Early in June each year, Apple CEO Tim Cook, software chief Craig Federighi and other Apple executives take to a stage at the World Wide Developers Conference to reveal what’s launching from the Mac-maker in the coming months.
It’s the traditional venue to unveil the next major upgrades for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, etc. These then go into extensive beta testing before the full launch in the autumn.
WWDC’s focus is supposed to be software but it’s not unusual for hardware to make an appearance, especially when it’s a Mac intended for developers.
And sometimes there are surprises.
Apple previewed support for RCS messaging in the iOS 18 Messages app at WWDC24. Adding Rich Communication Services will bring enhanced texting between iPhone and Android users, with features not possible before.
It’s a change Apple dragged its feet on for many years.
Sending money to another iPhone user is about to get as simple as holding the two handsets near each other. The upcoming feature is called Tap to Cash.
It’s a private and secure payment system. The two users don’t even need to exchange phone numbers.
New features in Apple Maps in iOS 18 will be a boon to hikers. The app is getting topographic maps along with thousands of suggested hikes across national parks in the United States.
The app can also create custom walking routes.
Pigs must be flying and hell has frozen over because the official Apple Calculator application is headed for iPad. It’s a feature missing from the tablet since its launch in 2010 but iPadOS 18 will include one.
It goes beyond simply an expanded version of the iPhone app. Apple built in a Math Notes calculator that allows users to write equations with a stylus and have the iPad solve them.
Apple’s much-maligned Siri voice assistant is getting a huge infusion of artificial intelligence. It’s part of a movement to bring AI features to a wide range of iPhone, Mac and iPad applications.
“Thanks to the capabilities of Apple Intelligence, this year marks the start of a new era for Siri,” said Kelsey Peterson, Apple’s Director, Machine Learning and Al, during Monday’s WWDC24 keynote.
Don’t get your heart set on new Macs launching at WWDC24 next week. A generally reliable tipster predicts that that’ll be none unveiled at Apple’s developer conference.
And not just Macs. Supposedly the agenda includes no new hardware at all.
The wait to get Apple Vision Pro is apparently nearly over for consumers in more than half a dozen countries.
Although the AR/VR headset launched in the United States this winter, availability has yet to expand outside the borders of Apple’s home country. But Apple Store employees around the world are reportedly getting trained on the device. And the headset reportedly cleared a major regulatory hurdle Monday for launching in China.
In the first quarter of 2024, iPhone sales in China slid 19.1% compared to Q1 2023. And that’s mainly due to competitor Huawei taking a bigger bite in the premium segment, according to new research. And yet analysts indicated possible signs of recovery for Apple, too.
Not only did Apple announce next year’s Swift Student Challenge early to give coders more time to prepare — it put the word out Wednesday for the February 2024 competition — it also added a new “Distinguished Winners” category and a raft of new coding resources in “Everyone Can Code Projects.”
Earlier reports that Apple’s VR/AR headset will launch this spring were apparently overly optimistic — the latest leak points to a debut at the company’s annual developers conference in June.
If so, it’s likely to overshadow the new iOS and macOS versions also coming at WWDC23. But that probably would have happened even if the device had been unveiled months earlier, as it’ll include a new operating system for third-party developers to write applications for.
Mac is not the preferred platform for most gamers, but Metal 3 in macOS Ventura shows Apple hasn’t given up. And iPadOS 16 is getting support for a wider range of game controllers.
These are just a couple of gaming features Apple is bringing to Mac and iPad.
The wraps came off iPadOS 16 during the keynote for WWDC22 on Monday, and Apple fulfilled the requests of many iPad power users by adding support for resizable, floating app windows. And there’s also full support for external displays. There are many other changes as well.
“Our vision for iPadOS is to create a distinct experience that’s built on the best of iOS with powerful capabilities from macOS, combined with features that are uniquely iPad,” said Craig Federighi, SVP of software engineering. “All of this comes together to deliver our most versatile release this year in iPadOS 16.”
One of Apple’s biggest events is right around the corner. This year’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote promises to deliver our first look at the company’s next-generation software updates for iPhone, iPad, Mac and more. And it’s all happening on June 6.
