This year, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off tonight in the USA and there are a lot of rumours floating around.
It’s been seven months since Apple launched Apple Pay in the US, and discussions have taken place with several financial organisations re a roll out in Australia. Samsung has delayed their launch until later in the year.
There is every chance that we are likely to hear something official on it at WWDC 2015.
Some reports suggest that the 4th generation Apple TV will launch at Apple’s WWDC tomorrow.
We’ve been waiting since January 2013 for Apple to update its Apple TV, some would say 2012 (which is when it last had a significant update), and so it’s no surprise that there are so many rumours surrounding the new version of the Apple’s set-top box. The big problem for Apple is that a lot of content Companies will not give them exclusive content.
Hardware announcements are not usually on the agenda at WWDC 2015, but don’t discount it entirely this time round.
We’ve seen the company’s new MacBook line-up already, and the iPhone 6S and… Whatever follows the iPad Air 2 won’t be along until the end of the year?
What we are tipped see is an upgrade to iOS 9. WWDC invariably offers the first official glimpse at Apple’s next mobile operating system. It should come as no surprise, when they start rolling out new iOS 9 features which are needed with some observers claiming that Apple is starting to fall behind in the software OS stakes.
Early rumours have it that iOS 9 will skip any major new features (or at least, there’ll be very few) in favour of improving the stability and usability of iOS 8.
Early reports have it that Apple is in full-on bug-squashing mode, as well as focusing on boosting the general speed of iOS. It should also take up less space, particularly when it comes to installing updates especially on an overpriced 16GB iPhone.
According to recent reports, Apple is working on a system called Proactive, which will see the company taking on Google Now at its own game.
Apparently, it will combine the talents of Siri, Contacts, Calendar, Passbook and a host of third-party apps to enhance Spotlight and volunteer contextual information. It could also point out potential points of interest in Apple Maps based on your tastes.
Another possible addition seems to tie in with the next iPhone, and that’s the rumoured inclusion of Force Touch support. This would involve implementing pressure-sensitive UI elements into iOS. However, as this would tip off a major feature of the forthcoming iPhone 6S, we’d be surprised if Apple actually talks about this at WWDC.
Also set to be shown is new music service feature built inside iOS 9. When Apple bought Beats last year, it wasn’t just about acquiring the company’s garish headphone business it was the potential of streaming content to tens of millions of Beats customers after their own music service had started to wane.
Apple is expected to launch its own subscription music service based on Beats Music, a Spotify-like service with an advanced curated content element.
The new service will be called Apple Music.
UPDATED
Sony Music CEO Doug Morris has confirmed that we’ll be seeing the Apple Music service tonight. “It’s happening tomorrow,” he told VentureBeat.
What’s more interesting is the music label head’s related comments on pricing models. While he didn’t comment specifically on Apple Music, his enthusiasm for the new Apple service tied to his more general comments that he much prefers paid subscription models to ad-supported ones suggests which way Apple is going here.
It had been widely expected that Apple would not feature a free tier for Apple Music, with iTunes Radio instead continuing to cater to the non-paying crowd.
As to what Apple can bring to this already competitive field, Morris was quite clear: “Well, they’ve got $178 billion dollars in the bank. And they have 800 million credit cards in iTunes,” he said.
Equally unsurprising is the recent suggestion that Apple’s Beats relaunch will cost $10 per month, and that there’ll be no Spotify-like free tier, other than a rejigged iTunes Radio service with new human-curated channels.
What’s perhaps more surprising is the suggestion that Apple will revisit the failed Ping concept and implement a social network element into its new music service.
Apparently, only artists will get their own profile pages, while poor schmucks like us will only be able to comment on and like their stuff.
Apple Watch” This is the first WWDC to take place since the Apple Watch launch and what many are hoping to see is more native apps for the Apple Watch which is still not in Apple Stores and appears to be an area where Apple is getting slammed by reviewers.
Samsung and Microsoft both have Pro tablets so there is speculation that a new iPad Pro is in the making.
There have been numerous whispers concerning a supposed super-sized high-end tablet from Apple, but so far there’s been nothing concrete.
We wouldn’t say that we’re expecting to see the iPad Pro making an appearance at WWDC 2015, but it wouldn’t exactly surprise us either. It’s not unheard of for the company to turn up to the Moscone Centre with a high-end piece of hardware – remember the Mac Pro in 2013?
One recent rumour from a reliable source suggests that the iPad Pro will measure 223 x 206 x 7.2mm, and will ditch the usual Lightning connector in favour of the new MacBook’s USB Type C port.
There is also speculation that Apple has a big surprise up their sleeve so let’s wait and see what tomorrow brings.
