Apple‘s WWDC is about a week away, and the buzz machine is gearing up for what we can expect from the world’s biggest company’s big annual show for developers.
Though getting a lot of coverage this year is not so much what will be at WWDC but what won’t be. According to recent reports, there likely won’t be a big hardware announcement at this year’s show. Nope, this year seems to be about the small ball and the big updates to the various operating systems (four at last count: iOS, MacOS, tvOS, watchOS).
The big MacOS update includes Siri and, of course, the new name that brings it into line with the other operating systems in the ecosystem. MacOS’ photo system will also see an upgrade, and TouchID is coming to MacBooks, which could have some interesting applications for Apple Pay going forward.
IOS has one big change being whispered about — though 9to5Mac wasn’t willing to certify this as fact so much as an interesting rumor. Apparently, Apple Pay may just be on the verge of getting a new use, which will be transferring money via iMessage. Using its messaging platform for money transfer is not exactly a cutting-edge idea. Google has had this for quite some time. It is a big change for Apple and one that has been quietly drawing buzz for a year.
As for more concrete WWDC announcements for iOS, a design refresh is on the menu, with more color and an update to notifications. Photos are getting a big overhaul, with more filters (a la Snapchat) and more professional editing options in iPhoto.
Apple Music is also getting something of a makeover to more closely resemble its rival, Spotify, described by 9to5Mac as “a lot more black. More album art.”
Siri will also play a big part in the show and her power to help users toggle through and control music, texts, calls, emails and such. For iPhone, the Siri SDK will be released after a long wait over privacy concerns.
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