WWDC ’13 – What to expect?

With the Worldwide Developers Conference ’13 kicking off coming Monday at Moscone Center, San Francisco at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, rumor mills have been working at full throttle. This is a roundup of the most probable rumors floating around now.

iOS 7

The company’s mobile OS is certain to see an update – iOS 7. As usual there will be a developer version released at the WWDC and eventually the final version will be made available to public during the fall of ’13. This will give the developers time to test the operating system and to update their apps to take advantage of the new OS. There is much discussion about the “flatter” UI of iOS 7.

Apple’s design guru Jony Ive has been working on this OS since he took over Apple’s software-focused Human Interface unit last year. The skeuomorphic design, a favorite feature of Scott Forstall – the previous iOS senior vice president (SVP) of iOS Software, has been done away with reportedly. Skeuomorphic design is the design which imitates the real life objects like the notes app resembling a notepad in leather cover. The WWDC 2013 app released recently had a flat UI hinting at what might possibly be coming.

OS X 10.9

As Tim Cook had mentioned in the D11 conference there is an update for OS X coming as well. As for OS X, Apple usually followed a schedule of releasing developer previews beginning around February ahead of a late summer public launch. Back in April, some reported that the iOS 7 work was running behind schedule and engineers from OS X team were pulled for assistance in iOS development. The report was later confirmed by AllThingsD and The Loop, although it seems unclear whether the shift had any effect on Apple’s internal timeline for OS X 10.9.

OS X 10.9, which is codenamed “Cabernet,” will focus on various “power-user” enhancements and take core features from iOS, according to reports. The new OS X is include major enhancements in Finder like tags and tabbed browsing modes. Also, the OS is reported to have included a redesigned backend for improved page loading, speed, and efficiency.

iRadio

Apple has been rumored to have been working on a Pandora-like streaming radio service. This rumor has been going around for quite some time from previous keynote. The delays in launching the service has apparently been the difficulty in striking deals with record labels. The service, informally dubbed “iRadio”, is said to be free to users, relying on advertising support through Apple’s iAd team to generate revenue. It will also have audio advertisement according recent reports. Apple is reportedly seeking to deploy a service similar to that offered by Pandora but with additional flexibility for users.

MacBook Update

With Intel having unveiled the latest 4th generation Haswell processors, it might be the time for Apple to update its notebook lines. The Haswell processors are reported to have significant increase in energy efficiency. This might be a big breakthrough in terms of usage time in MacBooks Air’s and Pro’s. The refreshed line up may also possess faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi chips. There’s a possibility of thinner Retina MacBook Pro’s as well.

Mac Pro

The previous refresh was disappointing. But the new one might just come with a Haswell processor. Apple has even been forced to halt sales of the current Mac Pro in Europe over non-compliance with certain safety requirements and the stocks of the workstation are said to be running low elsewhere. There isn’t very high chances this could happen now, but there is possibility that Apple will unveil new Mac Pro’s with a later availability date.