Apple’s hosting its second all-virtual Worldwide Developers Conference this year, and it seems like the company plans to squeeze in even more hardware announcements alongside its usual software updates. WWDC 2021 will run all week long, but things start off with the traditional Apple keynote on June 7th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET.
Apple is expected to try to win back professional users at WWDC by leaning in with a new more powerful M2 chip and a redesigned MacBook Pro that ditches maligned features like the Touch Bar and brings back the HDMI port and MagSafe. The new M2 is rumored to have double the processor and GPU cores, and it might not even be Apple’s top-of-the-line: the company is rumored to launch a more powerful iMac and Mac Pro sometime later this year.
WWDC 2021 may bring some equally big changes to iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. iPads might finally get an updated homescreen with fully customizable widgets, after years of mostly looking like a blown-up iPhone. Both operating systems are also rumored to get a new privacy menu for viewing the data apps use, notification settings that can be set around a user’s status (like if they’re driving or sleeping), and possibly a big update to iMessage and the Messages app that will make the service more of a social network.
That’s a whole lot to talk about, even ignoring minor changes to macOS, tvOS, and watchOS, but the company will be hosting developer sessions throughout the week to get into all of the details.
WHEN DOES WWDC 2021 START?
It starts at 1PM ET / 10AM PT / 6PM BST. Following the keynote, developer sessions will be available to watch online for free through June 11th via the Apple Developer website or the Apple Developer app.
WHERE CAN I WATCH WWDC 2021?
We’ll embed the keynote livestream up top, so you can watch from here once that’s up. Otherwise, head to these links below for more:
- Tune in to The Verge’s Apple WWDC 2021 live blog for commentary and feelings
- Apple is streaming the event live on its website and on YouTube
- Follow @verge on Twitter
- Keep an eye on @verge on Instagram for updates
