When, where and how to watch WWDC 2020
Apple are gearing up for their annual Worldwide Developers Conference, this year entirely online. Here are all the details you need to watch.
Where
Apple will be hosting the livestream on apple.com and YouTube. Head to either site to set up a reminder for the event.
When
CEO Tim Cook will take to the stage on Monday 22nd June at 10am PDT. That’s 1pm ET, 6pm BST (in the UK), and 3am AEST on the 23rd. Find your local start time by heading to the YouTube live stream.
We’ll have a summary of some of the big topics covered in the following days here on the RouteNote Blog.
What to expect
No one knows for sure what Apple will come out on stage with until the day, but thanks to rumours, predictions and leaks, we can have a fairly good idea. Last month we put together a summary of things to keep an eye out for. Since then, some futher details have been solidified.
As this is a developers conference, the obvious announcements as with every year’s WWDC, will be iOS 14, iPad OS 14, macOS 10.16, watch OS 7 and tvOS 14
Sometimes we see product announcement and updates at WWDC too. This year’s product debuts may include AirPods Studio (Apple branded over-ear headphones) and AirTags (bluetooth tracking tiles).
Updates may come to products such as the AirPods with a Pro Lite model, or just an updated lower end non-Pro model, redesigned iMac in 27 and 23-inches with slimmer bezels and a smaller and more affordable HomePod 2.
Perhaps smaller processor bumps will come to products such as the Mac Mini, iPad Mini and Apple TV too.
Apple are also expected to announce their plans for moving away from Intel chips in their Macs and the shift to ARM-based processors. This will remove Apple’s reliance on Intel, with them controlling the development of Mac chips in house. Similar to the success Apple have had with the super powerful A-series chips in iPhones and iPads such as the A13 Bionic, A12Z Bionic etc. This is enabled through optimization, with Apple developing specific chips for specific products rather than Intel attempting to appeal to many computers with one chip. Thus allowing Apple to make more powerful computers, in slimmer profiles, with better battery life and cooling. This shift is reminiscent of Apple’s shift from PowerPC chips to Intel in 2006, but it will not happen overnight. While they are expected to announce plans at WWDC, Apple’s move to ARM-based chips will not start implementation until later this year or 2021 with a lower end MacBook and move up the line over the course of 2+ years.