WWDC 2022: New rumours, new OS software, and new devices
If you are an Apple customer or a developer, chances are that you have already heard of the Worldwide Developer’s Conference which is hosted by Apple every year. If you have not yet heard of it – the WWDC is an event hosted for third-party software developers that work on apps for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and basically every apple device ever. Though it is usually a chance for developers to visit the Apple Campus, the pandemic has turned it into an online event that only developers are given access to. It is typically a string of speeches, networking events, and workshops all hosted by Apple. While the event is centered around and hosted for developers, it is also a major press event that gives Apple a chance to put on airs its brilliant new software plans and technology for the world to fawn over.
This year’s WWDC is set to begin on 6 June 2022, debuting with a keynote speech that will be livestreamed on all Apple websites, YouTube, and maybe even Twitter at 10AM California time (which is 3PM for the Australian Eastern Time). WWDC events will go on throughout the week until the 10th. This year’s conference is said to have some in-person attendees while others will be joining online.
Source: Macrumors
IOS 16
One of the headlines of this year’s conference is likely to be the iOS 16 beta release by sheer demand for iPhones everywhere. The June release, however, is only for registered app developers and is scheduled to happen right after the keynote speech. Caution should be taken when installing the beta software for non-developers as its an imperfect version yet to be repeatedly tweaked, fixed, and updated to perfection. The public release is likely to happen in Fall 2022, along with iPadOS 16; the iPad accompaniment of the new OS, which is likely to have similar features.
MacOS 13
The MacOS 13 is another highly anticipated debut that will take place at this year’s WWDC. This is likely to be a follow-up to Monterey, and all Mac users are eager to know which California landmark it will take its name from this time.
Source: Macrumors
WatchOS 9
A new operating system for Apple Watches (watchOS 9) will also be revealed at the WWDC and is anticipated to bring exciting new health and fitness features, followed by tvOS 16 for Apple TV, the lowest profile operating system out of the 5 major ones run by Apple, at least for now.
An exciting new rumour has also been speculating an addition of a sixth big OS to system, called the HomeOS for Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini. These devices currently operate on a smaller OS with a less exciting name - the HomePod OS. This also sparks further rumours of post-launch features being added to the HomePods or the potential release of new HomePod devices, despite its discontinuation of the full-sized HomePod in March 2021.
Though the WWDC is mostly focused on software launches, the possibility of hardware product launches should not be ignored either. The most anticipated hardware release for this year’s conference, following the arrival of Mac Studio and Studio Display is the release of yet another MacBook – or even two! While Apple enthusiasts are merely anticipating and predicting, anticipation is also backed by trend since the WWDC has been more Mac focused, in the past, when it came to hardware.
Source: Apple Insider
New M2 MacBook
Rumours strongly speculate that Apple is to release a new MacBook Air with an M2 chip and a redesigned chassis as well as a 14-inch MacBook Pro, also with M2. The M2 chip allegedly has 8 CPU cores splitting equally into efficiency cores and performance cores, along with 9-10 additional GPU cores. In layman’s terms, the new M2 chip will feature the same volume of CPU cores but will have two more GPU cores. It is also likely to have other improvements including a smaller TSMC N4 manufacturing process. The new Macs are also likely to have new ports with MagSafe compatibility and hopefully a better FaceTime camera.
Two more widely anticipated releases are the new AirPods Pro and the new iPhone series; the iPhone 14 – although these releases are more likely to happen later during the year rather than sooner.
Regardless, MacBooks and other Apple products are set to be released in 2022, and according to Mark Gurman, Bloomsberg, it will be during the first half of the year.
