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Business News/ Mint-lounge / Features/  What to expect from Apple’s WWDC 2016
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What to expect from Apple’s WWDC 2016

The discourse at the developers' conference this year will revolve around the logical evolution of different software platforms; new product launch or hardware refresh unlikely

This year, the focus will again be on software, and it is unlikely that we will see new hardware, except perhaps a glimpse of the 2016 refresh of the MacBook line-up.Premium
This year, the focus will again be on software, and it is unlikely that we will see new hardware, except perhaps a glimpse of the 2016 refresh of the MacBook line-up.

The annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off on 13 June in San Francisco, and the five-day event’s focus will be on the software developer community and the future of the beating heart that keeps all the Apple gadgets ticking over—software platforms such as OS X, iOS, watchOS, tvOS as well as the apps. And just like every year, Apple has built suspense around the keynote.

At last year’s WWDC keynote, Apple showed off the OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) for the Mac, iOS 9 for the iPhone and iPad, and the WatchOS 2 for the Apple Watch. Apart from the platforms, the News app debuted, so did Apple Music, the Maps added public transit directions in certain regions and the HomeKit as well as the CarPlay apps received updates.

This year, the focus will again be on software, and it is unlikely that we will see new hardware, except perhaps a glimpse of the 2016 refresh of the MacBook line-up.

Here’s a quick look at what to expect at the WWDC 2016 keynote.

Apple Music: Makeover is overdue

Chances are there might be wholesale changes in the interface of the Apple Music app, as well as changes to the tabs to improve music discovery.
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Chances are there might be wholesale changes in the interface of the Apple Music app, as well as changes to the tabs to improve music discovery.

With two separate identities in Apple Music and iTunes, there is some bit of confusion around music management. Apple is expected to make changes to the two properties, so that users are able to manage better the transferred music, purchases done through the iTunes Store and also the Apple Music streaming library.

The Apple Music streaming subscription service, which will complete a year at the end of June, has shaken up the music streaming space, which has rivals such as Spotify. But it is unlikely that Apple will do away completely with the music store on iTunes, because purchased and downloaded music still means better margins for Apple, because of the royalty payment structures for artists and fragmentation in the streaming subscription space. Chances are there might be wholesale changes in the interface of the Apple Music app, as well as changes to the tabs to improve music discovery.

iOS 10: Perfect 10?

Do not expect your iPhone and iPad to rock the next iOS any time soon, but chances are that we will have a glimpse of what the next operating system for iPhones and iPads will be all about. While the overall design language may remain the same, there could be improvements across the board—Apple Music will be redesigned, there could be a new Photos app, iCloud could be revamped to give users better control over the cloud storage space and the likes of the Safari web browser and the App Store could see improvements too.

The earliest the new iOS will be made available to consumers is after the annual autumn event (expected October timeline), when the new iPhone line-up will be announced.
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The earliest the new iOS will be made available to consumers is after the annual autumn event (expected October timeline), when the new iPhone line-up will be announced.

At present, the iOS platform works on devices ranging from 4-inch screens (iPhone SE) to 12.9-inch (iPad Pro) ones. It is also likely that Apple might draw a fine dividing line, and essentially have two flavours of the same OS, one for the iPhones, and the other for the iPad range, with unique and specific functionality in either case.

The earliest the new iOS will be made available to consumers is after the annual autumn event (expected October timeline), when the new iPhone line-up will be announced.

App Store: A new shop-floor

For an application store that hosts more than a million apps, it is not always possible to chance upon some really fun apps amid the clutter. Which is why, Apple is angling for an App Store revamp, to improve discovery and navigation. There might be some tweaking of the in-app subscription revenue structure (the share percentage between the app developer and Apple), but that will in no way impact the end user downloading an app and signing up for a subscription within any app.

Siri: Playing catch-up, but for how long?

There is also the rumour that Apple will bake in the Siri voice assistant into the Mac OS X platform in the next iteration.
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There is also the rumour that Apple will bake in the Siri voice assistant into the Mac OS X platform in the next iteration.

With Google (Allo and Duo instant message apps), Amazon (Echo assistant) and Facebook (DeepText contextual intelligence) making big moves in the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, Apple is now playing catch-up. But perhaps not for long. It wouldn’t be outlandish to expect Apple to revamp the Siri voice assistant, and give it the support of smarter algorithms. And this would be the perfect time to showcase the potential of the revamped product to the developers. One app that is in the perfect position to take advantage of the smarter Siri would be iMessage—a messaging platform, with additional capabilities for contextual suggestions, payments and a personal assistant in general.

There is also the rumour that Apple will bake in the Siri voice assistant into the Mac OS X platform in the next iteration.

iMessage: Destination Android?

The thing is, all the popular instant messaging apps are available across iOS and Android platforms. But Apple has so far kept the iMessage limited to iOS and OS X users. Albeit very popular among Apple iPhone and Mac users, it may perhaps be time to let iMessage spread its wings and fly. With Google pretty much intruding on iOS territory with its assistant powered Allo and Duo apps, it may be time for Apple to respond. And considering the expectation that Siri will get smarter AI capabilities, iMessage may just be much stronger in terms of features than had been ever before.

WatchOS 3: Mission for a smarter wristwatch

Apple will give developers enough time to get their hands dirty with the new code, before the expected Apple Watch 2 is unveiled later this year.
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Apple will give developers enough time to get their hands dirty with the new code, before the expected Apple Watch 2 is unveiled later this year.

Apple will most likely show off the WatchOS 3 at WWDC 2016. This is expected, even more so after Google announced that the next version of Android Wear for smartwatches will be rolling out in the next few months, and it has been a while since WatchOS 2 was released in September 2015.

There will be a bunch of interface and usability improvements, but the underlying theme is most likely to be making the watch productive independent of a smartphone—Apple now requires app developers to enable the Watch app to run natively without relying on an iPhone. By announcing the next watch software, Apple will give developers enough time to get their hands dirty with the new code, before the expected Apple Watch 2 is unveiled later this year.

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Published: 13 Jun 2016, 10:19 AM IST
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