFS file system, which first appeared in the beta version of macOS 10.12 Sierra last year. This transition has already taken place with the release of iOS 10.3 some time ago.
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As already mentioned, in recent years wesee only announcements of new Apple software versions at WWDC. However, this time the company can make several statements regarding hardware innovations.
MacBook with Kaby Lake processors
Apple is expected to announce a smallupdating its MacBook line. The laptop will be equipped with a Kaby Lake processor, which differs from its predecessors in high energy efficiency and performance. Although rumors claim that the 12-inch MacBook will receive the same improvement, this is not confirmed: only for the MacBook Pro there is a delay before delivery.
Smart speaker with Siri
Google Home and Amazon Echo provided theircompanies have a large consumer base in the United States. Equipped with Google Assistant and Alexa, respectively, these smart speakers allow users to remotely control sound, check schedules, ask simple questions, check the weather and much more. Apple remains the only large company with a virtual assistant that has not yet released such a device. However, rumors suggest that Apple may introduce its own smart column with Siri at WWDC.
In recent years, the company has not demonstratednew devices at WWDC, and there’s still no certainty how much she’s advanced in developing a smart speaker. Well-known KGI Securities analyst Min Chi Ko believes that the chance of a speaker at WWDC 2017 is more than 50 percent.
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I must say that even if Apple shows smartspeaker at WWDC, it will still lose to its counterparts from Amazon and Google due to Siri imperfections. Therefore, it would be more meaningful to release the speaker later, along with iOS 11, which should be equipped with an improved version of the virtual assistant.
Redesigned iPad Pro
Before Apple Demonstrates FramelessiPhone 8, it is rumored to be announcing a frameless 10.5-inch iPad Pro at WWDC. Initially, it was expected that it would be announced in March, but for some reason the company had to abandon these plans. The new iPad Pro should replace the old 9.7-inch model in the Apple lineup. Thanks to the frameless design, it will have the same dimensions as its predecessor, despite the enlarged screen.
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The likelihood that Apple will show a 10.5-inchiPad Pro at WWDC is very low since there have been no leaks of information about it recently. You should expect the debut of the new model later, along with the iPhone 8 or at a separate event.
So what do you expect from WWDC this year? Are you looking for a presentation of iOS 11 and macOS, or are you hoping for a MacBook update and smart speaker with Siri?