Apple WWDC event is coming, and here’s what we can expect

Apple’s much celebrated Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is taking place at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, starting June 4. This is probably the most sought-after event from the tech giant after the iPhone launch events, generally held in the month of September. Though the four-day convention primarily serves as a Mecca for app developers, the opening day will see a slew of announcements on Apple’s software updates, sometimes more than just that.

AlphaStreet will be covering a live blog of the event so that you don’t miss out on the important updates. But before that, here is a round-up of the exciting announcements that are expected from the Technology Cannes on Monday.

“Hey Siri, can we have an upgrade please?”

Come on Tim Cook, Siri badly needs an upgrade if it even plans to compete with Google Assistant (the one who makes phone calls to salons) and Amazon Alexa. Both Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) have been fighting tooth and nail with each other to improve their voice assistants with more features, while the iPhone maker remained a silent spectator. If Apple (AAPL) continues its silence on Siri at WWDC 2018, it will be deemed as a bad omen by market observers.

Analyst Gene Munster had yesterday predicted that the tech giant would bring out a Beats-branded Homepod, priced at around $250 at the developer conference. If this indeed is happening, it stresses the need for better upgrades to Siri.  One of the primary problems faced by Siri is its inability to identify voices. Siri always is at service no matter who gives the orders.

Listening to music is yet another headache as Siri on Homepod does not connect with third-party apps such as YouTube or Spotify (SPOT). Forget the fact that you cannot play your favorite Netflix (NFLX) series through Homepod commands, the voice assistant event fails to answer simple questions at times.

SE2 in store?

Though WWDC is not the venue for hardware launches, speculations are rife that a resigned version of iPhone SE, or the SE2, could take center-stage on Monday. Since SE was also not launched along with the other iPhone models in the September event, the chances of this speculation coming true are pretty high – especially with some analysts openly stating that Apple needs to bring out cheaper iPhone models to maintain market dominance.

If leaked reports are to be believed, SE2 would come with 2GB RAM and an A10 fusion chip as well as storage options of 128GB and 32GB. It would also feature a glass back that supports wireless charging.

Analyst Gene Munster had yesterday predicted that the tech giant would bring out a Beats-branded Homepod, priced at around $250 at the developer conference.

Other important announcements

Speaking of wireless charging, we are hoping to catch more details of AirPower charging pads, which Apple teased at the iPhone launch in September last year. It is likely that the tech mammoth would divulge more details on its pricing and shipping at WWDC.

However, the stars of the evening will iOS 12, WatchOS 5 and tvOS, besides, if lucky, a new iPad Pro and bumps to MacBook Pro and iMac lines.

Though we do not expect any breakthrough innovations in the latest iOS version, it is expected to come with a slew of new features including connectivity with NFC-enabled systems, more health apps, and an improved ARKit. Of course, brace to hear the words, artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality throughout the event’s entire span.

In Watch OS, look out for more health apps and watch face customization options, whereas in the tvOS update we are hoping to see Dolby Atoms support. Of course, a few surprises may also be there in the store, but Apple enthusiasts and analysts will primarily be meriting the event based on the updates brought about in Siri and iOS 12.