WWDC 2020 Predictions
2020 has provided a lot of change to what we might have expected. A vast majority of the world has had to quarantine or shelter in place and due to Covid-19. Because of this, many things have been interrupted and/or delayed. Some of these delays has likely included Apple's development of their operating systems and platforms.
One of the items has been Apple's World Wide Developer Conference itself. Typically WWDC occurs the first or second week of June at the San Diego Convention Center. That is not occurring. Instead, WWDC is a fully virtual conference.
Even with all of this uncertainty, there are some things that are guaranteed. Some of the guaranteed items include seeing information about the next version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. So, the fact that these will be shown, none of them are within my guesses.
Initially I was only going to do my "Hopes for Improvement" post, but I have decided to an actual predictions post as well. Normally, I would have a bunch of predictions, but this year I do not have that many, or at least not as many as other years. This year I will be breaking my guesses down by platform. There are only 10 total.
macOS
There is one thing that I actually enjoy predicting each year. That item is the name of the next version of macOS. With Apple using California place names, I think it will be one of the following:
- Golden Gate
- Sequoia
- Tahoe
- Redwood
- Mammoth
- Oxnard (for the Dunes)
- Channel Islands
- Napa
- Big Sur
I am giving the percentage of one of these names being used at 65%. I will not be surprised if I am entirely wrong, because my guesses have not been accurate in the past.
I think we will see some improvements with MacCatalyst. Specifically, improved options for controls. I give this a 50% chance of happening.
Next is Messages. I am guessing that Messages on the Mac will become a Catalyst app and will have feature parity with iOS. I give this a 95% chance of happening.
Transition to ARM
There has been much talk about Apple moving away from Intel and using their own ARM-based chips. I think that this transition will be announced and I give it a 50% chance of being announced.
Furthermore, I am giving a 5% chance of an actual device being available for developers to order. I would love it to be the case. I would even be willing to pay full price, provided I get to keep the device.
iPadOS
The iPad is a device that could use a significant improvement to some of its features. I think we will see some changes to the way the home screen functions. The home screen has been a grid since the original iPhone. The grid on the iPhone makes sense, but on the iPad, much more can be done. I think there will be a new list view option, similar to the Apple Watch. I am giving this a 70% possibility. I am also thinking this will come to the iPhone, and give this a 60% chance of happening.
watchOS
I think we will see additional health-related items on watchOS. This could be something like a new workout type, or more likely sleep tracking. I give this a 75% chance of occurring.
The second item for watchOS is the ability for third-party watch faces with a new framework. This will allow third-parties to create and customize various aspects of the watch face. I am giving this a 25% probability of happening.
iCloud
I think we will see an announcement that the base iCloud storage will be doubled to 10GB instead of the measly and paltry 5GB available now. I give this a 5% chance of happening. I would like to give this a higher chance, but I do not think Apple will do increase it, but there is always a chance.
Prediction Recap
I do not have that many predictions for this year's WWDC announcements. Here is a recap of my predictions:
- Messages on Mac same as iOS -- 95%
- New health-related task on watchOS -- 75%
- App List view on iPadOS -- 70%
- macOS being one of the names listed -- 65%
- App List view on iPhone -- 60%
- Transition to ARM being announced -- 50%
- Mac Catalyst controls update -- 50%
- Third-party Watch Faces -- 25%
- ARM Dev Kit available for order -- 5%
- Double base iCloud Storage -- 5%
The keynote for WWDC 2020 will be airing tomorrow at 10:00am Pacific Time on June 22nd. I will have a recap of the keynote after it has finished.