Fitzsimmons Weekly

WWDC 2017 Predictions

WWDC is coming up in less than 20 days, so here is my yearly prediction list. I feel like this year the updates will be focused on polish rather than on important feature announcements, but here we go.

1. iOS 11 Announcement

iOS 11 is set to bring big changes to iOS. It will be the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and this update will have to make waves to keep the iPhone interesting into 2018, especially with the attractiveness of Samsung's Galaxy S8 and increasing software competition with the Android operating system.

Dark Mode

Just like my prediction in 2016, I believe this will finally include the dark mode. The code has been inside of iOS 10 the entire time, unfinished of course, and a major upgrade of iOS would be the perfect opportunity to release such a large new feature.

Control Center and Notification Center Updates

Once again, both of these categories will be updated and need to improve on the changes iOS 10 brought to the table. The iOS 10 control center feels like it is a waste of space compared

Peer-to-Peer  Pay

Apple may enter the Venmo and Cash by Square market place with  Pay. The ability to send cash through iMessage and other Apple services with a percent taken by Apple could be a large money maker for the tech giant.

Major iPad Updates (File manager, drag and drop)

The iPad still feels like a stretched version of the iPhone now 7 versions of iOS since its original release. A new file manager will most likely be implemented, along with drag and drop between splitscreen apps.

Very Few UI Updates

Sadly, again, I am pretty sure that there will not be major revisions in the design language of iOS. Only a continuation of the monochrome News and Music iOS 10 designs throughout other apps.

Emoji Unicode 10.0 Support

Many new emojis have been added by Samsung, Google, and Microsoft, however, Apple has yet to release an update for their set of emoji. It is expected with the announcement of iOS 11, but most likely it will be released with a subsequent version after the gold master release this fall.

2. macOS 10.13

During WWDC 2016 the long running OS X operating system was renamed to macOS, however, the upgrades to the operating system were the least apparent in recent years. A focus towards mobile has clearly been displayed if the Mac update schedule is compared to iOS.

Continuity Improvements, such as Apple Music hand off.

iTunes will be redesigned, as the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) app was announced at the Microsoft BUILD conference. This is only speculation, but no screenshot was displayed, leading many to believe an interface redesign and Apple Music online app will arrive.

iOS app porting capabilities through Xcode, as this was not announced last year, I believe to compete with the Store on Windows 10 this will be necessary.

Unicode 10.0 Emoji.

Dark mode in several system apps

Updated Touch Bar features

3. Siri Speaker announcement

The Siri Speaker will most likely have a better microphone than any current Siri-supported devices. According to some leaks, the device will feature a touch-screen along with stereo bluetooth speakers.

4. 10.5-Inch iPad Pro

A 10.5-Inch iPad has been rumored for release for over a year now, and this device will specifically feature almost an edge-to-edge display and hopefully be the design catalyst to make way for the iPhone 8 design.

4. New MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air

The new(ish) Kaby Lake processors from Intel will be integrated into the MacBook lines. 16GB of RAM will now become an option for the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air will be discontinued this year with the refresh of the MacBook line paired with a price drop to fill the sub-$900 category. No major hardware design changes will happen, unless the MacBook Air gains a Retina display and lowers its price.

Last Update: May 22, 2017