Will a new iPad arrive at Apple WWDC 2017?

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Will a new iPad arrive at Apple WWDC 2017?

San Jose, California - Consider it Apple's version of Google I/O and Facebook's F8.

By Alvin R. Cabral

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Published: Sun 4 Jun 2017, 2:03 PM

Last updated: Sun 4 Jun 2017, 7:13 PM

No, September isn't the biggest month for Apple. But - okay, let's reconsider that a bit: it is indeed a big month alright, thanks to arguably the tech world's biggest announcement pertaining to some game-changing gizmo called the iPhone. The year's middle months, however, are also of equal - if not more - importance for the $800 billion company.
Welcome to the Worldwide Developers Conference, Tim Cook & Co's homecourt, where the best and brightest minds gather to strut their stuff, eager to get even that teenie-weenie slice of the technology market. Consider it Apple's version of Google I/O and Facebook's F8 - but, as CEO Cook says, it's the longest-running developers' event. Ever.
Of course, before Cook, there was some dude named Steve Jobs - who did nothing except propel Apple to the throne it's sitting on pretty right now.
Anyway, while the WWDC - which starts on Monday here at the San Jose Convention Centre in California - actually started in 1983, not much was pretty known about it from its inception until the mid-1990s.

1998 - Jobs makes his first WWDC keynote, showcasing Apple's desktop offerings and plans to take on Microsoft.2002 - Mac OS X 10.2 unveiled; mock funeral held for OS 9, indicating full focus for OS X. QuickTime 6 and zero-configuration networking tech Bonjour announced.
2003 - Power Mac G5 unveiled. Mac OS X Panther, Safari 1.0 and iApps (now iLife) suite introduced. First-ever iSight camera given to attendees. Advanced screening of Finding Nemo held.
2004 - First Apple Cinema Displays in 20- and 30-inch widescreen models launched, podcast support for iTunes demonstrated (iTunes was released at Macworld 2001) and Mac OS X Tiger previewed. 3,500 attendees.
2005 - Jobs announced Apple was leaving the x86 platform to partner with Intel. 3,800 attendees.
2006 - Mac Pro replaces G5, killing off the last PowerPC Mac. Ten improvements to Mac OS X with Leopard were introduced, including Time Machine, Spaces, Boot Camp, Core Animation and others. 4,200 attendees.
2007 - The original iPhone was released after being unveiled at Macworld earlier in the year. Full beta version of Mac OS X Leopard rolled out, Safari brought to Windows, EA announced more games for Mac and third-party Web app support for Safari on the iPhone discussed. Over 5,000 attendees.
2008 - App Store came with iOS 2.0, essentially kicking off the mobile app wars. iPhone 3G announced and Mac OS X Snow Leopard previewed. First sold-out event in WWDC history.
2009 - Marketing head Phil Schiller takes Jobs' place in the keynote as the latter was on medical leave. Upgrades for unibody 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros (released in late 2008) announced, while MacBook Airs were also boosted. iPhone 3GS (which came with copy-and-paste), Spotlight and MMS introduced. Tickets sold out two months before the WWDC began.
2010 - iPhone 4 unveiled with over 100 new features, most notably a revamped design and Retina Display. iPhone OS renamed to iOS, plus new apps introduced, including FaceTime and iMovie for iPhone. Tickets sold out eight days before becoming available.
2011 - Jobs' final public keynote before his death later in the year unveiled iCloud, iOS 5, iTunes Match and Mac OS X Lion. Tickets disappeared within 12 hours.
2012 - Cook takes over WWDC keynote. New models of MacBook Pro (one with Retina Display) and MacBook Air announced, plus previews of OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 6. Tickets sold out in 1 hour and 43 minutes.
2013 - Souped-up Mac Pro and MacBook Air models, plus refreshed AirPort Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme announced. iOS 7, OS X Mavericks and iWork for iCloud revealed. Tickets vanished in, well, 71 seconds.
2014 - The biggest software updates since the App Store's release were unveiled, including iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. For the first time, tickets were sold lottery-style via Apple's website. $25 iTunes gift cards splashed to mark the WWDC's 25th anniversary.
2015 - Apple Music debuts. Major new software announced, including iOS 9's new features, OS X El Capitan and the first big update to Apple Watch. Swift also announced to become open-source software to support iOS, OS X and Linux.
2016 - Deemed the largest ever edition for developers as Apple announced it would allow third-party developers to extend functionality in Siri, Apple Maps and Messages. Updates to iOS 10, watchOS 3 and tvOS 10 unveiled, while OS X was renamed to macOS with a new version, macOS Sierra.
It was also in 1983 that the legendary Jobs unveiled the infamous "1984" Apple commercial, which made its appearance in Super Bowl XVIII the following year and introduced the Macintosh, pretty much propelling Apple into the consciousness of the public. Oh, and Jobs wasn't wearing his signature turtleneck shirt back then; go ahead and search it on YouTube.
In 1998, Jobs - who a year earlier was brought back to the very same company he founded in his home's garage in Los Altos - gave his first keynote at the WWDC, which would later be dubbed as "Stevenotes", in reference to the hype he creates and the manner he would deliver his speeches. And since this was the pre-iOS era, Apple's focus was on its main arsenal, desktop machines, as well as its strategies with going against Bill Gates and the rest of his tech army over at Microsoft.
Things took a turn in 2002 when Jobs and Apple fully flaunted OS X - even holding a mock funeral for OS9 at the event. Since then, Apple used the WWDC to make major announcements for its upcoming products - most notably, the release of the iPhone in 2007 (though it was earlier announced during Macworld in January).
In 2011, Jobs' keynote at the WWDC was his last as he later passed away on October 5 that year. Cook took over, and the event has been stronger than ever, with participants eagerly anticipating what's next from Apple, evidenced by the following milestone announcements at the WWDC.

