Lots of people are discussing the likely announcments at this years WWDC. We can expect lots of software improvments on iOS and MacOS, maybe some new hardware updates like AirPod 2 and the iPhone SE 2. iOS 12 will have some new features, for example updates to Siri, which will also work on the HomePod.
I’d like to list some predictions around Apples main event. A lot of issues have hit big companies in the past few months. We had the Cambridge Analytica mess with Facebook, the complex GRDP laws in the EU and issues with Alexa malfunctioning. These problems show us that privacy is a big issues with todays devices and user behaviour.
Apple will use their big announcment to start a convesation with the user about how people should use their smartphones. The next iOS update will include a new easy to read breakdown of how much time you spend on apps, If this is done correctly it could break people out of the “dopamine feedback loop” app’s like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube hook us into. Imagine getting a notification telling you that you’ve spend 5 hours scrolling endlessly though memes on Facebook.
This feature will likely be optional as it could get some unfriendly feedback by people who arnt ready to change their digital behaviour.
Apple is spending a lot of money on Augmented Reality and Tim Cook has said multiple times that AR will be the next big thing. The issue that a lot of companies have with AR is content, new devices like smartglasses will need a long list of apps at launch, these apps are being created now.
Last year apple introduced ARkit, the SDK that allowed developers to create AR apps using Swift. It can detect vertical and horizonal planes which can be used as platforms to anchor virtual objects into the physical world. The next step with ARkit is the ability to share an AR experience with another person, both people will be able to see the same virtual object using two devices. Apple will likely demo ARkit 2 with a new multiplayer AR game, where two iPads/iPhones can interact in the same virtual space.
I’ve been wondering if a developer could create a hide and seek style app where both people launch a shared AR game, one person hides and after 30 seconds, the other person tries to find them, the app will know where the person is hiding and can slowly give hints using virtual footsteps on the floor. Whoever finds the other person quicker is the winner. I guess this will only work if the spacial tracking is very precise.