WWDC 2017

WWDC 2017 attendees receive custom Levi’s trucker jacket and collectible Apple-themed pins

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

Apple's annual developers conference is set to kick off with a live-streamed keynote at 10am Pacific Time and several developers have now shared images of the swag they've received at this year's conference. As reported by AppleInsider and MacRumors, the company is giving out custom Levi's jean jacket and an assortment of collectible Apple-themed pins.

The black jacket, provided in sizes for both men and women, is embellished with a custom WWDC17 logo and has two interior pockets that Twitter users reported being large enough to fit an iPhone 7 Plus. To add to the WWDC swag, Apple is also including some sweet pin packs, plus a personalized pin for each developer to signify their home country.

Some of the designs for these collectible pins include the vintage rainbow-themed Apple logo, the Swift logo, the “hello” Mac greeting, the original Macintosh image, the Metal logo and an emoji with sunglasses. Separate pin collections are available, too, featuring a thumbs up emoji, an iMessage heart bubble, Activity rings and more.

https://twitter.com/_dskuza/status/871487325380812800

WWDC Scholarship attendees are receiving Apple TV development kits, too.

Apple is also promoting the conference with a custom WWDC-themed Snapchat geofilter that appears for users who are near San Jose's McEnery Convention Center.

A set of WWDC-branded stickers for iMessage is available via the official WWDC app.

Apple's online store is currently down ahead of the keynote, indicating some form of new or refreshed hardware announcement is likely.

Apple promoting WWDC 2017 with themed Snapchat geofilters

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

With the live-streamed WWDC keynote almost upon us, Apple has now created a bespoke Snapchat geofilter to help promote this year's developers conference. The sponsored WWDC 2017-themed geofilter automatically appears for Snapchat users who find themselves near the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose.

As first noted by 9to5Mac, the filter is available when sharing photos or videos with other Snapchat users. Simply choose it from the list of Snapchat filters to have Apple's official WWDC 2017 banner design applied to your item. Again, this is a filter that uses geofencing so only people attending this year's developer conference will see it in Snapchat.

The same stickers can be found in iMessage via Apple's official WWDC app, as shown above.

Snapchat is available at no charge from App Store.

Apple’s Activity app could be removable in iOS 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 15, 2017

Aside from spotting interesting references to a drag-and-drop feature for iPad and an all-new dedicated Files app, developer Troughton-Smith also noticed a placeholder listing for Apple's stock Activity app on App Store.

This is the first time the app has appeared as a downloadable item on App Store, suggesting Activity could be removable in iOS 11. The listing has since been removed from App Store.

No additional screenshots, descriptions or other information were provided.

Introduced as part of the iOS 9 update two years ago, the Activity app is one of the few stock apps that cannot be hidden from a user's Home screen. Check out Apple's support document for the full list of built-in iPhone and iPad apps that can be removed from the Home screen.

The Activity app only appears on the Home screen if a paired Apple Watch is present. Apple could be making Activity a downloadable item so that non-watch users could optionally download it and fill their Activity rings with other fitness tracking devices.

Apple Store goes offline ahead of possible new hardware at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

Like clockwork, Apple takes its online store offline ahead of any major new production introductions. Today's live-streamed WWDC keynote is no exception: with just a few hours left until the keynote presentation begins, Apple Online Stores around the world have gone offline with a message saying “We'll be back. We're busy updating the Apple Store for you. Please check back soon”.

The rumor-mill, Apple analysts and pundits have been saying that the iPhone maker will unveil some new hardware products at WWDC, which is normally a software-centric event.

Some of the gadgets that could be formally introduced at WWDC include a dedicated Siri speaker, a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro model, as well as refreshed MacBook, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks with Intel's Kaby Lake chips and updated system architecture.

Though Apple's been criticized for its seeming inability to update store listings without taking the whole web store down, risking losing potential sales, this is now more of a marketing vehicle designed to drum up excitement ahead of major events than it is a technical issue.

