Apple’s keynote to kick off this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference is going to be huge. So huge, in fact, that Apple already revealed some stuff early because Tim Cook and his Cupertino cronies won’t have time to cover everything during the jam-packed, two-hour event.
While WWDC might seem like a bit of a snoozefest for Apple fans who don’t know anything about Xcode and Swift, the 2016 edition of the annual developer conference should bring lots of new stuff even normals can get hyped about. The WWDC keynote will give us a peek inside the ever-evolving Apple ecosystem — and thus our clearest picture of the future of all Apple products.
This year, all of Apple’s platforms are set to get major updates, as are some of the company’s most popular services, like Siri and Apple Music. Here’s what to watch for during Apple’s keynote, which will kick off WWDC 2016 next Monday morning in San Francisco.
iOS 10
The software that powers iPhones and iPads hasn’t seen any big changes since the release of iOS 7, so this year’s iOS 10 update could be a really big deal. A total homescreen makeover with widgets and a new UI is unlikely. But little tweaks are supposedly coming throughout the system, including a possible Dark Mode.
On a recent episode of The Jay & Farhad Show, Mark Gurman said the operating system will be a bit more colorful with a few new icons. The Photos app is also supposedly getting an update, adding advanced editing tools and the ability to draw on photos the way you can with Skitch.
Apple may also add some special productivity and multitasking features for the iPad Pro to turn the new tablets into better MacBook replacements. Changes to the App Store are also coming after Phil Schiller revealed that subscriptions will be opened to all apps and the company will give developers 85% of revenue after users keep a subscription for a full year.
Siri SDK
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
One of iOS 10’s biggest features will be the ability for third-party apps to connect with Siri. As part of Apple’s first step toward competing with Amazon’s Alexa-powered products, Apple is set to introduce a Siri SDK.
Opening up Siri will make the service a lot more powerful — and give developers new ways to control apps. Soon you’ll be able to ask Siri to get you an Uber, order food and more.
Siri is also expected to arrive on the Mac this year with OS X 10.12. The desktop version should be able to do the same things as the iOS version, should come with an always-on “Hey Siri” feature for newer, more power-efficient Macs.
Apple Music
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Despite topping 10 million subscribers in its first year, Apple Music leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to its interface and general usability. Thankfully, it’s likely getting a sizable update at WWDC that should make Apple’s streaming music service more intuitive.
The new design will supposedly have a focus on album art and emphasize black and white backgrounds. The Connect tab may get removed from the interface; the New tab reportedly will be changed to Browse and will gain new discovery tools.
Pretty much the only thing that’s not changing is Beats 1, which is pretty damn good as is.
OS X 10.12 aka ‘macOS’
Photo: Marcin Nowak/UnsplashCC
Can we just call it macOS? Because Apple already has been.
It appears that the biggest change for OS X will be a name change. Apple’s desktop operating system was originally called “Mac OS X” until Cupertino changed it to “OS X,” so in some ways it’s a simplification of the original name.
The addition of Siri is expected to be the biggest new feature in the new desktop OS, whatever it’s called. Apple is also expected to make changes to the Photos app and offer better image-editing tools. The company may also release an updated version of iTunes with a sleeker UI.
Apple Pay
Photo: Apple
The world could get a few new ways to use Apple Pay this year. While Cupertino’s not expected to make any major changes to Apple Pay on the iPhone and Apple Watch, the company is supposedly planning to launch a web version of Apple Pay. Apple may also add the ability to send your friends money with Apple Pay via iMessage, which will come in handy now that iMessage will be available on Android too.
watchOS 3.0
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
Not much is known about what Apple plans to add with watchOS 3.0, but there’s only one feature I care about: third-party clock faces. Seriously, Apple, we need more options. Everything can’t be designed by Jony Ive.
tvOS 10
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
It’s only been a year since Apple unveiled tvOS, so it’s unlikely we’ll see any big new additions at WWDC 2016. However, we expect tvOS will get a bit of stage time so Apple can talk up improvements coming later this year.
No hardware
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Sorry, but if you were hoping to order a new MacBook Pro right after WWDC, you might have to wait a while.
Rumors have been floating that Apple plans to update the MacBook Pro with a new super-thin body, OLED touchpad, USB-C ports and Touch ID. Cult of Mac published spy photos of the new MacBook Pro frame, but sources in the know still say this year’s WWDC will be a software-only event.
One more thing?
Apple is sure to bust out a few surprises nobody’s thought of yet during the two-hour keynote. We didn’t even touch all the Kits (Home, Research, Health and Care), plus there will be updates coming to Swift and hundreds of other little goodies for developers.
Cult of Mac will be here liveblogging and dissecting all the action during Apple’s keynote next Monday, June 13. The event starts at 10 a.m. Pacific, so stay tuned and get ready for an avalanche of delicious new Apple code.
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
27 responses to “Everything to expect from Apple’s jam-packed WWDC 2016 keynote”
Not much for me then, as a non US citizen and non developer. Apple Pay is not available in my country, Siri (on iOS or macOS) doesn’t get my accent so nothing to look forward to here either. Oh and Apple Music and iTunes? With our shoddy data capabilities and sky high data prices, everyone here still prefers downloaded as opposed to streaming music. So yeah, if dark mode is what I have to watch the live stream of the keynote for, it’s going to be a very long and slow night…
I bet you’re a blast at parties
I bet you’re really “rad”
I only go to parties with a good vibe.
