WWDC celebrates its 30th anniversary. Will iOS and macOS finally be connected?

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The heat of Microsoft Build and Google I/O has not yet dissipated, and Apple WWDC is also coming. On March 14 this year, Apple announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (hereinafter referred to as WWDC) at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose from June 3 to 7; and, as in previous years, the main highlights will be presented in the keynote speech on the opening day.

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Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of global marketing, also said in an official statement:

WWDC is a very important event, where thousands of the world's most creative and dedicated developers and more than 1,000 Apple engineers gather to witness innovation and learn together. We are all very passionate about creating exciting experiences for the world, and we can't wait to share the next story with you.

So, what "stories" are worth looking forward to at this year's WWDC?

First of all, the major systems of Apple must be the most watched.

iOS 13

According to Bloomberg, iOS 13 is codenamed Yukon. Overall, the focus of this version is still on improving the stability of the system and the smoothness of device operation. The UI will not change much. The new system will also introduce a "dark mode" to reduce the power consumption of the iPhone's OLED screen. In addition, the gesture keyboard that is being tested may also debut at this WWDC.

In terms of details, iOS 13 has made innovations and improvements to many built-in applications of the system, such as Health, Screen Control, Reminders, Maps, Mail, Home, etc.

healthy

The "Health" application of the new system will better record users' daily activities, and the newly added "Hearing Health" function can detect the music volume in the user's headphones and the noise level of the external environment.

Screen Controls

Screen control will add a new feature to help parents better control their children's devices. During specified times, such as at night, children's devices cannot contact anyone except the parents.

Reminders

The updated interface will display multiple to-do lists: today's tasks, all tasks, planned tasks, and marked tasks; each type of task will be classified by different colors to improve user execution efficiency.

map

The updated map will be able to record frequently visited locations, such as home or work, and users can also add photos to these places.

In addition to the above improvements, some updates for iPad are also worth looking forward to.

According to MacStories editor-in-chief Federico Viticci, the iPad Pro is expected to gain mouse support; this was later confirmed by long-time Apple developer Steve Troughton-Smith.

Foreign media CNET believes that one of the main reasons for Apple's move is Marzipan, because the project allows developers to port iOS applications to Mac computers, so many applications need to be adjusted to be compatible with the mouse.

In addition, the iPad's multitasking interface and home screen interface will be adjusted.

macOS 10.15

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Marzipan

According to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a project called "Marzipan" to integrate iOS applications into macOS. At this year's WWDC conference, Apple may provide developers with a new software development kit to help them first transfer applications on iPad to macOS.

The shift represents an attempt by Apple to streamline its app ecosystem and will reduce the burden on developers, who won't have to write underlying software code twice.

Over the next two years, the project will continue to advance until the iPhone, iPad, and Mac applications are integrated into a single program that works across iOS and macOS.

Application

Applications such as Apple Music, Podcasts, iBooks, and some iOS features such as Screen Time, Reminders, special effects and stickers in Messages will appear in macOS 10.15.

External screen expansion

This new system may integrate the functions of third-party applications Duet Display or Luna Display, that is, using the iPad as an extended screen of the Mac. Users can directly obtain and view Mac notifications on the iPad, and it also supports Apple Pencil input.

watchOS 6

Currently, if we want to install new applications on the Apple Watch, the only way is to download them through the iPhone's App Store. However, this situation may change.

It is said that Apple is trying to integrate the App Store into the Apple Watch, so users can download applications at any time, making the device more independent; in addition, some new applications will also be pre-installed in the system, including Voice Memos, Apple Book (audiobooks), health functions (medication reminders and menstrual records), etc.

Mac Pro

Although WWDC is usually software-centric, according to foreign media reports, Apple has been considering launching a new version of the Mac Pro desktop computer. To this end, Apple has also prepared a new monitor code-named J290 that supports high dynamic range display.

Tom Boger, senior director of Mac hardware product marketing, said in an interview with TechCrunch last year:

We want to be transparent and open with our pro community, so we want to make it clear that the Mac Pro is a 2019 product, not this year’s.

For Apple, this year's WWDC may be the best time to launch the Mac Pro.

summary

As in previous years, system updates are still the highlight of WWDC. However, it is worth mentioning that this year is the 30th WWDC, and WWDC is the company's largest annual event, so this year's WWDC will surely present many surprises.

The contents mentioned in this article are all the predictions and expectations of various media for this WWDC. The specific situation will not be revealed until the conference is held; now let us wait and see together.