Prediction: WWDC 2021
It’s 2021 and this year is already shaping up to be the comeback year to finally have a light at the end of the tunnel and have some sort of normalcy come back into our lives. Although WWDC is fully virtual this year for the 2nd time in the row, I’m sure Apple will not disappoint in their presentation!
This year at WWDC, I predict these enhancements:
iOS 15 - iPhone is King when it comes to mobile devices, and sure the hardware is awesome, it’s really the software that makes the product shine. I predict we see even further enhancement with iMessage, App Store integration, security, notification overhaul, and more. Would be nice to see more battery metrics as well as further enhancements with MDM to allow IT Administrators to manage devices in a streamlined way.
iPadOS 15 - Can this finally be the year that iPadOS sets the iPad free to allow it to be the power machine it is capable of? With the latest generation iPad Pro running the latest Apple M1 chip, it only makes sense that we see the software unlock the true power of the hardware inside. I’m hoping we see external display support with multiple workspaces. That would be a huge leap forward, and I know directly from colleagues feedback that would allow people to be using iPad as their daily driver. I can also see this being the year that Apple allows XCode to run on iPadOS 15 giving developers the ability to create apps for iPad on the device they’re currently using. This would be a huge leap forward to allow developers to actually create apps for the device that they’re actually using.
tvOS 15 - With the recent launch of new Apple TV 4K and new remote, I’m intrigued to where the home streaming box will go next? I’m guessing we see it more as a focal point for home automation with Apple digging deeper into homeOS as a breakout operating system for all of our smart home applications and devices.
watchOS 8 - Plan on seeing more health features rolled out with the new beta of watchOS 8. This is a device that is enabling people to live a healthy life. On top of that, the Apple Watch is the most personal piece of tech that Apple has launched to this day. I can see Apple focusing more on mental health and perhaps even get into food tracking with direct integration from watch to iPhone to keep it approachable, fun, and yet attainable to hit your goals and continue to live a healthy life.
homeOS? - With home automation being such a relevant topic in 2021, this makes sense for Apple to break out their home automation app to a separate manageable operating system. I’m super excited to see this happen as I’m sure they will go even further with privacy, automation, encryption, and access control over our homes!
macOS 12 - Now I’m super excited about macOS. As this Operating System is what drives corporations and education for users main devices. I believe we will see and even deeper integration between macOS, iOS, and iPadOS with the hope of being able to further manage macOS via MDM and automated enrollment life Apple has done with iPhone and iPad. We can expect further security workflows with approving items on the system level, but also items that require user interaction. I also can see a few more native Apple Apps to be ported over to macOS out of the box.
….and one more thing? Although Apple rarely releases hardware at their developer conference, I’m going to air on the side of caution and say we will see software, services, and home automation previews today. Also we should see more enhancements to Apple Music and their discussed lossless audio. All items I’m super excited about, and can’t wait to see what they have in store for us!
All eyes on Apple once again! Tune into the live stream on Monday, June 7th at 1 PM EST/ 10 AM PST. Apple has already generated their YouTube live stream on their official channel. Link here!
Happy WWDC Keynote Everyone! 👨🏻💻📱🖥💻
Best,
-Joe
