The month of June is said to be hit by the WWDC Apple Developers conference. It is said to kick start with an keynote address from the CEO of Apple.Inc, Tim Cook. Though Tim has hinted to release many exciting gadgets all along 2014, the most expected Wearable device, new Mac Mini and the new Apple TV are not said to be on for a feast in the conference. Once again Apple has pushed back its amazing releases to the fall. This year’s keynote is said to have huge tentpole announcements on the software front of the company, like the iOS 8, Mac OS 10.10, updates to iCloud.com and a lot more. Here’s our list of predictions that we think might be in the spotlight during the keynote.
iOS 8 – Codename: Okemo
On comparison with iOS 7, iOS has already swept minds with its clean and stylish design. Thus taking the stage off for iOS 8 in its design wing. iOS 8 might have an upper hand if it has enhanced features of iOS 7. iOS 8 is said to have its main focus on health-related integrated applications, which now might get the new saying “An Apple iOS 8 in hand, would keep the doctor away”. It is said to have an Healthbook app , ‘advancement’ in Siri recognition — like the ability for the developers to integrate their apps with Siri, improvement of maps, new TextEdit and Preview document viewer apps, that might not make any sense, and iCloud features. Expecting iOS to map with the wearable iWatch.
Healthbook is rumored to be the app that will be a game-changer for iOS devices. The app would help collect data from various fitness devices and integrated sensors that are present in the iOS devices already.
This being said, there’s one more thing that Apple might be concentrating on with iOS 8. The iTunes Radio, is all set to get its own Shazam like song recognition engine built right into it, to help people identify the song that’s being played.
Carplay
The integration of iPhone with your car, brings in great comfort with just a word or a touch. It is expected to now accompany a number of new cars in the list and offer new features for the ease of users.
Besides being integrated into the cars, that are coming right out of the factory, Apple has also partnered with companies like Pioneer to bring CarPlay to any car that’s available in the market. The future looks great for CarPlay and we are pretty sure that Apple would introduce a lot more in-car entertainment company’s partnership.
Also the main parameter of the CarPlay is said to be the security feature and is expected to go a level higher in the WWDC 2014.
Updates to iCloud
The iCloud was announced in the WWDC 2011 by Steve Jobs. This year it is expected to add a number of features to it. With features like real-time editing to the iCloud documents, Apple would give Google Docs a run for its money with the Apple Fanboys.
iCloud has slowly and carefully evolved over the years, and this year, we are expecting it to get mature enough to handle realtime collaborations and features that other cloud based services offer.
Mac OS 10.10
The latest news already has set back people’s expectations for wearables, definitely hoping the Mac OS 10.10 do not add to it. Siri, Apple’s personal digital assistant, still hasn’t been brought over to the Mac. Sure, dictation is there and works well enough, but none of the incredible question/response and sequential inference technology has found its way to the desktop. It is finally expected to have a chance with OS X 10.10 Syrah! The AirDrop is also expected to acquire the required changes to have its compatibility well.
Talking about the UI improvements, 10.10 is expected to have UI improvements that might be aligned slightly on the lines of iOS 7 and flat design. It’s literally been 13 years since Mac OS X got a huge upgrade to its UI. Craig, what have you got in your Mac to show us during WWDC?
WWDC 2014 on 4CAST
While these are just speculations, 4CAST is focussed in bringing the best and the most reliable news to its readers. We are all set for this years’ WWDC, and we will be covering the event live for you to get a taste of what’s going on.
Hoping the treat doesn’t end up leaving everyone disappointed. Let’s wish the efforts put into WWDC don’t end up in vain.
Apple has recently encountered a good growth graph in its Stock. The MotherShip also has been a very impressive start by Apple. Apple’s first two retail stores opened on the same day in 2001, and there are now 424 stores open in 14 countries,which obviously gives us the image of stock happenings of Apple.
Let’s say “Apple is High”.
You can follow #WWDC14 on 4CAST to get all the latest updates about the event.
Note: Swaathi K, Preethi and Aswitha contributed to this 4CAST.