Apple's WWDC 2014 unveiled iOS 8 and OS X 10.10, as well as new tools for developers. But that's not the end for Apple in 2014 - far from it, in fact. We think it's just the beginning, so expect to see lots more exciting announcements from the company this year. Read on to find out what happened at WWDC 2014, and what we think Apple has up its sleeve for the rest of the year.
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2014 (WWDC 2014), kicked off with a keynote on 2 June, during which the company unveiled iOS 8 andOS X 10.10, as well as new tools for developers that are going to completely change the way apps work on iOS. But that's not the end for Apple in 2014 - far from it, in fact. We think it's just the beginning, so expect to see lots more exciting announcements from the company this year. Read on to find out what happened at WWDC 2014, and what we think Apple has up its sleeve for the rest of the year.
What did Apple launch at WWDC 2014?
At WWDC 2013, Apple unveiled OS X 10.9 Mavericks and iOS 7, both of which were released as beta versions after the event, as well as the new Mac Pro, a new MacBook Air, iTunes Radio, and iWork for iCloud. Take a closer look at Apple's WWDC history in our slideshow of Apple's WWDC launches from the past 10 years.
This year, though, Apple steered away from hardware completely, spending its two hour keynote focusing completely on software improvements.
WWDC 2014: OS X 10.10
Apple unveiled Mac OS X 10.10 on 2 June, which it called 'Yosemite'. As expected, Apple took some design inspiration from the iOS 7 redesign for Yosemite, and we think it looks great.
Take a closer look at the new features and the makeover in Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite here. We've also got an OS X 10.10 wishlist (see whether it came true), and advice about whether you'll want to upgrade from Mavericks to OS X 10.10.
Read everything you need to know about Yosemite here.
WWDC 2014: iOS 8
Apple has now confirmed that we'll get iOS 8 on our iPad, iPhone and iPod touch devices in the autumn of this year. New features include HealthKit, which rumours suggested was called HealthBook, as well as lots of improvements to the Notifications Centre, Safari, Messages and more.
Find out more about what to expect from the next iOS in our iOS 8 round-up. Also, here's how to prepare for the iOS 8 launch, and you can find out whether your iPad or iPhone will run iOS 8 here.
See: Apple announces Continuity for Mac and iOS
WWDC 2014: Apple Smart Home
A recent rumour that emerged just a week prior to the WWDC 2014 event was that Apple was about to unveil a 'Smart Home' platform. It did, too, as part of a huge update to its developer SDK and tools. You can find out all about the new tools for developers, which will shape the future of iOS apps, here.
WWDC 2014 was just the beginning
All of those announcements were extremely exciting, but we won't really benefit from them until later in the year, when both iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite are released to the public. It's around that time, and in the coming months, that we expect to see lots more from Apple. Apple's hardware announcements are about to begin. Read on to find out what we expect those announcements to involve.
Apple 2014 rumours: Retina MacBook Air
It's been rumoured for a while now that Apple is planning to launch a Retina MacBook Air. The current MacBook Air line-up doesn't include any Retina models, but the latest speculation says that the new model with the higher-resolution screen will have a 12in display, rather than the current 11in and 13in displays.
Apple updated its MacBook Air line-up in April, giving every model a processor boost and price drop, so we're expecting a new Retina model to arrive towards the end of the year.
Find out more about what to expect from the new MacBook Air in ourRetina MacBook Air rumour round-up.
Apple 2014 rumours: new Retina MacBook Pro
Apple didn't use last year's WWDC to upate its Retina MacBook Pro line-up, instead waiting until October during the iPad Air launch to introduce new models, so we think an October refresh of the high-resolution laptops is likely. While it's good news for the Retina models, it could be the end of the road for the non-Retina model, which could be ditched to make way for a full Retina MacBook Pro line-up soon.
Apple 2014 rumours: new iMac
We were quite confident that we'd see a new iMac at WWDC 2014, but we didn't!
It looks like we might be getting new iMacs soon, though, according to speculation that emerged on 27 May. As noted by Apple Insider, shipping times for the iMac have slipped from 24 hours to 3-5 days for all models in both the US and UK stores, which could be a sign that Apple is about to release an update.
In addition to Apple's Online Store, some Apple resellers are reporting low stock of the all-in-one Mac, adding further evidence to the rumour.
