Everything You Can Expect Apple to Unveil at WWDC 2020
Credit: Patrick OrtolaniApple today confirmed it will hold its annual developer's conference in June. Because of the coronavirus epidemic, the company will invite people to join online for the keynote and not in person. Even though it'll be entirely online, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi teased that "WWDC 2020 is going to be big." WWDC is a developer's conference, so the announcements typically focus on software which this year includes iOS 14, watch OS 7, macOS 10.16, and more. Continue reading to learn about all the exciting things to expect this year.
iOS 14
A leaked version of the iOS 14 codebase provided a glimpse of some of the features we may see in this upcoming version of iOS. These features include the following:
New Home screen: A revamped home screen may allow users to view all the installed apps in a convenient list format. The list could be alphabetized and categorized so users can quickly find individual apps or a specific group of apps.
Fitness App: iOS 14 may include a new fitness app for the iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. This app will contain training videos that'll step the user through a workout. The app also will be able to track a fitness routine with support for indoor running, cycling, rowing, dance, yoga, and more.
Messages: Messages may get a mention feature that allows a user to tag a contact using an @ and the contact name. Another feature is message retraction that would let users "unsend" a message sent by mistake.
Default third-party apps: Apple may allow users to set third-party apps as the default app for email, web browsing, and music.
Augmented reality app: Apple is allegedly working on an augmented reality app that allows users to "get more information about the world around them." These AR experiences can be triggered by QR codes, iBeacons, or even the rumored AirTags.
Sleep Tracking: Sleep tracking may be coming to Apple Watch, and that data will be sent to the Health app in iOS. This health app may allow users to set up a sleep goal and could offer suggestions to improve sleep.
iPadOS 14
Trackpad and Mouse support: Apple may be bringing a mac-like experience to the iPad with a new trackpad and mouse support. iOS 14 on the iPad may support right-click, multiple pointers, and more. This feature likely will work with the rumored Smart Keyboard that may debut later this year.
Apple Pencil handwriting: PencilKit in iOS 14 may include a new feature that allows users to write with a pencil and have that input converted into text before it is sent.
watchOS 7
Rumors hint at some significant improvements to watchOS, which is expected to debut this fall alongside a new Apple Watch.
Share Your Face: watchOS 7 may allow users to create a new watch face and share it with others.
Infograph Pro Watch Face: Apple may add a new Infograph Pro watch face with a tachymeter.
International Apple Watch Face: There may be a new Apple watch face that will display the flags from different countries.
Photos Watch Faces: Starting with watchOS 7, users may be able to create watch faces from a shared photo album.
Parental Controls: Giving an Apple Watch to a child may be more accessible thanks to new parental controls that let parents lock down the watch as needed.
Schooltime: An extension of parental controls, schooltime lets parents limit which apps and complications can be used during certain hours.
Control Center: Control Center may be refreshed to include new toggles for sleep tracking and noise detection.
Architecture: Apps will no longer have an extension base, a deprecated watchOS requirement that bound watch apps to an iPhone. All apps going forward will be fully standalone.
Blood Oxygen Tracking: watchOS 7 may include support for measuring blood oxygen levels. It is not clear whether this feature will be found only on the new Apple Watch 6 series or will be available on older watch models.
tvOS 14
tvOS 14 details are few and far between. Rumors suggest Apple may be working on a new Apple TV 4K set-top box. Apple also may add a new permanent pairing option for HomePods that allows it to always connect by default to the Apple TV.
macOS 10.16
Details on macOS 10.16 are sparse, but Apple's next desktop operating system may be more closely tied to iOS than ever before. The most significant push in this direction may be the rumored ARM-powered Macs, which would bring a mobile processor to the company's notebooks and radically change the Mac platform.