What will Apple unveil at its event this Monday, June 13 to kick off WWDC 2016? Below we roundup the latest reports along with some of our own information on what Apple is currently planning for the keynote.
Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off Monday with the company’s usual press event to unveil the latest for iOS, Mac OS X, and its watchOS and tvOS for Apple Watch and Apple TV. While Apple’s WWDC keynote address often includes new hardware announcements, our sources indicate this year’s event will focus on mostly software with Apple spending more time on highlighting consumer facing features and updates to developer tools. And some major redesigns for Apple’s own apps including Apple Music, Siri, iTunes, HomeKit, the App Store, News and more will be areas Apple focuses on for iOS 10 and Mac OS X (macOS?) 10.12.
What to expect:
Siri:
Siri will almost certainly be a highlight of the event. We reported earlier this year that the company was planning a debut for Siri on Mac as a flagship feature for version 10.12, the next major OS release for Macs expected to get an unveiling at WWDC as usual. And a later report detailed Apple’s plans for a new SDK for Siri as it reportedly develops dedicated hardware for the voice assistant that would compete with Amazon’s Echo device and the recently unveiled Google Home platform.
- WWDC 2016 Preview Rumors: No new hardware but plenty of Siri
- Apple plans Siri for Mac as tentpole feature for this fall’s OS X 10.12 launch
- Report: Apple planning Siri SDK for WWDC as it builds Amazon Echo competitor
- Possible Siri for Mac icons preview OS X 10.12’s voice assistant ahead of WWDC
Tom Koszyk’s Apple Music Redesign
Apple Music | iTunes:
Apple Music was a big part of WWDC last year with its official launch, and this year would be an ideal venue to unveil the major redesign of the service currently in the works. We previously detailed Apple’s plans to overhaul the service for iOS 10 with a mostly black & white UI, ‘huge artwork’, lyrics integration, and more. And that redesign will also change more than just the surface of the app with changes to core features like Connect and more. And that also leaves a lot of questions for what happens with iTunes, which is also reportedly set to get an overhaul alongside Apple Music.
- We detail iTunes revamp in the works
- Report: ‘Major iTunes overhaul’ to be announced at WWDC
- Apple execs confirm iTunes overhaul in the works
- We detail upcoming Apple Music revamp
- Apple will unveil ‘more intuitive’ version of Apple Music at WWDC in June – Bloomberg
- Apple Music Connect social network to be demoted in iOS 10 overhaul
Apple Pay:
We reported Apple is working on person to person Apple Pay transfers through iMessage and it could make a debut at WWDC. An expansion to new countries is also expected sometime this year, as is mobile checkout for websites.
- Switzerland Apple Pay launch rumored for WWDC keynote day after promise to rapidly expand
- WWDC 2016 Preview Rumors: iMessage may get money transfers via Apple Pay
- Apple in talks to launch person-to-person Apple Pay mobile payments system in 2016
- Apple Pay could be coming to France this year as China launch rumored for this week
- Report: Apple to bring Apple Pay checkout to mobile websites later this year
iOS 10 | Apps:
Apple is working on a lot of improvements and new features for its own stock iOS apps in iOS 10, including the ability to optionally hide the apps from the iPhone’s homepage for the first time. Paid and subscription content for the News app, a standalone app for HomeKit, and Siri Remote features for the iOS Remote app are also features expected to arrive soon. We recently put together a roundup of all the rumored iPhone & iPad features in the cards for WWDC 2016.
- iOS 10: Rumored iPhone & iPad features in the cards for WWDC 2016
- iTunes metadata suggests ability to hide stock apps on iPhone and iPad coming soon
- Report: Apple developing support for paid, subscription content in its News app
- Report: Apple’s standalone HomeKit app could finally arrive in iOS 10
- Apple will require iOS App Store apps to support IPv6-only networks from June 1
- Apple details App Store changes including new subscription revenue split & search result ads
- Apple plans to bring Siri Remote features to the iOS Remote app in 2016
macOS 10.12:
It looks like Apple will finally give Mac OS X a name change to make it fit in with the rest of the OS lineup: tvOS, watchOS, and iOS. We had a few hints in recent months that the Mac’s OS will soon be “macOS”, but we’ll have to wait to see if Apple follows through. And on top of Siri detailed above, Apple is reportedly planning a feature that will allow unlocking of Macs with the iPhone’s Touch ID, something that would definitely make for a nice demo on stage this Monday.
- OS X 10.12 & Mac: What will Apple show off for Mac at WWDC 2016?
- Apple hints at future ‘MacOS’ name change on new environmental webpage
- Report: OS X 10.12 to feature support for unlocking Macs with iPhone’s Touch ID
Apple Watch:
As for the watchOS portion of next week’s event, there aren’t many rumored new features so Apple Watch might be the one area we’ll get a few surprises. Apple just started requiring all new Watch apps use the native SDK, and it’s reasonable to expect with Siri and Apple Pay being big highlights for the event that there might be some improvements for those features on Apple Watch as well. Person to person Apple Pay transfers via Apple Watch would make a lot of sense. And while new Watch hardware isn’t expected, Designer brand Coach is launching a new line of Apple Watch bands this month and it’s possible that collaboration and others could get a mention on stage.
- Coach Apple Watch bands get official as they appear on retailer’s site ahead of WWDC
- Apple will require all new Apple Watch apps to use the native SDK from June 1
iCloud
Apple received a lot of press this year over its iPhone’s security and the FBI’s attempts to force it to unlock a suspect’s device in a high-profile criminal case. One report during that controversy noted Apple was working on even stornger iCloud backup encryption and iPhone security, and WWDC next week would certainly be the place to highlight that incraesed security if it’s ready for iOS 10.
We’ll have full coverage of the event on Monday as always, but until then you can grab the handy links for live streams and catch up with our latest discussion and predictions for the event below:
Discussion:
- Happy Hour Podcast 070 | WWDC 2016 wish list
- Poll: What should Apple call the next version of OS X for the Mac?
- Feature Request: WWDC 2016 wish list for iOS, MacOS, watchOS, and tvOS
- Poll: What features and changes do you want to see in iOS 10 at WWDC?
- WWDC developer wish list: iOS & OS X, split-screen enhancements, Xcode for iPad, more
- Feature Request: Give Siri access to third-party apps, and (in time) much more
How to watch:
- How to watch Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote live stream on Windows or Android
- PSA: Apple will live stream its WWDC 2016 keynote on June 13 at 10AM PT
- Apple updates WWDC app w/ dark theme, first Apple TV version
- Everything you need to know about this year’s WWDC
WWDC events:
- Microsoft offers WWDC party to try to woo iOS developers to Windows/Azure
- Apple promoting developer community events in San Francisco during WWDC incl. AltConf
- Apple schedules WWDC 2016 scholarship winner orientation for June 12
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