WWDC 2018 Starts June 4, iOS 12 & MacOS 10.14 Likely to Debut

WWDC 2018 Starts June 4, iOS 12 & MacOS 10.14 Likely to Debut

Apple has announced their annual Worldwide Development Conference (WWDC) will begin on Monday, June 4. The event, which is to be held in San Jose California, will last through June 8. Though aimed at developers, WWDC events are significant to a wider audience because Apple usually debuts their next major operating system versions during a keynote presentation at the start of the conference. Based on prior events, WWDC 2018 will almost certainly see the first public unveiling of iOS 12 for iPhone and iPad, MacOS 10.14 for Macs, tvOS 12 for Apple TV, and watchOS 5 for Apple Watch. Occasionally, new hardware products are launched at WWDC keynote presentations as well, though its uncertain if that will be the case this year. iOS 12 is rumored to focus mostly on performance and stability, but include a handful of notable new features like a compatibility mode that allows iOS apps to run on Macs. New Animoji, Animoji support for FaceTime, new emoji characters, improvements to Parental Controls, enhancements to Siri, and likely a variety of other minor enhancements and adjustments. Mixed rumors suggest that iOS 12 could include a minor redesign to the Home Screen, but a report from suggested that has been put off until iOS 13. MacOS 10.14 is rumored to gain the ability to run iOS apps directly on a Mac through a cross-platform compatibility mode. It has also been reported that macOS 10.14 will include a focus on performance and stability improvements, perhaps in response to some of the complaints about macOS 10.13 High Sierra. There have also been mixed rumors about a slightly redesigned iPad with Face ID debuting some time this year, as well as a potentially lower cost MacBook Air, or the merging of MacBook and MacBook Air lines. As usual with Apple software and hardware rumors, its best to take them all with a grain of salt until any official announcement from Apple has been made. The WWDC conference is popular and developers will need to register and then participate in a lottery program to be selected. Tickets to WWDC 2018 will cost $1,599, while there will be free scholarship tickets available for a limited number of student developers as well. You can if interested in learning more.