iOS 17 and iPadOS 17
It’s a given that Apple will show off iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 at WWDC. In fact, Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating systems are usually the highlights of the keynote. However, this year they may be overshadowed by hardware announcements, especially if the Reality Pro makes it onto the virtual stage.
That’s not necessarily a problem this year, though. By all reports, while iOS 17 will pack in a few interesting enhancements, it will still be mostly focused on housecleaning and performance improvements.
In other words, don’t expect the kind of big “tentpole” features that we’ve seen in the past few major iOS releases. Perhaps the most significant change will be one we may not even see right away; according to Gurman, Apple is rearchitecting iOS 17 to bow to the inevitable — allowing for the side loading of apps from outside the App Store.
Nobody is quite sure whether Apple will talk about that during the keynote. Still, it wouldn’t be surprising to see its executives try and get ahead of things by putting a positive spin on it to make it seem like it was Apple’s idea to embrace a more open app ecosystem.