Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) is less than a week away and in typical Apple fashion, little hard information has been leaked in the preceding days, even weeks, to its popularized showcase event. You’ve probably heard of OS X, iOS 7, a new iPhone 6, iPad 5, and iPad mini 2, among others, making appearances at WWDC 2013, but here’s what you can expect from Apple’s annual developers conference. Speculations abound have pointed to a collection of updated favorites as well as brand new innovations, though nothing has been confirmed by Apple and won’t be until the June 10 keynote session.
For developers who are unable to attend the conference, Apple refuses to keep you in the dark. They’ve developed an iOS app to help keep devs in the loop while they’re engineering on the other side of the country. The app offers live updates, videos, and photos of the keynote session, other developer exhibits, and real-time status updates of just-announced products and specs. Now you have no excuse for missing the slightest details of what Apple is gearing up for to be released later this year.
Leaked data indicating SKUs of an unnamed MacBook series with two configurations suggests refreshes of one of Apple’s beloved laptops. MacBook upgrades usually attract much of the WWDC limelight and if last year is any indication of what’s to come then expect big this here. The MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina display, last year’s big showcase, are two notebooks by Apple that currently fit the SKU description, the former available in 11-inch and 13-inch configurations, and the latter with 13-inch and 15-inch models.
Some sources are thinking the MacBook Air is set to gain an improved microphone system and better front-facing camera, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display could become slightly slimmer than the current version.
One of the more controversial, as far as Apple loyalists are concerned anyway, is centered around Apple’s soon-to-be flagship mobile operating system, iOS 7. VP of Industrial Design Jony Ive is leading the charge with new iOS interfaces after ousting iOS Chief Scott Forstall last year in favor of a “flatter” design. Forstall was intent on keeping iOS’s typical glitzy, glamorous user interface though Ive, who was hand-picked by skeumorphics fanatic Steve Jobs, opted to take iOS 7 down a different road.
Apps and icons are expected to lose any feel of popping off the screen in favor of a more uniformed feel across all. Stock app icons like Music, Photos, Mail, Safari, Messages, etc. are all expected be color coded with a white base. Along the same lines is a texture-less default background, though Apple users can expect panoramic wallpaper that pans as the home screen is swiped. Similarly, Game Center has been stripped of green felt while Newsstand has been tweaked to remove the wood-shelf interface.
Among the alleged updates to iOS and OS X are for Siri, iCloud and iRadio. Siri has already received updates that inform the user to shorten their question if necessary, making it easier for Siri to pinpoint keywords and phrases for the most accurate response and will even include a snide quote to tell you to tone your question down when applicable. Siri will likey receive another update for it to compete with Google’s voice activated search, which debuted at I/O earlier in May. Siri also defaults to Apple’s version of Maps when prompted for directions, which doesn’t bode well for people actually intent on arriving that their desired destination as Maps has been seriously flawed since the iPhone 5’s release last year.
iCloud has seen some security improvements as of late but they simply aren’t enough. With a sharp increased of cloud computing and cloud storage, cloud security must be on its A-game. Apple introduced two-factor authentication process back in March, adding an extra layer of security to its infrastructure but ElcomSoft–a service specializing in exploiting security flaws–says Apple’s iCloud fortifications aren’t enough. Keep an eye out for a security update at WWDC.
This past weekend Apple signed Warner Music in what appears to be a last-minute push to secure deals for a music streaming service similar to that of Pandora or even Google’s Music All Access. Fan blog MacRumors doesn’t expect Apple do unveil the unofficially named iRadio until late this year or even next, possibly because it needs to be developed for iOS 7 beforehand. Still, an announcement at WWDC or even sneak preview could be in the works.
Apple is definitely rolling out a next-generation iPhone, likely called the iPhone 5S, but its doubtful to make a WWDC appearance. If Apple plans on following suit from past events, the next-gen iPhone will probably have its own showcase later this year. The iPhone 5S i specs are thought to detail a 4-inch retina display with double the pixels of the current iPhone 5. Other than the fact it will run on iOS 7, little else is known. A low-cost iPhone is a different story, though.
Rumors have already begun swirling about an iPhone 6, thought its unlikely to appear until next year at the earliest; unless, of course, the iPhone 6 in question is actually the low-cost iPhone. A couple leaked photos of the supposed low-cost iPhone were leaked at the beginning of the week, though pics alone aren’t an indicator of when they’ll be made publicly available. The price will certainly be more affordable, allowing Apple to dispatch its popular technology to the masses, though a low-cost iPhone likely means low-end technology. Apple is not one to compromise the integrity of its products, so why and how the iPhone will be a low-cost model is still in question.
