Quicktake: What to expect from Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference

Apple is set to host its five-day annual developer conference from June 7.

The online event, with a tagline 'glow and behold', will be live streamed on the company's website and other platforms from its headquarters in Cupertino, California.

“Building on the record-breaking participation and learnings from last year’s online conference, WWDC21 is an opportunity for developers to learn about the new technologies, tools, and frameworks,” Apple said in a statement.

“WWDC21 will offer unique insight into the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS."

Here is what the iPhone maker is expected to introduce to the market during the event.

New iOS and iPadOS

Apple is not expected to launch new iPhones and iPads before September. But the company will most likely reveal its next operating systems, reportedly called iOS 15 for phones and iPadOS 15 for tablets, at the event.

Apple could also offer more tools for home screen customisation and a redesign of its App Store.

First glimpse of Apple Glasses

Apple is reportedly providing a first glimpse of its much-awaited augmented and virtual reality headset, Apple Glasses – a product that has been in the development pipeline for many years.

This will be Apple's foray into the augmented reality devices segment, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who closely follows the company, said in a research note to clients. Apple's AR/VR product roadmap will be rolled out in the next few years. A helmet type equipment will be revealed by next year, glasses in next four years and contact lenses will be introduced by 2030–2040, he added.

“We foresee that the helmet product will provide AR and VR experiences, while glasses and contact lens ... are more likely to focus on AR applications," Mr Kuo said.

Update on Apple Watch

Apple usually unveils the latest software for its smartwatches during the developers conference every year. It is expected to release the trial version of the new WatchOS for developers that will be followed by public betas. Industry experts expect the new software, likely to be called WatchOS 8, to add new health monitoring tools and sleep tracking features to the device.

Apple has a clear leadership in the smartwatch industry, with the iPhone maker having a 40 per cent share of the global smartwatch sales in 2020. It was followed by Samsung (10 per cent) and Huawei (8 per cent), according to Counterpoint Research. The company sold 33.9 million smartwatches last year, up 19 per cent from last year.

Second-generation M2 chips for Macs

Apple is expected to reveal the second-generation of its in-house chips, the M2, for desktop computers. In November, it announced plans to introduce a laptop with its own silicon chips, ending a 16-year partnership with Intel. Last month, it rolled out its first iMac line-up with a processor developed in-house, the M1. It will update the market on MacOS during the developers' conference.

How to watch Apple’s developer conference?

Live streaming will be available through apple.com, the Apple Developer app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, and YouTube. Users can also access the on-demand playback available after the conclusion of the stream.

More than 200 sessions and video collections will be posted each day, the company said. Users can also get one-on-one guidance on how to implement Apple technologies, design principles and manage their app on the App Store.