It is after all WWDC. So it’s aimed at DEVELOPERS, not necessarily consumers/users. Since they have so many different OS platforms, they have to spend more time on announcing what the changes are for the DEVELOPER community to digest.
I take your point, but is it the WWDC or USDC? See my points again. Most of the stuff they are going to tackle under World Wide is really only United States. The fact that I’m not a developer (but a software specialist) makes no difference to the fact that Apple should have more of a World focus (like Google).
And how is Google more ‘world focused’ then Apple ? Most of their services are still not available in most countries, Google Now and voice recognition works in less languages than Siri etc. Stop spreading fiction mr ‘software specialist’. By the way, how can you be a software specialist if you’re not a developer ? Isn’t that like music critics who have absolutely no idea about music and how to plan any instruments ?
Steve Jobs was the head of a tech company, but could not code. I’m not a coder (developer), I’m a software designer.
Google is a LOT more world focused.
1. Both their maps and Apple maps had a mistake. I reported it to both. Google fixed it in days. 2 years later and I’m still waiting for Apple.
2. Goolge offers my home language as an option for translation everywhere. Granted it’s not voice. But Apple does not even have my langauge as an option, even though they list my country as one where they are.
3. Google has offices in my country, Apple not.
4. Google AI works, and Google Now understands my perfect British English. Unlike Apple’s AI or language recognition.
5. I can go on and on.
Point is, I am not spreading fiction. Rather, stop getting so upset when someone points out something bad.
PS: Yes, Google also has a lot of bad, but at this point in time, they’re a lot more world focused.
This is a developer specific event, not a public product announcement. If you’re not a developer – this event is not for you, it’s as simple as that, there is nothing to whine and moan about.
Allow me to word it differently. As a potential developer not residing in the US, I find the list of items to be discussed US centric, not Wold centric (and they call it WORLD WIDE Developers Conference?). Google tends to be more World like, and has me more interested than Apple.
No, Google does not tend to be more World like – most of their services are still US-only, just like Apple’s if not more.
See my comments above.
first of all, this isn’t even the list of items to be discussed! These are simply some wild guesses as to what might be coming. Up until the keynote starts, nobody really knows what is coming (apart from OSX 10.12 beta, iOS 10 beta, obviously). You can always just skip watching the keynote, but I would really not think that this article on cultofmac is somehow exactly how the keynote is going to play out tonight.
Of course this is a “best guess”. My comment is merely based on that best guess (in other words, in response to the article, not facts), and the lack of it being a true “world” event (fact) based on the last few WWDCs.
Apple do release something like ApplePay + Transit Maps pretty much for the US first, and then, gradually unveil them in other countries + cities etc. This should be expected, not lambasted.
Yes, it is expected. But also, I have those options (payments and maps with traffic) by Google in my country. We’ll never have a need for transit here. The only positive thing Apple has done here was a flyover. But that doesn’t add to productivity.
GooglePay? okay.. I would rather use ApplePay on an Apple device, you know.
Me too, and that’s my point exactly. Google’s always first with everything here, making a killing and basically taking the entire market. Then, when Apple finally comes, it’s too little too late. Not nice being an Apple software developer in such a market. And therefore, not nice to see just another USDC.
“It appears that the biggest change for OS X will be a name change. Apple’s desktop operating system was originally called “Mac OS X” until Cupertino changed it to “OS X,” so in some ways it’s a simplification of the original name.”
Hm. As far as I know, Apple previously referred to their OS’s by the number, for instance, macOS 6, macOS 7, macOS 8, macOS 9 and macOS 10. macOS 10 became OS X as ‘X’ is 10 in roman numerals. It is also good for the demoniac, who like to promote negativity, but that’s a side issue for separate treatment. So “macOS Ten” became known as “MacOS X”, please forgive me if my upper and lower case is out of synch. Then they dropped the Mac word and it became OS X and now they are dropping the number part and reinstating the ‘mac’ part of the name, so the expected macOS.
No. The early Mac operating systems were called “System,” as in “System 1” (the first). through System 7. After that they were OS8, OS9, and then Apple went all Roman–OSX.
Correct, but not entirely. OS X is the name of the operating system that had NeXT roots, and is postfixed with the version number. For example, OS X 10.11 (the current version). It’s actually a bit silly, as OS X is pronounced “OS 10”, so including the version it’s pronounced “OS 10 10.11”. Calling it MacOS makes a lot more sense in the greater scheme.
I foresee Jeff Williams going on about Research Kit, Linking it to the Apple watch, a nice video to show people whose lives have been transformed by medical research to wonderful feel good music and slow panning shots to scruffy developers who write the code telling the camera how it feels great to develop code to save people’s lives and make the world a better place…one energy drink at a time…
I’ll be really disappointed if they don’t announce new MacBook Pro, even if it won’t be released immediately. I’ve been waiting to switch to a Mac since last november and keep waiting because ‘new macbook pro is just around the corner’. I believe it really is around the corner this time though…
I bet the “one more thing” is a HomeKit central app built into iOS (to push sales). By the way, anyone agree that Tim Cook overuses the term, or at least uses it too freely?
I’ve heard him use that term… maybe twice ? The media overuse it, that’s for sure.
I love Apple, but do you really think Apple Music is ‘one more thing’ worthy?
I use Apple Music every day, but it’s not as great as other ‘one more thing’s.
An Apple-article?
HULK SMASH!