Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference rapidly approaches, taking place just next week from the 11th to the 15th. As usual, there will be a keynote on opening day of this conference at 10 AM PT. There are many, many expectations of what will be announced at this keynote, from rumors of a new iPhone and iOS 6 to new MacBooks and an OS X Mountain Lion release.
Join me after the break for a look at the most important rumors pertaining to this year’s WWDC.
15-inch MacBook Pros Might Get More Airy
A mockup of what a hybrid MacBook Air/Pro could look like.
It has long been speculated that Apple will soon be giving their MacBook Pro line a refresh with better specs and a thinner body — the latter will likely only come to the 15-inch model, according to 9to5Mac. Most reports claim that the larger notebook will start looking more like the Air, a significantly thinner alternative with less usability for gamers, video editors, or other folks who tend to need that extra two cores and 1 GHz of clock speed. The Air isn’t a bad machine, it’s just limited and there are still many highly-productive people out there who need to use a portable version of an iMac.
In addition to getting a trim, this newer revision of the MacBook Pro will also include a “jaw-dropping” Retina display (or not) and USB 3.0, which is notably faster than its predecessor. If the notebook does get a Retina display though, it’s going to need a better graphics chip as well to so hopefully we’ll see something from nVidia or ATI on board.
Almost All Macs Get Refreshed
The current line of Mac computers.
Another report recently published by 9to5Mac claims that Apple will be refreshing “at least four out of five” of their existing Mac lineup at the WWDC keynote next Monday. The MacBook Airs could get Retina displays, the Pros Ivy Bridge processors, possibly a higher-resolution iMac, and some unknown specification upgrades on either the Mac mini or Mac Pro — the specifics have yet to be announced.
Even though I only mentioned Ivy Bridge processors on the MacBook Pro, it’s very likely that all the Macs will get this upgrade since it’s the latest technology in processing. However, what seem to be the specs for a refreshed 13.3-inch MacBook Pro have been leaked this morning and in them is a reference to the new Ivy Bridge microarchitecture. In other words, it’s almost definite that we’ll see Intel’s newest CPUs in whatever Macs are refreshed.
iOS 6
This one’s a given since Apple always introduces a new version of their mobile operating system, iOS, in June at WWDC. Last year’s release was pretty big, bringing Notification Center, iMessage, Newsstand, Twitter, Reminders, Photo Stream, iCloud, Game Center, setup without the need for a computer, and more. Interestingly enough, Apple is bringing many of these features to the desktop with Mountain Lion to unify things.
With iOS 6, it’s expected that Apple will introduce their own maps system, change up some of the user interface elements with some fresh new design, bring Siri to the iPad, integrate Facebook for sharing throughout the OS, “greatly enhanced” Photos and Camera apps, and more.
The “iTV OS”
The user interface in Apple's current TV box.
The Boy Genius Report has sources who claim that Apple will be demoing a new type of operating system — one for a fruity and futuristic TV set. Instead of showing off some actual hardware, BGR’s sources asserted that Apple is just going to give a sneak preview of what will soon be coming in the software portion of their “iTV”. It’s supposedly “much more feature-complete” than that of what’s running on their little HD TV box. In addition, apps are expected to be on this upcoming device, so Apple could start showing developers what to start experimenting with at the event, but this isn’t a sure thing.
No New iPhone
A fancy iPhone 5 mockup by designedbyITEM.
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll see Apple’s latest and greatest iPhone announced at the WWDC in a week because all reports are against it. However, if you want to wait until October to get a Siri-enabled phone, then you’re probably going to be in luck. Apparently Apple is busy working out the kinks in their next smartphone right now so they’re not quite ready to release it to the general public just yet.
And Now We Wait
The WWDC is next week, so get yourself ready. There will be lots of liveblogs of the event that’ll tell you everything you need to know about what’s happening, so be sure to check out top publications like The Verge and Engadget.
We’ll be doing some in-depth coverage of the event as well, so check back here if you can’t make it or want to read a roundup of all the important stuff that took place. See you on the 11th!