Just like past WWDC keynotes, this year’s will be streaming online, so you’ll be able to watch it in its entirety as it all unfolds. Here’s how.
Update: The WWDC22 keynote is behind us, but if you want to get caught up you can watch the whole presentation on YouTube. Or check Cult of Mac‘s in-depth coverage.
Lucky attendees who get to visit Apple Park for a special WWDC22 developer day are getting the red carpet treatment, including caviar for breakfast.
The menu for the event includes a smoked salmon and caviar bagel made from “house smoked salmon, mascarpone cream, Tobiko black caviar, Persian cucumber, [and] micro horseradish,” which asks more questions than it answers. What on earth is micro horseradish?
Apple is now accepting requests to attend its next developers conference in person. WWDC22 in June is mostly online, but a fortunate few developers and students will be able to watch the keynote from Apple Park. The company will soon randomly select the lucky group who can attend from all the requests it receives.
The submission window isn’t open for long – don’t procrastinate.
The 2022 iteration of Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference will start June 6. Apple promised Tuesday the event will showcase the latest innovations in iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — which is code for unveiling the next major upgrades for these operating systems.
WWDC22 will be online-only for most people, but a fortunate few developers and students will be able to watch the keynote from Apple Park.
Larry David once played a verbose, neurotic app approval officer in a skit for Apple. But curb your enthusiasm (womp womp) … the video never aired. Clearly someone at Apple didn’t think it was pretty, pretty, pr-et-ty good enough to be shown to customers.
However, the video — apparently shot as a possible intro for 2014’s Worldwide Developers Conference — has been leaked online by Sam Henri-Gold of the dearly departed Unofficial Apple Archive, a former repository of Apple videos no longer around. While Henri-Gold only shared a snippet, the whole video was later posted to YouTube. Check it out below.
iOS 15 will bring a range of improvements to AirPods. Apple’s wireless headphones will get easier to find, and they can fill in as hearing aids in noisy environments. And Apple plans another tweak or two as well.
Apple launched the promised new Spatial Audio service for Apple Music on Monday. The feature was announced in May, and the wait is over. Spatial Audio allows songs seemingly come from all around the listener, even from above. If the track has been mixed to support it, of course.
iOS 15 just made the jump from rumor to reality. Apple is bringing major new features to FaceTime, Messages, notifications, and more. Many of the applications that come bundled with iPhone are getting updates, like Apple Maps and Weather.
However, some features people had been hoping for didn’t make the cut, like interactive widgets.
The iPad software upgrade expected to be unveiled Monday will improve the way users work with multiple on-screen applications, according to a last-minute report from a reliable source. iPadOS 15 also will include widget improvements and other changes.
June 7 will be the single most important day of 2021 for Apple. It’s the start of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference where the company will ceremoniously unveil fresh operating system updates for iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and more.
Big changes are anticipated for iPadOS 15, and some nice enhancements are also predicted for iOS 15. The improvements in macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15 are likely to be more modest.
But the show won’t stop there. While WWDC is supposed to be about software, there’s a good chance we will see new MacBooks announced Monday as well.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives thinks overhauled 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros will be among Apple’s announcements at the usually software-focused Worldwide Developers Conference next week.
Recent rumors provide a pretty decent picture of what the new MacBook Pro might look like. The updated laptops supposedly will be a pretty major rethink of the pro-grade, M1-powered notebook Apple introduced last November. Among the changes will be a redesigned chassis, built-in SD card reader and HDMI port, a MagSafe charger and a faster M2 chip. However, the next-gen MacBook Pro supposedly will not come with an LED Touch Bar.
Update: iOS 15 was unveiled at WWDC 2021 and there was no mention of interactive widgets. Maybe in 2022…
It’s high time iPhone Home screen widgets grew up. They were one of the best additions to iOS last year, but they are still too limited. Fortunately, iOS 15 will reportedly make widgets much more interactive.
There are a few other changes expected in the new iPhone system software update, but none are as important as this one.
A tip that a new MacBook will be unveiled at WWDC 2021 in two weeks could be hidden in the image Apple released Monday for the developers conference. It appears in the reflection in a pair of glasses.
Noted Apple tipster Jon Prosser apparently moved quickly to confirm the report.