WWDC

KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has made a few more predictions about what we’ll see from Apple in the near future. According to a new KGI research note, Apple could potentially release cheaper versions of the iMac and iPhone 5s during its developer conference next week to accompany its software announcements.

Earlier today new references to an unreleased iteration of the the iMac appeared in an OS X developer preview, likely indicating the impending release of a new model. It’s quite possible that this could be the cheaper iMac referred to in the report. Despite the rumored upgrade, KGI has revised its iMac shipment estimates down, citing a slow PC market:

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OS X users digging through today’s beta update to the system have discovered what appears to be a reference to an as-of-yet unannounced version of the iMac. The model, dubbed iMac 15,1 could be shown off next week at Apple’s WWDC conference, where we’ve heard that there will likely be some new hardware announcements.

More specifically, the following lines were added to a power management file in the new beta:

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Rossenblatt Securities analyst Brian Blair is citing supply chain sources in Taiwan in stating that the iWatch has a round display, and is similar in design to the Moto 360 smartwatch shown above in a Motorola teaser image, but with a slimmer profile, reports Business Insider.

According to his supply chain sources, the iWatch will have a round face. Many people were expecting it to have a rectangular face, but Blair’s sources tell him it’s going to be round, like a normal watch …

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Earlier this month, reports emerged claiming that Apple was in negotiations to buy headphone and streaming music company Beats for $3.2 billion, making it Apple’s largest deal in history. According to a new report out of the NY Post, Apple has recently dropped the price its willing to pay for the company to $3 billion. It’s unclear as to what exactly caused Apple to lower its offer, but a report last week broke down a variety of reasons as to why the deal could be delayed. One of the reasons was a vulgar video from Dr. Dre, that apparently “freaked” Apple out. It’s also possible that a leaked report claiming that Beats only had 110,000 paying subscribers made Apple even more skeptical.

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(Thanks iOSVlog Daily)

Apple revealed today that it will indeed be streaming video of the anticipated opening keynote from WWDC next week, and now banners are beginning to be displayed through Moscone West in San Francisco where Apple’s developer conference will be held. The banners so far reflect the same design used in the WWDC promotional material for this year including the “Write the code. Change the world” slogan used by Apple. Apple has already revealed much of the schedule for its developer conference next week where the next versions of OS X and iOS will be revealed including the keynote announcement set to take place on Monday, June 2nd at 10 am Pacific/1 pm Eastern.
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Apple has updated its website to announce that it will be live streaming next week’s WWDC Keynote address for all to watch. As per usual, the event will be available on Macs running Safari 4 or later, iOS Devices running iOS 4.2 or later, Windows machines running Quicktime 7, and via an application on the Apple TV. The event kicks off at 10AM Pacific/1PM Eastern time on Monday, June 2nd. Apple says that it has “exciting announcements” in store for the event (as it says for all of its events), which is likely to include talk of iOS 8 with Healthbook, a redesigned OS X 10.10, and new hardware products. We’ll be on hand live to bring you the latest news from the conference.

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It’s the 21st Century: weren’t we all supposed to be living in automated homes by now? Where we walk in the door after a long day to have our home playing some soothing music, informing us that it’s run us a bath and that dinner will be ready in 45 minutes? Where a robot has done the cleaning, changed the flowers, accepted a parcel that arrived while we were at work and fed the cat?

That dream seems to be a long time coming. I’m a reasonably techy guy who loves the idea of home automation, yet even I only have three examples in my home (which I’ll mention along the way). Most mass-market consumers haven’t even noticed that the products exist, and the few who have tend to view it all as too complicated or fiddly.

If anyone can change that perception, it’s Apple. Which is why the Financial Times report yesterday that Apple is working on a new approach to home automation that may be unveiled at WWDC next week caught my attention … 
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According to a report from The Financial Times, Apple is working on a new software platform that would “turn the iPhone into a remote control for lights, security systems and other household appliances.” Apple’s iOS ecosystem is of course already home to an increasing number of connected products for the home like the Philips Hue WiFi connected light bulbs, the Nest thermostat and a number of iPhone controlled appliances, but the report claims that Apple will soon unveil a new central platform that will make for a more seamless experience:
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Slipping shipping times for iMacs on Apple’s site may support a timeline released last month by KGI Research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicating that new, lower-cost iMacs could be launched this quarter.

