Apple

Here’s what to expect at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference tomorrow

apple
Image from The Verge.

Tomorrow is Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference. It’s a big one this year – iOS 7 has given the iPhone a brand-new look and feel, OS X design is now headed up by Jony Ive, and Apple just bought Beats for $3 billion last week. So what’s actually in store for the Cupertino giant this year, and what can you expect to hear at tomorrow’s event? Keep reading our pre-event rundown to find out!

Software

iOS 8

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Image from The Verge.

Yesterday, The Verge posted an intriguing iOS 8 concept. The icons stay the same for the most part, but intermixed with them are widgets for some apps.

If there’s only one feature that the iPhone is missing that the competition has and actively touts, it’s widgets. Android has aptly named its widgets Widgets, and Windows Phone has chosen the Live tile monicker.

But iOS? It has some icons. The date on the calendar app even changes!

Apple will announce iOS 8 tomorrow, and if Tim Cook is smart, he’ll invite someone on stage to talk about how great and magical the new operating system’s widgets are. I can’t imagine that the design of iOS 8 will change that much from iOS 7, but widgets should be the most important feature to come out of Moscone West tomorrow.

OS 10.10

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Jony Ive, Apple’s senior vice president of Design, is also taking over the next version of OS X. It’s been rumored that Ive has totally revamped the design of OS X, doing away with skeuomorphics in favor of flatter, more iOS-like designs.

Apple’s Aqua user interface is long in the tooth; it was introduced with Mac OS X 10.0 Cheetah back in 2000. Since then, the interface has undergone very few and very minor changes. A redesign by Ive would place OS X right alongside iOS in terms of design, and that would undoubtedly cause a resurgence in sales for Apple’s traditional computers.

Hardware

iWatch

toddham_iwatch_all
Image from Todd Hamilton.

We have no idea what the final design is going to look like, but there’s definitely an Apple-branded smartwatch coming. There’s absolutely a possibility that it’ll be announced tomorrow, but it’ll take some time for the actual product to be released.

In fact, an announcement tomorrow makes the most sense for Apple. It would give developers the entire summer to update their apps and make them compatible with the iWatch in time for a fall announcement, which would coincide with new iPhones. Buy an iPhone 6 and get a free iWatch?

Apple TV

It’s certainly not very pocketable, but the Apple TV is overdue for an update. Last updated in January of 2013, the Apple TV is not aging particularly well: competitors like  Amazon have released their own set-top boxes, complete with vast ecosystems of apps and games, and enough horsepower to run them.

Apple may be gearing up to release an entire television set of its own, but until then, Cupertino’s little “hobby” is deserving of an upgrade to at least keep Apple’s TV interests relevant.

Conclusion

There will likely be some surprise announcements tomorrow, too, but this year’s WWDC is centered mostly on software updates. Apple has switched to a summer and fall schedule for software and hardware, respectively; that could certainly change this year, though, considering that Apple’s is going to delve into new markets.

Whatever is announced tomorrow, one thing’s for sure: it’s going to be a hell of a day for Apple owners. What do you want to see tomorrow? Let us know in the comments!

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Calob Horton

Calob Horton is an associate editor at Pocketables. He loves all technology, no matter which company it comes from. This unbiased view of the tech world allows him to choose the products that best fit his personal needs and tastes: a Microsoft Surface Pro, a Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and a third-gen iPad.Google+ | Twitter | More posts by Calob | Subscribe to Calob's posts

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