New iOS features and updates for iPhone, Mac and the Apple Watch: What to expect from Apple’s WWDC 2018
From the long-awaited Universal Apps for MacOS, to the release of AirPower, here’s everything you need to know about what could happen at tomorrow’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
A glimpse at Apple’s iOS 12 is hoped for as standard, as it’s expected to be released to the public later this autumn and so developers will be needing early access around now. Rumours have ranged from further opening up access to the NFC chip inside iPhones to allow for features like door unlocking, to digital health improvements and expanded parental controls. In general though, iOS 12 is predicted to largely be stability updates and bug fixes.
The biggest expectation for the conference lies within Universal Apps, an update to MacOS that will hopefully provide support for syncing between apps on two operating systems. If launched, users will be able to enter an app on their MacBook and pick up from where they left off in the same app on their iPhone.
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Other potential releases include an overhaul of the Mac App Store’s design in a similar vein to iOS 11, support for Hey Siri and HomeKit, and an updated dark mode that will encompass all apps rather than just the menu bar and dock.
Elsewhere, while a new Apple Watch model is unlikely, popular suggestions for what Apple might unveil for WatchOS 5 include the addition of Spotify, new fitness features and a native Podcasts app. Most excitingly many expect to see support for sleep monitoring, after Apple acquired sleep startup Beddit in May last year.
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As for hardware, everyone is hoping to see the final release of Apple’s multi-device wireless charging pad AirPower, which was announced in a keynote last year, but has been notably missing from any Apple-related news since. And if AirPower is on its way, a wireless charging case for the AirPods can’t be too far behind.
If we’re lucky, the conference might also include some more information about some new additions to the MacBook lineup, as a new MacBook Air has been slated for release some time this year. A cheaper HomePod, under the Beats branding, has been hinted at by some, but is unlikely to appear.