WWDC 2016: Apple’s launches, announcements and more

Apple has officially mailed out invites to its annual conference for developers, and that means it’s time to take a closer look at what we expect the company to announce or launch during the main keynote.

Apple used WWDC 2015 to unveil iOS 9, OS X El Capitan, and a new version of watchOS. It also debuted the music-streaming service Apple Music as well as Beats1 Radio. It’s therefore safe to say we’ll see iOS 10 and a new version of OS X this year. We might even see updates to watchOS and tvOS.

Pocket-lint has rounded up all the rumours and speculation in order to paint you a better picture of what to expect, and we’ve added information about WWDC in general, including how you can attend.

Apple

WWDC 2016: What is it?

Apple holds an annual conference in California in order to showcase new software, software updates, and technologies. It calls this conference the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and it gears announcements toward developers.

WWDC 2016: When is it?

Apple confirmed on 19 April – following a tease through Siri – that WWDC 2016 will take place between 13 June and 17 June at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, where WWDC has been held for the last decade.

WWDC 2016: How can you attend?

WWDC is a popular event, so because of that, Apple opens ticket sales to developers through a lottery system.

Attendees are chosen randomly from a pool of applicants. Anyone can apply for a ticket between 19 April and 22 April at 10 am PST. Those who have won tickets will be notified by 25 April at 5 pm PST.

Keep in mind winners must still buy their tickets. WWDC tickets for 2016 are priced at $1,599 each. Also, in order to buy tickets, you must be registered members of Apple’s Developer Program.

WWDC 2016: Will Apple live-stream it?

Apple’s main keynote will take place on 13 June in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium at 10 am PST. You can watch the entire event in real time over at Apple’s WWDC 2016 live stream page.

WWDC 2016: What will Apple announce?

iOS 10

The next update to Apple’s mobile operating system is thought to be called iOS 10. We don’t know much about iOS 10 yet, but it could feature major design changes, as the look and feel of the software powering Apple’s mobile devices hasn’t received a significant overhaul since iOS 7 was introduced in 2013.

While iOS 7 introduced a new design, iOS 8 brought new features like Continuity and Apple Pay, and iOS 9 included more Siri capabilities, improved search, iPad split-screen multitasking, etc. We expect iOS 10 to build upon iOS 9. It might even have an improved Photos app, according to Japanese site Mac Otakara.

Apple will likely preview iOS 10 at WWDC, but it won’t be publicly released until this autumn (alongside new iPhones – so long as Apple remains faithful to its past release schedule).

OS X Fuji

Although Apple just started shipping OS X 10.11 El Capitan last autumn, rumours about the next system update have been surfacing since early 2016. It’ll likely be labelled OS X 10.12, for instance, but it also currently goes by the codename Fuji. Apple may stop referring to its Mac operating system as OS X, however.

Alongside its Earth Day 2016 announcements, Apple updated this FAQ webpage to explain to consumers how it cares about the environment and what it is doing to report carbon emissions, among other things. While that sounds boring at first blush, 9to5Mac noticed something rather interesting buried in the text: Apple used the term “MacOS”.

9to5Mac has also claimed that Apple’s next major system update for Macs will likely arrive this autumn with an impressive expansion of Siri capabilities. Siri, which debuted on the iPhone years ago, has expanded to iPad, Apple Watch, and the Apple TV, so it makes sense that Apple would bring the assistant to desktop machines.

According to Japanese site Mac Otakara, Apple is working on new versions of the Photos app for both iOS 10 and OS X 10.12. The Photos app for iOS and OS X will be updated with features to bring them up to speed with the now-discontinued iPhoto 2.0.1 for iOS and iPhoto 9.6.1 for Mac, respectively.

• Apple OS X 10.12 Fuji: What’s the story on the next Mac system update?

WWDC 2016: Will Apple launch hardware?

It’s not very common, but Apple has used past WWDC keynotes to announce updated hardware (such as 2014’s Mac Pro, AirPort Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme, and new MacBook Air). As for this year, most of Apple’s Mac lineup is due for a refresh. Plus, a second-generation Apple Watch has been rumoured.

WWDC 2016: Want to know more?

Tune into Pocket-lint’s Apple hub for the latest news and analysis.