Every year, Apple’s WWDC conference is the best place to learn about the company’s up and coming products, confirm or refute rumors that have been passed around in the previous months, and perhaps hear Apple make one or two major announcements about the future of the company. Before things get kicked off on Monday, here are a few things you should know.
The first thing to watch is Apple’s Watch OS, which is distinct from its iOS and should be discussed separately during WWDC. A preview of the watch’s native SDK will go out the week after WWDC, so Apple will surely be making it a talking point next week in San Francisco.
The iPhone 6s also figures to be a huge talking point at WWDC. Rumors have swirled for months about the next iPhone, and many have their fingers crossed that Apple will make an announcement during WWDC. At this point, that doesn’t appear to be a likely scenario, but Apple may be gracious enough to give us some hints about what to expect.
A shot in the dark with regard to the agenda at WWDC is Mac hardware. The Mac Pro, as well as the non-Retina iMacs may be due for an update, which is why despite the lack of talk heading into WWDC, Apple may try to surprise us by releasing new hardware, or at least mention something that’s in the works.
Another rumor to look out for at WWDC is the possibility of Apple announcing a competitor to Spotify. Despite being a little behind their competition, there is plenty of reason to be excited about this rumor, which could very well be confirmed at some point during WWDC; after all, the company that created the iPod is always capable of being a major player in the music industry.
Finally, with rumors coming out about iOS 9, there should be something concrete coming out at WWDC. There should be security enhancements and a slew of bug fixes, in addition public transit directions, which will be a great addition for Maps. The iOS 9 should be a serious upgrade over the iOS 8, making it one of the highlights of next week’s WWDC.