“Apple is set to open up this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference with a two-hour keynote, and speculation is intense as to what might be announced,” Ewan Spence reports for Forbes. “From features and UI changes in the new operating systems, to updated hardware and potential new product lines, how likely are the rumors circling around Apple’s developer event this weekend to be true?”
“Given the Moscone West Hall already has huge banners with the number ’8′ on display, and iOS has seen a major version number jump at every WWDC since 2008, the big news would be if there wasn’t a new version of the mobile OS,” Spence writes. “Announcement of iOS 8: Certain. The question of what features will iOS 8 include is more interesting. Following a report in the Financial Times at the start of the week, the idea of controlling a connected home from your iOS device has gained a lot of traction. Indications are that the system will not be a full-blown application or a ‘total control’ option, but rather a process of certification and basic standards that would allow hardware to be marked as ‘Made for iOS.'”
“I don’t expect to hear about an Apple iWatch at WWDC, my thinking around an iWatch would be a consumer launch of any hardware alongside the updated iPhone in September. If you wanted a potential long shot for next week, how about the introduction of a wearables framework in iOS 8 alongside the home automation framework.,” Spence writes. “If Apple push the ‘similar but separate’ approach, OSX could taken on a flatter UI look to move it closer to iOS in the user’s eyes. I don’t expect Apple to follow Microsoft in a ‘one OS fits all’ approach this year, but giving OSX a more iOS feel will help to bring iPad and iPhone users into the OSX family, and will promote a cohesive ‘Apple’ look between disparate products.”
Much more, including hardware predictions, in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple will webcast their WWDC 2014 Keynote Address live on June 2nd starting at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT and, as usual, we will be covering with live notes. Check the MacDailyNews.com home page on Monday morning for the live coverage link.
Related article:
Apple to stream WWDC 2014 keynote address live on June 2nd – May 27, 2014