The Worldwide Developers Conference keynote for this year is just days away, and everybody is already obsessed over what will be unveiled their.
Me in particular, I can’t wait.
his year’s kick-off event at WWDC will likely have a developer focus, given the nature of the event, but there will plenty for everyone to pay attention to, especially if you’re a fan of iOS, OS X or the latest new Apple device: The Apple Watch.
Here’s a roundup of what’s likely to go down at WWDC this year, along with a few far-out wishes and some cold water for previously rumored possibilities.
— iOS 9
Apple will almost certainly use the WWDC 2015 platform to highlight a new major update for both iOS and OS X. The iOS update, the 9th major version of Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system, is thought to be bringing a lot of stability, performance and security enhancements to the platform. Reports have suggested it will be similar to OS X Snow Leopard, which was largely meant to refine the experience of OS X Leopard.
Part of Apple’s aggressive development cycle, which now pretty much guarantees big yearly updates to both of its primary software platforms, is a pace of new feature releases that can be at cross-purposes to providing a stable, bug-free experience. By avoiding any sweeping changes to the core OS experience like those we saw visually in iOS 7, and functionally in iOS 8, Apple might be able to improve the general consistency and quality of user experience, which is something many Apple fans and observers would be happy to see.
That said, Apple is unlikely to drop a major point release without introducing anything new – even Snow Leopard got quite a few new user-facing features along with its general improvements. Let’s look at what we’ve heard is coming in terms of brand new abilities and apps in iOS 9, which will mostly likely be available as a developer preview as of Monday, with a wide launch coming alongside new iPhones in September.
— Home App
Apple’s first HomeKit partners debuted their app early this month, and some of them started selling HomeKit-enabled devices right away. These work with Siri out of the box, letting you issue voice commands at home (or away, with a 3rd generation Apple TV) to do things like turn your lights on or off. But housing all control just in Siri, with setup managed through individual apps, seems like a weird way to manage this new feature.
That’s why the company is reportedly planning ‘Home,’ a new dedicated app from which to view and manage your HomeKit-enabled devices, as well as arrange them in virtual rooms for easier batch control across devices from a range of different providers.
Home will also provide key guidance in setting up HomeKit and HomeKit accessories, and sounds like a key component in making Apple’s connected home play more user-friendly. It’s apparently being used in iOS 9 builds in testing with Apple employees, but might not get a prime-time showing at WWDC, depending on how ready for public consumption it is by that time.
— OS X 10.11
Apple’s next major OS update is also definitely coming at WWDC, and it will probably keep up the naming convention of the past two big updates, meaning it’ll bear the name of some significant place in California.
This is also rumored to be a primarily a stability update, along with iOS 9, but there are some potential new things coming, including a replacement of the system on with ‘San Francisco,’ the font used for display text on the Apple Watch. Another report suggests we’ll see a new Control Center panel accessible from the left edge of a 10.11 Mac’s display, providing quick access to the same kinds of features that are easily reached in iOS by swiping up from the bottom.
There’s probably more on tap for the next version of Apple’s desktop OS, but we’ve heard relatively little about changes there. It’ll be a key area to watch at the keynote as a result.
— iTunes Streaming Music
The big new media play at WWDC this year is thought to be the unveiling of a new streaming music service. Rumors suggest Apple is building a service to rival that of Spotify, complete with access to an on-demand library of content for a comparable subscription price of around $10 monthly. Apple has so far only taken a few tentative steps into streaming with iTunes Match and iTunes Radio, but this sounds like it could be the next big thing in online music delivery.
This service will be partly based on what Apple got out of the Beats acquisition, but it’s more about the relationships that were built for that platform than the tech behind Beats Music itself. Apple is reportedly engaged in last minute negotiations to make sure all the content arrangements are in place for this service’s debut, but the company has a way of making sure things come together, especially in this area.
–Apple TV
The Apple TV refresh was one of the things pegged early on as a WWDC highlight – until a report from the NYT’s Brian X. Chen doused it in cold water. New Apple TV hardware apparently isn’t quite ready for prime time, owing at least in part to Apple’s inability to get the proper content deals in place for the announcements it was hoping to make at the event.
and More. . .
WWDC 2015 (Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference) kicks off on 8 June
How to watch the WWDC 2015 keynote livestream on Mac, iPhone or iPad
This is easy: in the Safari browser, go to apple.com/live on Monday night and take in the show. You’ll need Safari 6.0.5 or later on OS X 10.8.5 or later, or the version of Safari that comes with iOS 6.0 or later.
How to watch the WWDC 2015 keynote livestream on Apple TV
It seems appropriate, given our suspicion that the Apple TV will take pride of place at WWDC 2015, to watch the announcements live on that device.
Start up your Apple TV and go to the WWDC channel. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.
How to watch the WWDC 2015 keynote livestream on a PC or Android device
Officially, the WWDC 2015 keynote livestream can only be viewed by those using Apple products: it’ll run on a Macs, iPad or iPhone, as well as on the Apple TV, but not on Windows PCs and Android smartphones and tablets. However, the canny folk at 9to5mac have pointed out that the universal media player software VLC can decode the livestream quite happily.
You’ll to download and install VLC from www.videolan.org/vlc, go to Media > Open Network Stream and paste in the URL:
http://p.events-delivery.apple.com.edgesuite.net/15pijbnaefvpoijbaefvpihb06/m3u8/atv_mvp.m3u8
Finally, press Play.
Other ways to follow the WWDC 2015 keynote announcements live
You don’t necessarily have to watch the WWDC 2015 livestream to find out what’s being announced. Our WWDC 2015 liveblog will appear on this very article on the day: we will report all of the news and product announcements and (unlike the official livestream) analyse their interest and significance for Apple fans.
You can’t expect detached perspective on the announcements from Apple itself, of course, and nobody should blame the company for that. WWDC is an event where, as well as speaking to its software partners about important changes to its platforms, Apple celebrates its own successes and sells itself to the world.
But we won’t be afraid to point out stats that hide less impressive truths, or to say when product announcements leave us underwhelmed.
—TC
—macworld
