WWDC – colloquially abbreviated as “Dub-Dub” – is on paper primarily for technologists who develop software for Apple products. However, the tech giant is proposing updates for various operating systems through Keynote and is already daring to announce new hardware. This makes WWDC the second most important Apple event of the year, after the iPhone press conferences in the fall.
iOS 16
Also this year, more than a billion iPhone users worldwide can expect a software update for their phones. What doesn’t seem likely is a complete overhaul of what iOS looks like. Meanwhile, iOS 7 has been in 2012 since Apple made sweeping changes in one update.
According to famous Apple journalist Mark Gurman of Bloomberg News, Apple is making some significant changes in the new iOS. For example, in iOS 16 there are “improvements” for notifications on iPhones. This was also the case with iOS 15 last year, but Gurman didn’t go into detail about what to expect.
He has more information about the novelties with the lock screen. He summarizes them as an “upgrade”, for example, wallpapers that can behave like UI elements. Also, on some iPhone 14 models, the lock screen will have an “always on” function, thanks to the new screen technology in those phones. There’s a good chance we won’t get more details about that until the fall.
Some of the apps that come standard with the iPhone will, among other things, receive new functionality, which Apple will show at WWDC 2022. Some of the functionality that resembles Social Media will be added to the Messages app. Gurman specifically mentions the aspect of voice messaging. In addition, health will also receive new capabilities, but the journalist Bloomberg did not provide any details about this.
Advice from a virtual reality veil?
Apple is working on a headset for virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR) applications. When you use a VR headset, your entire field of view is taken over by a virtual world. You can see this thanks to the screens in the device. With an AR headset, you still see the “real” physical world, but virtual items have been added by the device.
All tech giants are betting heavily on this future technology. Facebook’s parent company Meta even considers it the future of its existence. It is expected that Apple will take a first step in this world with the planned headset.
We won’t be able to see the device at WWDC 2022, because it makes sense that Apple would dedicate a separate event to it. Well known technology news site Tweakers That Apple wants to register the trade name for its operating system. So there is an opportunity to tell us that the show will be called Virtual Reality.
A new Mac or two?
According to Gorman, it is reasonable to suspect that two new Mac computers will be presented at WWDC 2022. The first is a new model of MacBook Air. In 2020, this laptop was one of the first Apple devices to have the M1 self-designed processor. The Air had to deal with the same design as previous models. Like the MacBook Pro and iMac, the Air is expected to look very different. It will also be the first computer with an Apple Silicon M2 processor.
The elephant in the room is a Mac Pro. It’s the most powerful and affordable computer in Apple’s lineup, aimed at the most demanding professionals. In addition to computing power, the promise of the Mac Pro is also modular: As an owner, you can relatively easily replace parts yourself and adjust the hardware to your liking.
However, the great innovation of Apple Silicon is that the processor, graphics card, and working memory are all grouped together. So you can’t add extra RAM after that. The way Apple will solve this problem is the issue of coffee sediment, but the Mac Pro is the only model that doesn’t use Apple Silicon yet. The developer conference is the perfect place to announce news about it.
apple for thirst
In addition to iOS, all other Apple operating systems will also receive an update. At WWDC 2022, Gurman will anticipate information about iPadOS multitasking, more tvOS smart home capabilities, and watchOS’ battery saving feature. MacRumors writes that macOS version 13 will be called “Mammoth”. Apps like Messages, Mail, Notes, and Safari will get a new paint job.
We may not be able to see this
Don’t expect any new iPhones on Monday. Apple always holds that at a separate press conference in the fall. In addition, the tech giant has already released the iPhone SE in March. The same goes for your beloved smartphone’s accessories: There’s no new Apple Watch or AirPods, so…
It doesn’t look like new iPads will arrive on Monday either, although Apple can always surprise you with a small update to one of its Pro models. And finally, as mentioned earlier: the VR headset, which will have its own event anyway, perhaps this year already.
