Apple WWDC 2018: What to Expect

UPDATE: This year's WWDC was a software-only affair; those hoping for new Macs were sorely disappointed, as the conference's keynote focused on iOS 12, watchOS 5, and macOS Mojave. This video gives you the 60-second overview:

Original Story:
The key thing to remember about Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the "DC" part. And no, we're not talking about the municipality, or the comics.

WWDC—which kicks off Monday at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, Calif.—is first and foremost a software developers' gathering. The primary focus is having the Apple diaspora of technerati, content pros, and decision makers all in one place for technical sessions and brainstorming over the direction of Apple's software universe in the coming year. That's what makes it the keenest venue for major updates to Apple's mobile iOS and computing-centric macOS operating systems.

However, Apple in the past has used the venue's keynote as a launch pad or teaser not just for OS updates (Apple macOS High Sierra and Apple iOS 11, as in 2017), but also for major hardware moves (tweaked MacBook Air, new iMacs in 2017).

Expect a mix of the two—hardware and software—at the 2018 shindig. Apple is overdue to tune up at least a subset of its laptops. And enough other Apple aircraft are circling the field that any one could make a surprise landing at WWDC. Let's take a quick look at what we expect, category by category.

Laptop Refreshes Part I: MacBook, MacBook Pro

The MacBook lines—the straight-up ultraportable MacBook, the MacBook Pros, and the MacBook Air holdover—are the hardware that's ripest for change. With all of the mobile CPU changes since Apple's last major laptop refresh in 2017, we'd consider it a disappointment if we didn't see at least some action on this front. For an overhaul, our bets are on the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air.

We'd deem the MacBook ultraportable the least likely to see a major refresh, unless Apple pulls out a rabbit and redesigns the whole thing. That's because its internals are essentially up-to-date (Y-Series 7th Generation Intel processors). Though it is inevitable that newer chips of this kind will come, we haven't seen any motion on Intel's side of the fence for equivalent 8th Generation ultra-low-voltage CPUs. So, at the moment, there is not a lot of incentive, given today's component upgrade cycle, for major MacBook tweakage.

The MacBook Pro—in its 13-inch and 15-inch iterations—is a better candidate for a big update. The two sizes will likely go in different directions, though. The 13-incher today tops out with dual-core 7th-Generation "Kaby Lake" chips, and a move to new-for-2018 quad-core "Coffee Lake" CPUs would be a big deal; the chip uptick would amount to more than a simple generational bump for performance-minded users. Going from dual-core to quad-core (both with Hyper-Threading) would make a big difference for multi-threaded content-creation tasks of the kind that keep the Mac faithful exactly that.

As for the 15-inch MacBook Pro, if we see a refresh centered around core components, we'd expect it to include the option for 8th Generation Coffee Lake in six-core flavors. (The best you can get in 2017's existing line is a 7th Generation quad-core.) More cores, again, means more joy for content creators. An outside chance could be the option for the beastly Intel mobile Core i9, but given the lack of action on the discrete-graphics front to complement it, we'd place a side bet instead on Kaby Lake-G.

The Kaby Lake-G processors are the recent Intel/AMD collaboration that puts a quad-core Core i7 on the same die with powerful AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics. That said, the battery-life toll that this chip has levied in shipping models so far (such as the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1) might be a mitigating factor against it showing up in a new MacBook Pro. Still, it's a tempting thought, as on-chip Vega has the potential for different thermal designs and maybe, as a result, a new-look MacBook Pro.

Another new-look possibility is a redesign spurred by the popularity (or lack thereof) of Apple's Touch Bar, and the recent squabbles over the durability of late-model MacBook and MacBook Pro keyboard switches.

For more, check out our wish list for the 2018 Apple MacBooks.

Laptop Refreshes Part II: What About the Air?

Then there's the MacBook Air. This icon is still a popular budget laptop, but aspects of the design are, here in 2018, downright geriatric by any standard. (We reviewed the 2017 version of the MacBook Air last summer.)

The screen bezels on the current-gen MacBook Air are huge, and the laptop's last CPU refresh was only the smallest of upticks, bringing it just to 5th Generation Core, also known as "Broadwell." Given the CPUs in the rest of the Apple 2017 laptop line, the MacBook Air is clearly lagging the Mac pack. The 11.6-inch-screen model is dead, with only the 13-incher holding on.

It's possible Apple may finally fold the MacBook Air into the non-Air MacBooks, in the form of a 13-inch-screen MacBook model, or roll out a new, equivalent low-end MacBook to take its place. Ourselves, we'd like to see Apple overhaul the Air in five ways:

1. Slim it down.
2. Reduce the bezels or boost the screen size (or both).
3. Get the core components (CPU, storage) in line with 2018 standards, or at least 2017.
4. Update the ho-hum 1,440-by-900-pixel display to a Retina panel.
5. Modernize the physical connectivity, with at least one USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 port. (The current model's fastest connector is a fading-in-relevance Thunderbolt 2.)

The rumor mill has also suggested that an ARM-based MacBook Air could be in the offing, but a roundtable last year at Cupertino seemed to put the kibosh on that possibility.

