Apple WWDC 2021: iOS 15, new MacE-book Pros, and what else to anticipate

Apple’s annual developer extravaganza, the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), is developing quick, kicking off with the keynote presentation on June seventh at 1PM ET. Like final 12 months, WWDC can be a completely digital and online-only occasion as a result of COVID-19 pandemic, and for the keynote, meaning we are able to seemingly anticipate one other tightly produced video highlighting all the things Apple has in retailer.

While we aren’t anticipating any bulletins on the extent of Apple’s shift to customized silicon in its computer systems, which was WWDC 2020’s large information, Apple presumably has some notable adjustments within the works for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and its different working methods. And if the present rumors pan out, we may additionally see brand-new MacE-book Pros with the return of some long-missed options, corresponding to MagSafe charging.

Read on to study all the things we anticipate from the massive present. And don’t be shocked if Apple has a couple of surprises in retailer, too.

iOS 15 might carry enhancements to notifications and iMessage

We haven’t heard a lot about what could also be coming to Apple’s subsequent model of its cellular working system, which is able to presumably be referred to as iOS 15, however we may see large adjustments to notifications and probably iMessage, according to Bloomberg.

For notifications, you might be able to have completely different notification settings for conditions like driving, working, sleeping, or perhaps a customized class, and also you’ll be capable of flip these on as it’s essential to. You may additionally be capable of set computerized replies primarily based on which notification setting you’re presently utilizing, like what you are able to do now with Do Not Disturb whereas driving mode. Personally, I’m hoping iOS 15 will let me permit notifications from a choose few folks whereas silencing nearly all the things else.

As for iMessages, Apple is outwardly engaged on options to make it act like “more of a social network” to compete with Facebook’s WhatsApp, Bloomberg stated, however these options are nonetheless “early in development” and may very well be introduced at a later date.

Apple additionally plans so as to add a function that exhibits you apps which might be silently amassing information about you, persevering with the corporate’s pattern of including privacy-focused updates to its working methods.

For iPadOS 15, you’ll be able to apparently anticipate a serious replace to the homescreen, together with the power to place widgets wherever you need. And with Apple simply introducing the brand new M1-powered iPad Pros, right here’s hoping we see some new upgrades to reap the benefits of the brand new chip.

In May, Apple additionally introduced a lot of new accessibility features coming to Apple’s working methods, corresponding to enhancements in iOS to VoiceOver, assist for bidirectional listening to aids, a built-in background sounds participant, and new Memoji customizations like cochlear implants. Apple stated these options would arrive “later this year,” which suggests they’ll be included in iOS 15.

We don’t know a lot about macOS, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15 — however we may see a brand new “homeOS”

We haven’t heard all that a lot about upcoming software program updates for the Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, so we’ll simply have to attend and see what Apple is cooking up. One tidbit: macOS may very well be a “more minor” replace, Bloomberg says. That wouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a shock, on condition that the macOS working system received a giant overhaul with Big Sur final 12 months.

However, we may see the introduction of a brand-new working system referred to as “homeOS,” which was lately talked about in and later faraway from an Apple job listing. While it’s unclear precisely which units this OS is for, maybe it would work on Apple’s home-focused merchandise just like the Apple TV and HomePod Mini.

Photo by Alexander Kramer for The Verge

New, redesigned MacE-book Pros and a brand new Apple CPU may very well be introduced

Apple doesn’t at all times introduce new {hardware} at WWDC, however this 12 months, new MacE-book Pros appear to be a chance. In a May 18th report, Bloomberg said that new MacE-book Pros would possibly arrive “as soon as early this summer,” which may point out an announcement at WWDC.

These new laptops would have new Apple-designed processors that may “greatly outpace the performance and capabilities of the current M1 chips,” in accordance with Bloomberg. The M1 is already pretty dang good, so it feels like these new chips may very well be much more spectacular.

Apple is outwardly planning on releasing two chips for the brand new Pros. Both ought to have eight high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores, whereas leaving you with the choice of both 16 or 32 graphics cores. (By comparability, the M1’s CPU has 4 high-performance and 4 energy-efficient cores, whereas its GPU is obtainable with both seven or eight cores.) You’ll in all probability additionally be capable of spec the laptops with as a lot as 64GB of reminiscence, up from a max of 16GB on M1-equipped computer systems.

The new laptops ought to be provided with both 14-inch or 16-inch screens and people screens may have “brighter, higher contrast” shows, according to a Bloomberg report from January. The laptops can also have a brand new design with flat edges as within the iPhone 12, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in January. I’m curious to see what that design would possibly appear like in apply — I fear that the exhausting edges may very well be uncomfortable when you’ve got the laptop computer in your lap.

The greatest rumor is that the brand new design can also mark the return of among the ports and options that had been taken away with the now-infamous 2016 MacBook Pro redesign, together with a MagSafe charger, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot, Bloomberg stated in its May report. And, in accordance with Kuo, the OLED Touch Bar presently discovered on Intel-based MacE-book Pros will apparently be eliminated in favor of bodily perform keys.

We may see at the least one different new Mac

While it looks as if MacE-book Pros are the one new {hardware} we’ll be seeing at WWDC this 12 months, that hasn’t stopped another Mac rumors from swirling currently, and there’s at all times the prospect Apple may announce extra at its large occasion. According to Bloomberg, Apple additionally has “a revamped MacBook Air, a new low-end MacBook Pro, and an all-new Mac Pro workstation” within the works in addition to a “higher-end Mac Mini desktop and larger iMac,” all of which might be powered by Apple’s customized silicon.

The new Mac Mini might have the identical chip as the brand new MacE-book Pros. The new Mac Pro may very well be a beast, with processors which might be “either twice or four times as powerful as the new high-end MacBook Pro chip.”

And the redesigned “higher-end” MacE-book Air may arrive as early as the tip of this 12 months. Frankly, I hope that refreshed Air arrives even later. I simply purchased the M1-equipped Air and it’s top-of-the-line computer systems I’ve ever used, however I’ve a nasty feeling I’ll be first in line to purchase a redesigned and extra succesful Air anyway. (Especially if it will get the MagSafe charger that’s rumored for the brand new Pros.)

Apple may need dropped a touch about its AR / VR headset

Apple has lengthy been rumored to have a mixed reality headset in the works, and lately, we’ve discovered a couple of extra potential particulars about it. The headset could be very costly — roughly $3,000, in accordance with one report — although it may very well be filled with 8K shows, greater than a dozen cameras to trace hand actions and seize footage, and might weigh less than an iPhone, too.

While the headset may very well be a methods out, because it’s not anticipated to ship till 2022 on the earliest, a couple of suspicious particulars in Apple’s WWDC promotional photos might be hinting towards some type of reveal of Apple’s upcoming headset or the software program on which it runs.

Check out this picture under (that I additionally used on the high of this submit), which Apple launched alongside the announcement of WWDC in March. Notice the way in which the app icons are mirrored within the glasses — I may think about some form of blended actuality headset displaying icons in entrance of your eyes in an identical means.

Image: Apple

Apple continued that reflections motif with new photos launched in May — you’ll be able to see issues from the laptop computer screens mirrored in all the eyes of the Memojis.

Image: Apple

Now, these reflections may be Apple’s artists flexing their design chops. And if I needed to guess, given how far out a rumored blended actuality headset is, I don’t assume we’re going to see something about it at WWDC this 12 months.

But Apple has shocked us up to now, and perhaps these photos are a sign of yet another factor Apple has in retailer for WWDC.