The new versions of iOS and iPadOS will be showcased at Apple’s annual WWDC International Developer Conference the week of June 7. Version 15 of the operating system for iPhone and iPad is an announced revolution, with brand new notifications, home screen and lock screen (for the first time since 2010 when the iPad was born), more privacy and protection: these are the rumors collected on the net especially by Bloomberg and other specialized sites.
If the Cupertino company keeps the usual timing, in June the new versions of the tablet and smartphone operating system will be released only for developers, later (in August usually) they will become accessible as a public beta for everyone and finally between September and October will be distributed as a new version of the operating system, in conjunction with the launch of the new iPhone 13 (which will be presented at an event in September).
Expectations and indiscretions
In recent months, public expectations have increased almost spasmodically, as Apple has shown the power of the new M1 processor, based on the same technology as those of the iPhone and iPad, and presented the first Macs with Apple Silicon, until the launch. of the iPad Pro together with the iMac, also based on the M1 processor. The idea circulating among many professionals is that today more than ever, iPads have become extremely powerful products, but we still don’t have an operating system up to par. Many have wondered, in light of the presentation of the new iPad Pro with M1 processor which took place last April 20, if by chance in the future we will not see macOS, the operating system of iMacs and MacBooks, even on high-end tablets. Apple resolutely denies this, Greg “Joz” Jozwiak himself has made it clear that there will be no marriage between macOS and iPadOS. “There are two conflicting stories about the iPad and the Mac. There are those on the one hand who don’t know which one to choose because they see them overlapping. And there are those who claim that we are merging them into one product. The reality is that neither story is true: we work the best we can to make these two products the best yet each in its specific category. “
Popular expectations for iPadOS, however, are those of an operating system increasingly geared towards a “traditional computer” job, if you look at what is being said in the most popular international forums among Apple’s aficionados of things. However, the rumors gathered in the press indicate that the direction in which Apple is moving are different. The company would not intend, at least not with this version 15 of the two operating systems, to carry out a “cold fusion” between iPadOS and macOS (it is universally agreed that the smartphone version of the Cupertino operating system would remain bound to the specific use of this type of appliance).
Behind the corner
According to rumors, in fact, what is being prepared in Apple’s software labs is an operating system centered on some new key features. Especially as regards the lock screens and the basic screen (lock screen and home screen) which are the two environments of the tablet and smartphone experience that Apple controls the most, given that these devices yield the entirety of the screen to the app used from time to time, removing the context of the operating system, unlike what happens with PCs and Macs.
The first functionality would therefore be that of a different and more flexible and customizable notification system. Already the current version 14 of iPadOS and iOS has marked a departure from previous versions. Now, however, there will be more widgets, it will even be possible to delete all the apps from the first screen and replace them with just widgets.
It will also be possible to configure different contextual preferences for notifications, so that, depending on the state in which the phone is located, the apps send their notifications in a different way: for example, silently at night and during rest ( do not disturb mode and sleep mode), bright during a meeting or a phone call, in an audible way if the phone perceives the movement of the user and therefore has to make noise to hear it. All this by deciding which apps by app will change the status of notifications and how.
Changes in sight also for iMessage, that is Messages, the Cupertino app that allows you to send “normal” sms (the green bubbles) and “special” ones via the internet between Apple devices (the blue bubbles), which competes with Whatsapp , Telegram and Signal. The news would be a further transformation of the app to make it more “social” and therefore more conceptually similar to those of the competition, with the possibility perhaps of creating groups and channels and easily sharing messages and contents.
Finally, despite the brand new version of the operating system that is released these days, i.e. iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, it supports a more structured privacy management and blocks third-party cookies that allow cross-tracking of users even from apps, the version 15 of Apple’s post-PC operating systems will introduce even more sophisticated ways that will block all data collection by apps that use special trackers to be able to bypass traditional control methods and still collect sensitive data such as the number of phone and location. The new feature will be able to fully harness apps and their hidden tracking mechanisms, bringing control back to the user’s side.
The other platforms
Finally, Apple during WWDC 2021 will also announce new versions of macOS, watchOS and tvOS (the operating systems for Macs, watches and Apple TV set top boxes) with apparently not as revolutionary updates, even if in reality they may simply not yet be. details leaked about it. Between now and the end of the year, in addition to the new phones, a new generation of Apple Silicon processor and some higher-end Mac computers than those presented so far and all based on the M1 processor are also expected. According to rumors, the new processor should be called M1x and be a “pro” version of the current M1. Announcements on this side of products are expected for next autumn.