Mac Desktop Tweaks: No Pro, Maybe Mini?

The last chapter in the Mac desktops story was the late-2017 rollout of the high-end Apple iMac Pro all-in-one (AIO), as a counterpart to the cylindrical Mac Pro desktop workstation. The iMac Pro AIO model probably won't refresh at WWDC—its Xeon W processors aren't in step with any rumored CPU-update cadence on Intel's part, and the machine just isn't that old. However, the more consumer-minded iMac (non-Pro) AIOs could see an iterative move to 8th Generation Kaby Lake-R or Coffee Lake; they relaunched last summer with straight 7th Generation Kaby Lake CPUs.

iMac Pro For Creatives

We would not expect to hear much, if anything, about the Mac Pro. A deep rethink of the standalone Mac desktop workstation is in the works, TechCrunch reported earlier this year. Any rejiggered Mac Pro likely will not roll out until sometime in 2019.

Then there's the long-running Apple Mac mini, which, in its current form, is running on aging dual-core CPUs and in its base models with traditional hard drive and Fusion Drive storage. It would seem a good candidate for a hardware refresh—or, for that matter, shipping off to Valhalla. Assuming a Viking funeral isn't in the offing, we could well see the Mac mini move to quad- or even six-core CPUs. Also, given the changes over the last couple of years in solid-state storage, we would not be surprised to see a hardware chassis change, made possible by a changeover to highly compact M.2-form-factor solid-state drives, as opposed to Apple's long-running Fusion Drive/hard drive approach.

That's just conjecture based on the times. Still, the Mac mini has been static in recent years, and given the radical smallification we've seen in mini-PCs from the likes of Intel in its NUC line of mini-desktops, Apple has the opportunity to make a statement with the long-neglected Mac Mini.

iPhone, iPad, iOS: Relatively Low Profiles?

Our lead analyst for mobile, Sascha Segan, is convinced that observers hungry for new iPhone hardware on the WWDC menu should, well, expect grumbling stomachs.

Plenty of rumors have circulated around a putative "iPhone SE 2," but Segan says don't count on it at WWDC. "That is something that a lot of iPhone lovers have been trying to will into reality," he notes. "But the most recent rumors say that it isn't happening this summer, if it happens at all. Apple may just fall back on using the iPhone 6s as its 'low-cost' iPhone."

The AirPower wireless charging pad that decloaked in 2017 might get a mention; it still hasn't seen a release or a release date.

More likely to materialize at WWDC is a preview of features that will come in the eventual iOS 12 release, which, of course, would trickle down to Apple's current mobile devices. Bloomberg reported this week that iOS tweaks this time around will center on digital health initiatives, including tools for monitoring digital-device usage and getting smartphone overuse under control. (See our recent feature on tech addiction.)

Upticks to the recent augmented-reality features for iPhone/iPad are also likely in the offing, as well as iterative tweaks to video calling and the functionality around Animojis. The Information also reported the likelihood of enhancements to the near-field-communication (NFC) functionality in late-model iPhones that might enable the chip to work with smart security solutions, such as smart locks, to open doors or vehicles. Many major iOS features, however, will be pushed to 2019, according to reporting earlier this year by Ina Fried of Axios.

As for the iPad, Apple rolled out some tweaks to the mainstream iPad tablet at an education-focused event earlier this year in Chicago. The refreshed $329 iPad will now come in a version geared toward educators that now includes support for the Apple Pencil, and with a $30 discount per iPad for schools. It's possible we may see some action on the creator-friendly Apple iPad Pro, but given how new the line is, relatively speaking, we're not sure if Apple has annual updates in mind for this line, and if it might move to a new Apple SoC now or when the next iPhone does.

Consumer Devices: Apple TV, Beats

Our senior analyst for consumer electronics, Will Greenwald, doesn't expect much new on the Apple TV front. Hardware refreshes for Apple TV have traditionally been few and far between, he notes, with the usual cadence for updates being in September, rather than at WWDC.

That said, Google floated new Android TV/Chromecast hardware at Google I/O, and Apple TV's form factor has been a long-running constant, unlike offerings from Roku, Google, and Amazon, which you can get in stick or dongle form factors. An Apple TV Stick or similar device to replace the non-4K Apple TV would not be a huge surprise. If that's the case, though, Greenwald suggests that any glimpses of development hardware will likely be kept behind closed doors, not exhibited on the WWDC big stage.

As for the long-rumored, white whale of a dedicated Apple TV—a full-on television with Apple-hardware guts—don't hold your breath. Not even the rumor mill has turned up any inklings by Apple to secure production of LCD panels large enough for TVs, and there isn't a precedent for putting tvOS or iOS into third-party hardware. We'd put the chances of an Apple-made or -branded TV as highly unlikely (because of the logistics), and of Apple TV hardware in another manufacturer's TV similarly so (on the basis of philosophy).

The rumor mill has, however, bandied about a Beats-branded, possibly Siri-enabled speaker to complement Apple's HomePod in the smart speaker line at a lower price point. Will that come to pass? We'll be on the ground at WWDC to check out all the Apple latest—whatever it turns out to be.

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