Apple Inc. today revealed that WWDC21, the next installment of its annual technical event for iOS and Mac developers, will take place online June 7-11.

Apple’s WWDC, or Worldwide Developers Conference, event series draws significant attention because it’s often where the company announces new releases of its operating systems. The iPhone maker said five different platforms will appear on the agenda this year: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

The next iteration of iOS, the likely main highlight of the event, could bring several interface changes. Apple is expected to introduce an interactive version of iOS widgets, an existing feature of the operating system that allows an app to embed information such as weather alerts directly into the home screen. Interactive widgets might allow iPhone owners not only to view app content on the home screen but also to perform actions such as bringing up a previous weather update.

It’s also believed iOS 15 might increase the number of default apps that users can replace with competing services. Apple sets Safari as the default browser on new iPhones and has similar settings in place for several of its other services.

Beyond the operating system updates, Apple stated in an announcement today that participating developers will have an opportunity to “learn about the new technologies, tools, and frameworks they rely on to build innovative and platform-differentiating apps and games.” That suggests the company might be readying new versions of some of the programming tools it provides for building mobile and Mac apps.

Apple’s leadership team will discuss the updates in the WWDC21 keynote address as well as on what the iPhone maker refers to as its State of the Union stage, which executives use to provide a more in-depth overview of new announcements. Additionally, Apple is promising virtual technical labs for developers. 

“We are working to make WWDC21 our biggest and best yet,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations and enterprise and education marketing. Last year’s WWDC drew more than 20 million viewers worldwide and saw the company hold over 4,500 virtual labs.

The June event is expected to be followed up by hardware announcements later in 2021. Rumors suggest that Apple Inc. is readying new iPhones with more responsive and power-efficient displays, as well as a redesigned MacBook Air powered by an  improved version of the company’s internally developed M1 system-on-chip. 

Image: Apple