According to Tencent Technology News on June 7, Apple WWDC 2021 will kick off at 1: 00 a.m. on June 8, Beijing time. Affected by COVID-19 's epidemic, WWDC 2021 will still be held online as last year, and Apple is expected to launch iOS 15, watchOS 8 and more services and products.

WWDC 2021 will be held online

WWDC 2021 will officially begin at 13:00 est (1: 00 Beijing time) on June 7. Compared with last year's event, WWDC 2021 returned to its normal time, but Apple still chose to host WWDC 2021 online. Under the influence of COVID-19 's pandemic, Apple postponed the launch of WWDC 2020 until the end of June last year.

A special event keynote speech will be held after the start of WWDC 2021 this year. The event will be broadcast live directly from the Apple campus and will be available to users through Apple's official website, Apple developer apps, Apple TV apps and YouTube. After the keynote speech, Apple will host its annual Platforms State of the Union event. The event will be held at 17:00 EDT on June 7 (5: 00 Beijing time on June 8). Users can watch the live broadcast through Apple developer apps and Apple developer websites.

Over the past year, WWDC keynote speeches have become the norm through a pre-recorded video presentation. The video is of high production value, including the beauty of the Apple campus, and a number of Apple executives and engineers will also show up.

In addition to keynote speeches and Platforms State of the Union,WWDC 2021, which will include the Apple Design Awards-- there will be a video segment this year-- will be held on June 10 at 17:00 EDT (5: 00 Beijing time on June 11).

Apple will also launch Pavilions for WWDC 2021. Pavilions is a new feature introduced by WWDC21 that makes it easy for developers to explore relevant lectures, labs, and special events around a particular topic. Attendees can customize their own WWDC experiences and view content organized for specific areas, such as SwiftUI, developer tools, accessibility, and inclusiveness.

Finally, WWDC 2021 will provide more than 200 in-depth meetings, one-on-one labs, and so on. Apple said this would give developers "unprecedented access to Apple engineers and designers".

IOS 15

As usual, it is expected that with the launch of iOS 15, one of the biggest focuses of WWDC this year will be iPhone. Although there were a lot of leaks about iOS 14 last year, Apple has done a better job of keeping secrets this year. Still, there are rumors that Apple might prepare something for iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.

Most of the latest details of iOS 15 came from a foreign media report in April. In this report, Mark Goolman (Mark Gurman) outlines some of the features that may be brought about by this year's iOS 15 update. A special focus for Apple will be the new way to manage notifications, the report said. The report explains that users will be able to set different notification preferences based on their current status, such as "work, sleep or custom categories". It is reported that the menu to access these controls will be located in the control center and the lock screen, which is said to be redesigned this year.

"there is also an option to automatically reply based on the status of the email," the report said. This will be an improvement on the current automatic reply function, which is currently available only while driving. Apple has added some unique notification features, such as do not Disturb and Sleep Mode, but this will mark the first time the company has provided a system-wide feature to change notifications based on user status. "

Apple is also reported to be trying to change the iMessage. The company's long-term goal is to make iMessage "more like a social network", similar to WhatsApp. But it's not clear what new features Apple will introduce this year.

Apple will also continue to focus on privacy through the new features of iOS 15. According to reports, the company is developing a feature that will "show users which apps are quietly collecting their data." Just a few months ago, Apple officially launched iOS 14.5's app tracking transparency. IOS 15 will also include built-in support for food tracking in health apps, according to a separate report. This may be similar to third-party applications, such as those already provided by MyFitnessPal and FoodNoms, but integrated into the operating system. There are other rumors that a redesigned control center and dual-biological certification support may be launched this year.

Interestingly, Apple has announced some new Accessibility features and said it will launch later this year. These features, such as background noise (Background Noises), may be part of iOS 15. In fact, screenshots shared by Apple may even provide changes in the design of iOS 15.

IPadOS 15

As the comments on the new iPad Pro show, iPadOS is long overdue. If Apple has an iPadOS overhaul plan, it is expected to be announced at WWDC 2021 in June.

Foreign media have previously reported that iPadOS 15 will bring "the most important update" to the iPad home screen since 2010. This update will allow users to place widgets anywhere on the iPad home screen, mimicking a feature that iOS 14 introduced on iPhone last year.

As the M1 chip powers the new iPad Pro, Apple is likely to bring many potential changes to iPadOS 15 this year. This includes support for professional applications such as Xcode and Final Cut Pro. It remains to be seen whether these features will be implemented this year, but they are the first choice for many iPadOS users.

WatchOS 8

For Apple Watch, Apple will launch watchOS 8 in WWDC this year. So far, we haven't heard any rumors about what might change in Apple Watch this year, but Apple will certainly focus on some low-key changes.

Some basic extensions that support continuous display include active countdown in Apple's "playing" view, map navigation, and timer applications. By default, play now and Map take over the surface of the watch, but neither of these functions supports continuous display. In addition, the timer application in the active countdown should also take over the watch surface.

MacOS 12

There are some problems with the naming of the macOS released this year, but a reference found in Apple's March WebKit document code seems to confirm that the company will jump to macOS 12 this year. The naming of macOS this year is particularly striking because Apple jumped from macOS 10.15 to macOS 11 Big Sur. This marks the first significant change in macOS naming rules since the introduction of Apple OS X in 2000.

There is little sign that macOS 12 will have any new features this year. There have been media reports that this year's macOS release will be "secondary" compared to the redesign seen last year. According to the technology website 9to5Mac, Apple is likely to launch new apps, notification improvements and new privacy features for macOS 12 this year.

TvOS 15 and HomePod

In terms of software platforms, Apple is expected to launch tvOS 15 for Apple TV and HomePod on WWDC 2021. Since the full-size HomePod has been discontinued, it is not clear what new features will be available from tvOS 15 in the middle of this year.

New MacBook Pro

Although WWDC is usually a software-centric activity, hardware releases are not uncommon. Last year at WWDC 2020, Apple didn't announce any new hardware. In WWDC 2019, Apple launched the Mac Pro and the accompanying Pro Display XDR professional display. Overall, Apple's product launches on WWDC are limited to developer-related products.

Last week, there were media reports that Apple will launch a new MacBook Pro on the WWDC 2021. Apple's next MacBook Pro update is expected to bring new designs, configure Apple's homegrown processors, and perhaps upgrade mini LED display technology. The new design is said to be flatter, similar to the iPad Pro, and will reportedly have 14-inch and 16-inch screens. In addition, it is reported that the "MacBook Pro" logo under the display screen will also be removed, while ports such as HDMI and MagSafe are expected to return with the SD card slot.

The built-in Apple chip is similar to M1X. It is reported that it will adopt a 10-core design with eight high-performance cores and two high-efficiency kernels. Apple will offer two variants of the chip, one with 16 cores and the other with 32 cores.

Other possible hardware

In addition to MacBook Pro, Apple is also updating Mac Mini, large-screen iMac, MacBook Air and Mac Pro. Of these devices, the only one likely to be announced at WWDC is the new Mac Mini.

A recent report indicates that the new Mac Mini will adopt a redesigned chassis and configure the M1X processor. Because the same chip may be used in the redesigned MacBook Pro, the new Mac Mini may also be released in WWDC. The new large-screen iMac, the redesigned MacBook Air and Mac Pro are further directions for Apple. These products are not expected to be released on WWDC.

Overall, Apple's product launches on WWDC are limited to developer-related products, and MacBook Pro seems to meet that requirement.