References to drag and drop on iPad spotted in Apple Feedback app ahead of iOS 11 reveal

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 5, 2017

Apple's own Feedback app, that iOS beta testers use for reporting bugs, contains references to a drag and drop feature, as first spotted by developer Steven Troughton-Smith this morning.

An entry labeled “Split View/Drag and Drop” now appears in the list of preset options when filing a bug using the Feedback app. iOS, of course, lacks any drag and drop features that would admittedly be tremendously useful, especially in Split View mode.

That said, it's unclear that the Cupertino technology giant will formally announce drag and drop functionality in iOS 11 during today's live-streamed WWDC keynote.

Ukrainian developer Readdle's popular iOS apps were updated last week with the ability to drag and drop content between them in iOS's Split View multitasking mode on iPad, providing an early preview of how Apple's version of system-wide drag-and-drop might work in iOS 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epzh9-rd-AI

MacStories editor Federico Vittici and his team painstakingly created some awesome iOS 11 productivity concepts, imagining new productivity features for iPad. Among them is—you guessed right—drag and drop functionality. “Because drag-and-drop would be fully multitouch-enabled, it wouldn’t block the iOS interface,” Vittici explained.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyFUDQ5LLZw

“Another finger could be used to navigate in a different 'drop area' of an app, or a user could keep dragging until the Split View app picker is shown and drop an item onto an app’s icon, opening a contextual action menu.”

Late Sunday, Troughton-Smith discovered a placeholder listing for Apple's unreleased Files app on App Store. It's since been removed and no screenshots or official descriptions were provided, but we do know it's going to require iOS 11 and 64-bit support.

App Store placeholder listing for Apple Files app appears briefly ahead of WWDC keynote

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 15, 2017

A placeholder listing for a new Apple Files app has briefly appeared on App Store ahead of today's live-streamed WWDC keynote, as spotted by iOS developer Steven Troughton-Smith late Sunday. It's surfaced in the Utilities section of App Store and has since been removed.

No screenshots or the official description were provided.

The app requires iOS 11 and 64-bit support and is designed for both iPhone and iPad. It sports a blue file folder icon resembling the design for folder icons in macOS. It's entirely possible that the new Files app is really just a rebranded version of the existing iCloud Drive app.

It's unclear if the forthcoming app will be a new stock item in iOS 11 or an optional download. If I had to guess, I'd say it will likely come pre-installed with iOS 11. Since iOS 10, Apple has allowed users to hide most of the stock apps from their Home screen.

To help users easily re-install any removed stock apps, Apple has provided all of its first-party iOS apps that are removable as downloadable App Store items. iOS 11 will be previewed at WWDC later today along with tvOS 11, watchOS 4 and macOS 10.13.

WWDC 2017 wallpapers and logo pack

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Tomorrow, we await the media event during the kick off at WWDC 2017. The live stream (how to), which starts at 10:00AM Pacific, will bring us first glimpses of new hardware. It has been about three years since Apple last announced new hardware at the developer event, in addition to the standard operating system updates. While getting new iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS platforms is awesome, nothing really excites like getting a new device in-hand.

While we wait to hear whether Siri power speakers, 10.5" iPads, or any number of calculated guesses from Sébastien and Cody appear, update your iPhone wallpapers to celebrate with these WWDC 2017 wallpapers.

How to live stream WWDC 2017 on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, Windows and Android

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated June 24, 2019

Apple will be live-streaming its WWDC 2017 event, just as they have for the last several years, so the world can tune in and see what’s new in the world of iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and more.

No matter what type of device you’re using the day of the event, you can live-stream the keynote. In this piece, we'll go over all the methods on how for every operating system and platform.

Apple begins decorating McEnery Convention Center ahead of WWDC 2017

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 1, 2017

Various images are currently popping up on social media as Apple begins decorating the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California for next week’s WWDC 2017 event.

Among the decorations are a large banner at the front and sides of the building and various smaller banners on nearby light posts and street signs signifying exactly what’s taking place starting Monday, June 5th at 10 A.M. local time (1 P.M. Eastern time).