Plus, references to a new iMac model were discovered in a developer preview of OS X 10.9.4 on 28 May, so it's looking pretty likely that new iMacs are coming. That developer was quickly pulled from the Developer Centre, so we have a suspicion that it revealed something that Apple didn't want us to know just yet.
The new iMac could be cheaper than the current models, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Currently, the iMac starts at £1,149. Apple has already lowered the price of its MacBook Air models, so perhaps it will do the same with the iMac to appeal to a broader audience.
See: 2014 iMac rumours
Apple 2014 rumours: iWatch
We knew that it was unlikely that Apple wouldn't announce an iWatch at WWDC 2014, and we were right. But, Apple did talk about iOS 8's new HealthKit feature, so we still think an iWatch is likely for this year. Here's what we wrote about the iWatch.
The iWatch, which is what Apple watchers are calling the company's first (alleged) venture into the wearable technology market, is hot topic among the Apple rumour-mill. With the announcement of iOS 8 at WWDC 2014 came the news of a new 'Health' app, which we think would be a perfect fit for the iWatch and gives us a big clue to suggest one's coming.
Check out Apple's competition in our 11 rivals to the iWatch round-up.
If Apple follows its usual iOS tradition, iOS 8 is likely to remain in beta form from June until September, meaning only developers will be able to use it. Therefore, we expect the iWatch to become available with iOS 8, probably in September, which means a joint iPhone 6 and iWatch event is likely.
Find out more about the rumoured iWatch in our iWatch rumour round-up.
Watch our video where we discuss Apple's plans for iWatch and the Apple TV:
Apple 2014 rumours: new Apple TV
We really wanted to see a new Apple TV at WWDC 2014, but we didn't. It's been two years since Apple released a proper update for the Apple TV, and honestly, we're growing a little impatient.
With rivals including Google, Amazon and Western Digital releasing competing products that are pretty impressive, we're hoping that Apple has got something amazing up its sleeve for the Apple TV, and that it's going to show it off really soon.
The new Apple TV could have a microphone built-in, in order to enable the use of Siri with the set-top box. Code spotted in iOS 7.1.1 files indicate that Siri could be on its way to the Apple TV soon.
There are lots more rumours about the Apple TV in our Apple TV rumour round-up.
Apple 2014 rumours: New Mac mini
We're growing impatient about the Mac mini too.
Mac mini fans have been waiting in the dark since October 2012 for a new update to the Mac mini, so we're hoping that this year will bring us an update. Despite speculation that Apple might be planning to discontinue the Mac mini, we don't think the company should ignore it.
There's been talk of a new Mac mini since late last year, so a new version in 2014 is certainly possible. Find out more about what to expect in our new Mac mini rumour round-up.
Apple 2014 rumours: iPhone 6
No surprise there, but we didn't see a new iPhone 6 at WWDC 2014. We're completely certain that a new iPhone is coming this year, though.
Presumably named iPhone 6, reports suggest that it could have a display that measures 4.7in diagonally rather than the 4in boasted by the iPhone 5s. It's expected to have little or no bezels surrounding the screen, as well as camera and processor boosts.
We have a whole host of iPhone 6 rumours (it's hot topic right now!) over in our iPhone 6 rumour round-up.
Watch us discuss the iPhone 6 rumours and whether we think they are to be believed:
Further still, speculation points to two new iPhone launches this year, the second being an even bigger iPhone measuring 5.5in diagonally. Many reports say that the iPhone 6 (as described above) and this bigger iPhone, or iPhablet, will arrive seperately, with one being launched at in August and the other at a later September event that follows Apple's current iPhone release schedule.
There are also lots of bigger iPhone rumours in our iPhablet rumour round-up.
Apple 2014 rumours: iPad Air 2/ iPad 6/ iPad mini 3
Another device we're pretty certain will arrive this year is a new iPad Airand a new iPad mini. We're expecting these to arrive in October, based on Apple's product launch history. Find out more in our iPad Air 2 rumour round-up.
Can you believe we're talking about the third generation iPad mini already? Like the iPad Air, the Retina iPad mini (iPad mini 2) was only launched in October so we're not expecting a new iPad mini until October 2014. Apple has been known to deviate from its traditional release schedules, though (think iPad 4!).
0 comments: