Trending: News
Apple’s 2021 World Wide Developers Conference is June 7-11, so what can we expect?
After Apple’s announcement about another virtual WWDC, we look ahead to what we can expect to see at the 2021 show
APPLE HAS ANNOUNCED
THAT ITS WORLD WIDE DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE
(WWDC) WILL TAKE PLACE JUNE 7-11 AND WILL BE AN ONLINEONLY EVENT. The 2020 WWDC also took place entirely online so, although we had hoped for an inperson event this year, it’s not entirely surprising that the event has been made online-only again.
WWDC21 is a chance for the people who develop apps for your Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, iphone or ipad, to get together and learn more about the latest technologies, tools and frameworks in Apple’s various operating systems. So, while the content of the conference tends to be over the heads of the average Apple user (unless you’re a dab hand at coding in Swift), the event itself also acts as a focus point for Apple’s new product releases. Although new hardware rarely demos at WWDC itself, Tim Cook will want something new and shiny to announce as he opens the conference. So, the conference usually coincides with the release of new Apple hardware in its run up, as well as being a good opportunity to check out the new features of the September/october releases of the next versions of IOS, ipados, macos, watchos, and tvos. We might also get a few announcements about what the new products in September will include. There’s always a new iphone in September, and this year there’s a lot of speculation that it will include a new A15 chip.
Apple also announced that this year’s Swift Student Challenge, an opportunity for young developers to demonstrate their coding skills by creating a Swift playground on the topic of their choice, is now accepting submissions, so if your kids are into coding then see https:// developer.apple.com/wwdc21/swiftstudent-challenge/ for details. The Student Challenge is always done at the same time as WWDC, so expect to see the winners announced in June.
“We love bringing our developers together each year at WWDC to learn about our latest technologies and to connect them with Apple engineers,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations and Enterprise and Education Marketing.
“We are working to make WWDC21 our biggest and best yet, and are excited to offer Apple developers new tools to support them as they create apps that change the way we live, work, and play.”
Speculation is rife that we’ll see a brand new range of imac models in time for WWDC21. This month, Apple discontinued various imac models, which has lead to speculation that it is clearing the shelves to make way for new imacs fitted with the brand new M1 processor. The 512GB and 1TB versions of the 21.5-inch imac were
the latest models to be discontinued, in a trend that started with the end of the superpowerful imac Pro. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speculated that next-generation Apple silicon-based imacs could debut as early as the spring of 2021. Multiple reports indicate that the 2021 imac will see a major design overhaul and is expected to look a lot like Apple’s Pro Display XDR, with a flat back and much thinner bezels compared to the current model.
Apple is also expected to include a new, sharper mini-led display for better contrast and quality. But it’s the processor inside the new imac we’re curious about.
Apple is reportedly working on processors with as many as 32 high-performance cores, although the next imac will likely feature something a little less spicy.
This year’s WWDC will include announcements broadcast from Apple’s keynote and State of the Union stages at its new headquarters, online sessions, 1:1 labs offering technical guidance, and new ways for developers to interact with Apple engineers and designers to learn about the latest frameworks and technologies.
As part of its $100 million Racial
Equity and Justice Initiative, Apple is also committing $1 million to SJ Aspires, an education and equity initiative launched by the City of San José. Focused on enabling youth in underserved neighbourhoods to set goals and chart a path toward receiving a college education, SJ Aspires offers a scholarship program that educates students about their college and career choices, and provides individual mentorship to help reduce the barriers Black and Brown students face in accessing academic opportunities. This builds on Apple’s multiyear partnership with the City of San José and the San José Public Library Foundation in support of technology programming.