What to expect this year

Since we've listed down the WWDC's highlights through the years, why not give it a go with what's expected this year as well?
If past years are any indication, the WWDC's announcements are predictable - most especially on the software side. New versions of everything Apple OS - iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS - are expected.
But this time around, the hype is centred on hardware. And forget about Apple's resident products; there's one new thing that's making the rounds rather loudly.

MacBooks

Apple's portable computers are usually the hardware stars of the WWDC. It's rumoured that Tim Cook will reveal a refreshed line-up. The MacBook Pro will possibly have a RAM upgrade all the way up to a ridiculous 32GB (because, apparently, 16GB still isn't enough for some users), while the 12-inch MacBook is expected to double its own RAM to 16GB. Both are said to make the leap to the seventh-generation Intel Core processors - Kaby Lake - which pledges longer battery life and faster performance.
There's some credence to that: Engadget reported that Apple delayed shipments of its 15-inch MacBook Pros, bumping up the delivery dates to the day after the WWDC's keynote.
And for MacBook Air fans, there's no clear indication of an upgrade (although we hope there will be; so sad if li'l Air is left out).

iPad

If the 12.1-inch iPad Pro is too huge or the garden-variety 9.7 iPad (much more the mini) is too small for you, the long-rumoured 10.5-inch iPad Pro - courtesy of Bloomberg - could be unveiled at the WWDC.
And what's in it? The heir apparent to the 9.7-inch iPad is said to have slimmer bezels, a faster processor (A10X?) and higher resolution, somewhere in between the iPad and the iPad Pro. That's about it for the specs, although recent leaks purporting two never-before-seen iPads suggest that it could either (a) Wi-Fi and cellular versions of the 10.5-incher or (b) the 10.5 iPad and another one. Who knows? Well, well-known Apple tipster Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities says there is a "greater than 70 per cent chance" we'd actually see that new 10.5-inch beast.
And as for the iPad mini, it's either we don't see anything about it since Apple recently doubled the mini 4's storage. The rumour mill also has it that it may be ditched in the near future.

Software

Nothing much is known for macOS, watchOS (4?) and tvOS (11?). Apple, though, wants to go toe-to-toe with social networking giants (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat... everyone is basically on Apple's crosshairs) and the rumour that it's working on such an app may be brought to life at the WWDC. You know, the juicy stuff: shoot a video, do some nonsense, send and wait for the backlash, er, comments.
Apple's Jimmy Iovine - also a record and film producer - told Bloomberg that iOS 11 would include a new Music app with a focus on videos. Improved iPad support across all iOS devices is also being speculated to be announced.
As for Siri... jump to the next section.

A Siri speaker?

Yes, Apple's good ol' artificial intelligence assistant is getting its more-than-fair share of the spotlight with AI hogging tech headlines recently. And we've saved the best for last: word has it that Apple is working on a Siri-powered speaker to tangle directly with Amazon Echo and Google Home.
No design details have emerged concretely, but Bloomberg says audio might be a focus to one-up Echo and Home, so a virtual surround sound system (!) is being talked about. Oh, and there's even word that it could have ambient noise sensors, which automatically lowers the volume when someone's talking.
Who says only developers and fans are interested in the WWDC? Apple's rivals are sure to be glued as well.
alvin@khaleejtimes.com


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