Apple’s begun manufacturing its Siri speaker ahead of WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 31, 2017

Apple has started manufacturing its Siri speaker ahead of the WWDC keynote next week.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has learned from people familiar with the matter that the new smart home appliance won't be ready to ship until later in the year. However, Apple could debut the gadget during next Monday's keynote presentation at WWDC.

People who have seen it told Bloomberg that the product won't have a touchscreen, unlike what KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo speculated.

Taipei-based AirPods manufacturer Inventec has been tapped as the sole manufacturer of the Siri speaker. Bloomberg previously reported that Apple employees have been secretly testing the device in their homes for several months.

The forthcoming Siri gadget reached an advanced prototype stage late last year.

Apple is reportedly seeking to differentiate the Siri speaker from Amazon Echo and Google Home by offering virtual surround sound technology, Apple Music and other integrations.

The Siri speaker would also act as a HomeKit hub to let users remotely control smart home appliances such as lights, door locks and window blinds, a feature that currently requires either a fourth-generation Apple TV or an iPad.

Here's an excerpt form the article:

Along with generating virtual surround sound, the speakers being tested are louder and reproduce sound more crisply than rival offerings, sources in the know said.

Apple has also considered including sensors that measure a room’s acoustics and automatically adjust audio levels during use, one of the people said.

“This will be a platform for developing Apple’s services,” says Gene Munster of Loup Ventures.

Gurman speculated the Siri device could be tucked into Apple’s $11 billion “Other Products” category along with other devices like Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods and Beats accessories.

Apple declined to comment.

Siri speaker mockup via iFunnyVlogger on Twitter.

Regulatory filing points towards new Mac, iPad and Magic Keyboard models launching at WWDC

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 31, 2017

With less than a week until Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, French outlet Consomac has discovered (Google Translate) a Russian-language regulatory filing in the Eurasian Economic Commission database which identifies five unreleased Mac computers by their model number: A1289, A1347, A1418, A1419 and A1481.

As noted by MacRumors, these numbers differ from the AXX prefixes attributed to current MacBook models. The new model numbers are probably related to the upcoming 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro updates. According to Bloomberg, Apple will refresh its Mac notebooks at WWDC next week with faster Intel chips and updated internal architecture.

Among the Mac notebooks said to be up for a refresh could be Apple's popular MacBook Air, which hasn't seen a major design change since its 2010 introduction.

The filing also identifies some spare parts for the Macs along with a next-generation Apple wireless keyboard (model number A1843) and four numbers classified under iOS 10 (A1671, A1709, A1670 and A1701) that probably refer to the Wi-Fi and cellular editions of the upcoming iPad Pro models, including the rumored new 10.5-inch model.

WWDC to offer fully outfitted on-site studio for podcasters

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 30, 2017

If you're a podcaster attending Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference next week, Apple has a fully featured on-site studio that you can use to record the latest episode of your podcast.

They're calling it Apple Podcasts Studio and it's located inside the McEnery Convention Center.

Booking studio time is by appointment only. The available slots are limited to one per person for the duration of the conference.

According to the description on the updated WWDC app, each hour-long recording session can accommodate up to four contributors, with Apple's experts on hand to provide help if need be.

Podcasters shall receive a copy of their session for post-production and distribution.

“You may request a reservation beginning at 7am for that day only,” notes the firm.

Tapping Request Reservation within the WWDC app takes you to the webpage at developer.apple.com/wwdc/consultations/ where you can reserve studio time:

Tuesday: 10:00am—6:00pm Wednesday—Thursday: 9:00am—6:00pm Friday: 9:00am—3:00pm

In April 2017, Apple rebranded its iTunes Podcasts app as Apple Podcasts.

Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said at the February 2017 Code Media conference that Apple's been working on new features for podcasters. Last year, the Cupertino giant invited top podcasters to its headquarters to hear their complaints.

Subscribe to iDownloadBlog’s “Let’s talk iOS” podcast on iTunes.