Apple usually quotes 24 hours for delivery of standard-configuration iMacs, but is currently showing 3-5 business days across the range. Increased shipping times are sometimes an indication of lower or sporadic stocks, which tend to precede the launch of new models. With WWDC just one week away, that would be a logical time to announce them … 
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Besides a slew of events focused squarely on the technical side of developing and designing applications for iOS 8 and OS X 10.10, Apple, this year, will be holding a pair of interesting events over the course of the first week of June at WWDC.

On Wednesday June 4th from 4:30 to 5:30 PM Pacific Time, an event called Women in Technology Get Together will take place. This important event will discuss “the increased participation of women in technology,” the schedule in the updated WWDC app reads. Apple is making a point to further involve women in the conference this year, even announcing that the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) will provide scholarships for women to attend WWDC:

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With WWDC less than two weeks away now, Apple has released WWDC 2.0 for iPhone and iPad today on the App Store. The update revamps the user interface to reflect the design changes introduced with iOS 7 at last year’s WWDC conference. The update also includes a new icon to reflect the design changes: from dark purple to bright orange. The update also includes the latest schedule for this year’s conference (or as much as it will reveal) so developers attending the conference will want to download and reference it soon.

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Apple today has enhanced its iWork suite of iCloud apps to include much improved collaboration, new document options, and more file storage. iWork includes the Pages word processor, Keynote presentation maker, and Numbers spreadsheet manager, and it is likely that supporting apps for iOS and OS X will become available in the near future…

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Following the presumed acquisition of Beats, Apple plans to up its music game with support for high-resolution audio files in a revamped Music app in iOS 8, and to offer a higher-quality version of its In-Ear Headphones, reports Japanese blog Macotakara. 

The source of the high-res audio rumor appears somewhat circumstantial, linked to a Warner Music post about the forthcoming release of a ‘Super Deluxe’ version of three remastered early Led Zeppelin albums in 96kHz/24-bit form – a resolution the current iOS Music app cannot play. It is, however, consistent with a similar earlier rumor regarding iTunes support for higher-quality audio … 
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The newest reports from Taiwanese media indicate that the iPhone 6 could possibly be revealed in August, not September. According to these rumors, the smaller, 4.7-inch model could be available for purchase the same month, with the larger 5.5-inch version going on sale in September—the month in which most rumors had originally predicted the reveal.

As we’ve previously reported, the next iPhone will likely be available in two versions, each with a different size screen larger than the current 4-inch iPhone 5s. Both phones will feature sapphire displays, which Apple recently began manfucaturing in China using sapphire crystal processed at its new Mesa, AZ facility.

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Apple has just started sending out emails to WWDC student scholarship winners informing that they are now eligible to this year’s conference free of charge. Steps for claiming a ticket will be arriving in winners’ inboxes soon. Those who didn’t win a ticket are also being notified.

Apple notified winners in the ticket lottery earlier this month that they would have a week to purchase a ticket to the event for $1,599. After that time expired, a number of developers were told that they had been selected for a chance to buy unclaimed tickets.

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If you didn’t get a chance to buy a WWDC ticket in the lottery last week, you might just get another chance soon. Developers who won were given until April 14 to buy a slot at the conference, but not all of them took advantage of the opportunity.

Now Apple is reportedly reaching out to developers who didn’t win the lottery and offering them a chance to buy unclaimed tickets. Some developers are starting to get phone calls from the company informing them that they have been randomly selected to buy one of the tickets that winners failed to claim before the 14th.

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Apple has just sent out emails notifying entrants in the WWDC ticket lottery whether they won a chance to purchase a $1,599 ticket to the conference. Winners will be able to purchase a ticket to the event before April 14th. The conference kicks off on June 2nd and runs through the 6th.

Those who didn’t win a spot haven’t gotten any notification from the company (Update: rejection emails going out now, see below). Those unable to buy a ticket will have to settle for watching the stream of the keynote presentation and recorded videos of the sessions after they happen. If you just want to read all of the announcements early, why not check out 9to5Mac‘s roundup of what to expect this June?

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While Apple only officially announced its 2014 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) last week, we have been reporting all of the known information about what Apple plans to unveil at the event over the course of the past few months. Now that WWDC is official, we have compiled a roundup of everything we know about Apple’s next-generation iOS device and Mac operating systems below, and we’ve also included some new tidbits not found in our earlier reporting. You can find out what there is to know so far about iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 below:

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