Industry news
Whats up with Apple
"Hey Siri: What's up with Apple?"
Apple's
annual weeklong Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicks off June 13 in San
Francisco with the standard big press conference.
But
don't expect any new hardware: Apple already released a smaller iPhone and iPad
Pro in March, and the new iPhone 7 and Apple Watch won't hit until September at
the earliest -- possibly with new redesigned MacBook laptops in tow.
Instead,
WWDC is all about the software that powers those devices. New features coming
to iOS, OS X for Macs, as well as the underlying operating systems for Apple
Watch and Apple TV. And the one thing that will tie everything together: Siri.
Siri
could end up feeling a lot more like Alexa on Echo.
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Siri
This
is the Year of Smart Voice-Activated Assistants, and Cupertino's rivals are
going all-in: Google, Facebook and Microsoft focused squarely on bots and AI
during their developers conferences earlier this year, even as Amazon's Echo is
the poster child for voice-activated assistants and smart-home automation.
Expect
Apple to follow suit with Siri in a major revamp of the assistant's services.
Apple
will likely make a major push to show much Siri has grown, or will continue to
grow, across all devices: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch...even a rumored
belated debut on Mac.
What
we expect: Reports have said Apple will debut its own Echo-competitor, a
speaker that could be Beats-branded and might even have a face-recognizing
camera.
But
it would be a shock to see an actual product at WWDC.
Instead,
expect a lot of discussion on how developers will tap into Siri with improved
tools, including the possibility of a Siri SDK (software development kit).
That
would enable Siri to hook into third-party apps and services seamlessly, much
like Amazon's Alexa already does.
What
we want: Siri should always be listening across devices, and be better able to
respond and do everything via voice.
But,
yes, we'd love to see an Apple Siri speaker-hub that hooks into everything in
the home and connects seamlessly.
And
Apple devices should have greater awareness: if there are several devices
nearby, they shouldn't all start speaking at once when we yell out "Hey,
Siri."
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iOS 10: iPhones,
iPads
What we
expect: There isn't a lot of wild speculating around the latest version of iOS.
Besides
Siri (see above), most improvements reported so far point to iCloud, Apple
Music and Apple Pay.
A
long-overdue revamp of Apple Music's design and functions seems to be in the
works.
The
same might be true for the App Store and Photos, which are both in need of
functional improvements.
iCloud
security will likely be addressed, too. There could and should be extra,
tablet-only added functions for the iPads, especially iPad Pro.
What
we want: iPads should finally be allowed to feel like full computers.
Let
iOS for iPads keep blossoming into its own environment, and let iPhones be
iPhones.
It
would also be nice if iOS gained some features from Android: the ability to pop
up app-like experiences without downloading apps, or have an always-on display
with more advanced notifications and widgets.
OS X: Macs
What
we expect: Not a ton beyond Siri. Touch ID has been rumored for Macs for years,
and while new MacBooks later this year could end up with Touch ID, Apple could
instead make iPhones work as Touch ID enablers for Macs.
Also,
expect a name change. OS X is an outdated name for the operating system, and
Apple will likely shift to Mac OS.
What
we want: An iPad-meets-Mac hybrid computer, but that's obviously not going to
be happening anytime soon.
With
newer Macs probably coming in the fall, and new accessories that work
No
new watch yet, but expect a new OS.
Watch OS: Apple
Watch
What to
expect: The Apple Watch hasn't seen any formal Version 2 hardware yet after a
year and a few months on the market, and a sequel probably won't arrive until
the fall.
But
a new version of Watch OS should be previewed during the keynote, much like
last year's WWDC.
Watch
OS third-party apps now need to function as native on-watch apps, but the next
version of Watch OS could see further revamps in design and speed.
What
we want: There's a lot that the Apple Watch could do better via software.
Looking
to Google's Android Wear 2.0 updates, a few good ideas come to mind: automatic
activity tracking, improved message-response options, added watch faces.
Apple
never opened the Watch up to third-party watch faces, and it feels like an
obvious and long-overdue idea.
Also,
while Apple Watch can be a semi-phone-free device over Wi-Fi, most apps still
aren't.
?
TV OS
What
we expect: Maybe the magic door to the smart home is through Apple's little
black box.
Rumors
indicated that the new Apple TV would be a HomeKit hub last year, and maybe now
it's time for an unveiling of more of those functions.
The
Apple TV should finally get a deeper collection of functions that connect with
iCloud and HomeKit.
With
HomeKit still lacking some partners and any sort of hub, Apple TV could be a
centerpiece.
What
we want: With an always-listening mike attached, Apple TV could be an Amazon
Echo alternative.
Or,
Apple could incorporate more ways for the mike in the Apple TV remote to be
used for a greater range of apps and services...and smarter on-TV Siri.
At
WWDC, at least, expect Apple TV to expand its reach a little more.
Oh,
and maybe Apple and Amazon could make peace and finally get the Amazon Prime
video app on the box, too.
Many platforms to
juggle
There
could always be other surprises -- maybe a mention of VR support in iOS 10, or
new CarPlay features, or maybe a sneak peek at something coming in the fall.
But
Apple has two clear goals to set: proving that Apple's cloud and AI services
can be as good as the competition, and getting multiple platforms to work well
together.
Last
year saw the debut of many new app platforms and products; this year is about
consolidation.
Apple's
unique position as a hardware/software company has meant that its products
already work better together than most (think iMessage, AirDrop, AirPlay and
Continuity).
But
there's a lot more that can be done to make those inter-device relationships
even more seamless, and to broaden their reach with a wider universe of
accessories and third-party devices (CarPlay for cars; HomeKit for the smart
home; ResearchKit for health).
And
making all of those voice-controlled through Siri may well be Apple's best short-term
answer.