Apple’s WWDC 2018 event: how to follow it and what to expect
Enough operating systems to choke a horse, new Macs, and Apple crossing the streams?
Apple’s WWDC 2018 event: how to follow it and what to expect
It’s time for WWDC 2018. Well, nearly. Apple’s event kicks off on 4 June, with a keynote you can watch at 6pm (UK time) – if armed with an iOS or tvOS device, a Mac running Safari, or a PC running Edge. (Sorry, Android users: Apple still hates you.) As for what we’ll see, Apple’s very tight-lipped, and employees rarely blab after the company stated it would have leakers arrested and then presumably catapulted into the heart of the sun. But here’s what we reckon might be unveiled on the day.
1. iOS 12 and macOS 10.14
We hear development focus in iOS 12 shifted from features to performance, with a long-rumoured Home screen redesign pushed back to iOS 13. Expect Animoji to infest more of your iPhone, Face ID to go horizontal in preparation for revamped iPads, iBooks to get a Today tab with editorial recommendations, and improvements to AR and parental controls. On the Mac, the rumour mill’s been deathly silent, bar rumblings about impending doom for 32-bit apps. One nugget, though, requires its own spangly heading…
2. Universal macOS/iOS apps
Marzipan. XKit. ToasterFridge. This top-secret Apple project has many names, but few public details. At the bizarre end of the spectrum, there are claims Apple will mash its two major operating systems together – or at least allow iPad apps to run on a Mac. That’s possible but it’s more likely developers will be able to work with one user-interface system when creating apps. That might not sound exciting, but provokes interesting thoughts. If an app can be made to work with macOS input devices and the iOS touchscreen, what’s to stop Apple bringing touchpad/mouse input to the iPad?
3. Smarter Siri
More wish-list than rumour, we want to see a major Siri update at WWDC. From a consumer standpoint, we get a lot of new ‘hilarious’ responses from Apple’s AI, but functionality and consistency remain lacking in key areas. Apple needs to as far as possible equalise Siri’s capabilities across devices. You shouldn’t have to remember what specific things ‘Mac Siri’, ‘Apple TV Siri’, ‘iPhone Siri’ and ‘HomePod Siri’ can do.
4. WatchOS 5
The Apple Watch’s app ecosystem has stagnated but the rumoured StreamKit developer framework would make it more independent, enabling notifications to be pushed directly to your wrist, and for third-party music services to stream audio to your headphones without the need for a phone. Elsewhere, it’s likely sleep tracking will be baked into watchOS, given Apple’s purchase of Beddit (the ‘Fitbit for sleep tracking’). We’re sure Watch wearers will be thrilled at being told they’re not sleeping well after a day of their wrist-based dictator nagging them to stand, breathe and move about at a moment’s notice.
5. Hardware hints – Mac Pro and a new Mac mini?
WWDC is primarily for developers, but the keynote’s increasingly used to announce hardware but it would be weird if WWDC went by without new tidbits on the upcoming Mac Pro and Apple display. Beyond that, our hope is Apple does something with the Mac mini. It’s been four years since Apple’s entry-level Mac was updated and it’s now an embarrassment compared to innovative rival systems. We want Apple to unleash a tiny, exciting, affordable box or stick that provides an entry point into macOS for the masses.
6. iPhone SE 2
Two long years have passed since the iPhone SE debuted, making it ripe for a proper upgrade. The obvious move would be to shove iPhone 7 guts into an iPhone 5 case, add wireless charging, and probably down a shot of ‘courage’ before removing the headphone port. But there are more out-there rumours, talking of Apple merging the iPhone SE and X – iPhone 5 form factor; no Home button; Face ID; a notch. This seems unlikely, but if it happens, we just hope Apple doesn’t call it the iPhone SE-X. No-one wants that.
