WWDC 2021

WWDC 2021 News Hub and Live Blog: iOS 15, watchOS 8, and more

Chance Miller | Jun 7 2021 - 9:11 am PT

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Today officially marks the beginning of Apple’s week-long Worldwide Developers Conference. This year, WWDC 2021 is being held as a completely virtual event. During the event, we expect the introduction of iOS 15, watchOS 8, macOS 12, and much more.

Read on to follow along with everything Apple announces today.

WWDC 2021 schedule

WWDC 2021 will kick off with a special event keynote today, June 7, at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. This event will stream “directly from Apple Park” and be available to watch via Apple’s website, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, and YouTube. Here’s how to watch the WWDC 2021 keynote:

How to watch Apple’s WWDC keynote on iPhone, Mac, Apple TV, and the web

Following the WWDC 2021 keynote, Apple Music is holding a special event focused on Spatial Audio. This event will be held today, June 7, at 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET. Details on this event are slim, as it was only announced this weekend via a teaser video posted to Apple Music.

Rounding out today, Apple will hold its annual Platforms State of the Union address. This will take place at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on June 7 and will be available via the Apple Developer app and Apple Developer website.

Throughout the week, Apple will debut a variety of different sessions and labs for developers. These will give developers “unprecedented access to Apple engineers and designers,” the company says.

Finally, on June 10 at 2.m. PT/5 p.m. ET, Apple will hold its Apple Design Awards presentation. You can view the finalists for the 2021 Apple Design Awards right here.

What to expect at WWDC 2021

At WWDC 2021 this year, we expect Apple to announce the future of its software platforms including iOS 15, watchOS 8, iPadOS 15, and more. There have been some rumors of new hardware, but last-minute leaks seem to downplay that new MacBook Pros will be announced.

News hub

Live blog

New updates added to the top, refresh for more…

That’s a wrap! Stay tuned for more on 9to5Mac throughout the rest of the week.
Now we’re back to Tim Cook for a wrap up: developer betas coming later today, public beta in July, and general releases in the fall
Xcode Cloud support for developers, TestFlight is coming to the Mac
In-App Events Events support
Developers can create multiple custom product pages for testing different designs, screenshots, and more. A/B testing for App Store product pages, basically.
Onto the App Store
Now talking new developer features, Swift updates, API, and more
And here’s the full slide for macOS Monterey:

Safari extensions are also coming to iPad and iPhone for the first time
macOS Monterey includes a new Safari design, which is also coming to iPad and iPhone
Shortcuts comes to the Mac
AirPlay to Mac: Play and present anything to your Mac’s display

Universal Control is a new feature that lets you use a single keyboard and mouse to move between your Mac and iPad. You can also switch between two Macs.
macOS Monterey naming confirmed
macOS time

Package detection for HomeKit cameras
Home app on watchOS 8 has been redesigned
Siri is coming to third-party devices, available starting later this year
HomePod mini coming to Austria, Ireland, and New Zealand later this month and to Italy later this year.
HomePod mini can be set as output for Apple TV beginning this fall
SharePlay also coming to Apple TV for watch parties
New features for Home

New design for voice and text responding, support for sending GIFs
watchOS 8 includes new photos features: new watch face, easier sharing features, and more.
New categories in the Workouts app: tai chi and pilates, new content for Apple Fitness+ including artists series
New health features for Apple Watch: respiratory rate monitoring while sleeping, updates to the Breathe app, Mindful moments for reflections. New Mindfulness app.
Now it’s time for watchOS 8

You can now share Health data with family members, helpful for monitoring an elderly family member or a kid. “A powerful new way to stay connected to the wellbeing of ones you love.”
New sharing features for sending data to your physician in a secure way
Trends allows you to see more data about your health over time
New features for analyzing your lab data in the Health app
New Walking Steadiness feature that analyzes your risk of falling
Health app updates
iCloud+ combines “everything you love about iCloud with some great new features.” The new features are Private Relay, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video.
Legacy contacts: for when you pass away, your iCloud account can be accessed by chosen people
Recovery contact list: if you forget your iCloud password, you can call a recovery contact to get back into your account.
iCloud updates
Siri has added a new offline mode with more powerful on-device processing
Now talking Privacy features: new Mail Tracking Transparency feature that lets you choose whether to allow tracking pixels. You can hide your IP address and locations, so marketers can’t know when you open an email.

Swift Playgrounds now allows you to build apps on the iPad
iPadOS 15 includes the Translate application, system-wide translation support
Notes is now a system-wide window with a new Quick Notes feature

iPadOS 15 also includes keyboard shortcuts for multitasking.
iPadOS 15 includes a new multitasking control design. This adds a new icon to the top of all applications, making it easy to launch Slide Over and Split View. There’s a new Shelf feature for saving workspaces.

iPadOS 15 brings widgets to the Home Screen as well as App Library
Now it’s time for iPadOS 15: Making iPadOS more intuitive and more capable
Separation Alert will let you know when you accidentally leave your AirPods behind
Spatial audio coming to tvOS and M1 Macs
AirPods Pro and AirPods Max now integrate with the Find My application including with a new Precision Finding feature

Now we’re talking about new features for AirPods. Conversation boost is a new feature to focus on who’s talking to you without the ambient noise
Identify cards are coming to Apple Wallet later this year, encrypted and safely stored in the Secure Enclave
Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey is here to talk us through new features in the Wallet app.

iOS 15 includes new FaceTime features, upgrades to notifications, photos, and more.
Apple unveils iOS 15 with new FaceTime features and more
Craig Federighi now on stage to present what’s new in iOS 15
Cook is detailing Apple’s commitment to developers
Tim Cook is on stage at Steve Jobs Theater, speaking to an audience of Animoji
And we’re off…beginning with a rather odd video in which developers are imagining different ways to open the WWDC 2021 keynote
The stream is now live in Apple’s TV app and on Appel’s website.
While some rumors had indicated new MacBook Pros could be announced today, a last-minute leak downplays that possibility. Boo.
Tim Cook is getting into the spirit on Twitter: