Rumor Roundup: What Will Apple Reveal at WWDC 2012?

WWDC 2012 is set to start on June 11 in San Francisco. As always, we're completely in the dark until the event actually kicks off. So, what will Apple unveil at the event this year? No one really knows, but that doesn't stop them from speculating--and you love speculation. Admit it, it keeps your blood boiling and gives you something to look forward to! Well, just for you, we've rounded up the most important and viable WWDC rumors currently making the rounds. Read on, and please speculate with us in the comments below!

A Thinner Macbook Pro

Image courtesy of 9to5Mac

Normally, we don't hold much truck with rumors suggesting that a new piece of hardware is going to make its debut at WWDC. After all, it is the World Wide DEVELOPERS Conference: an event geared towards developers that make the software we in turn typically love and take for granted. That said, if what Ars Technica says is true, taking the wraps off of a new Mac at the event makes a whole lot of sense.

Word around the campfire is that the new 15-inch MacBook Pro will be the first Apple computer to have a Retina display. That's great news for Mac users, but it's also kind of a pain for developers as they'll have to adjust the code of their programs to accommodate the higher resolution display. By announcing the computer at WWDC, they'll have time to get their geek ducks in a row before the hardware becomes available to consumers. In addition to a Retina Display, folks are also whispering that the new MacBook Pro will boast...

A thinner profile 

As 9to5Mac points out, part of the laptop's new slimmer lines are said to have been accomplished by Cupertino's omission of an optical drive. Sure, why not? They've already done away with optical drives in the MacBook Air and the Mac Mini. It makes sense to carry the changes on throughout the rest of their hardware line up as well, especially when you consider how much dough they're making off of sales from the Mac App Store and the purchase of external super drives. 

USB 3.0.

With USB 2.0 getting a little long in the tooth, and high priced Thunderbolt peripherals trickling out at a snail's pace, it's believed by 9to5Mac that USB 3.0 will finally make an appearance. This rumor may be viable. While Apple is generally slow to adopt new standards (we're still waiting on Blu-ray compatibility), USB 3.0 has been around for long enough that Apple's hardware engineers might have been given the go ahead by the powers that be to bake it into the company's new hardware moving forward. It's most likely that the standard will allowed to run side by side with Thunderbolt, as opposed to replacing it, especially when you consider the potential transfer speeds that Thunderbolt enable hard is capable of reaching. Nothing else currently on the market can touch it. 

Mountain Lion

Yep, an operating system counts as software, so it's a safe bet that we'll be seeing the official release of Mountain Lion ay WWDC. Developers have had a few months to play with it already, and Apple has been busy polishing the OS for release. What's the difference between Mountain Lion and old-fashion Lion? We've already talked about this at length, but in a nutshell, the latest iteration of OS X will boast:

Tighter iOS Integration

In addition to the Calendar and Address Book, PhotoStream and iTunes Match syncing that Apple hardware users are already benefitting from, we'll soon also be able to sync our Notes, Game Centre data and Messages data though iCloud. Speaking of Messages, the chat and texting application is set to replace iChat. Fortunately, we'll be gaining more than we lose. Messages will allow users to  text with iOS users from their desktop or laptop, as well as chat with other computer users via much loved standards such as Jabber, Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! Messenger.

Message Center

Thanks to Mountain Lion, Mac users will soon have access to iOS-style Message Centre functionality. Will it be enough to sway people away from the awesomeness that is Growl? Only time will tell. 

Twitter Integration

Just like with your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, Mountain Lion is said to boast deep Twitter integration. This could make it possible to tweet information form a wide number of OS X-based applications. Great. Like I didn't have enough trouble focusing on my work already. 

iPad Mini

The introduction of a new iPad, with a smaller 7.85 inch display and a different resolution will force developers to rework their apps if they want them to be universal. Because of this, it's a fair shake to assume that if Apple's going to unveil an iPad mini any time this year, it'll be at WWDC 2012 -- especially if the company follows tradition and releases a new iPhone in the fall. The summer release of an iPad Mini would allow consumers throw their money at Apple right up until the leaves start to turn. By then it'll be time to start salivating over the iPhone 5. You can read up on the history iPad Mini rumors here.

iOS 6

Sure, why not? iOS five has been awesome, but we're always happy to see Apple march forward with new features to make the mobile computing experience that much more extraordinary. Our geeky co-workers at TechRadar have put together a great rundown of what we can expect from the next version of Apple's mobile operating system, including Near Field Communications (NFC), dual app multitasking for iPads, and even the possibility of widget support.

However, we're not sure if they'll end up branding it iOS 6. The naming of the new iPad's proof that Apple is not willing to get itself tied in numbers when marketing their hardware. In light of this, it's not likely that jumping to a new number to indicate an incremental update to what's still essentially the same operating system will fly with them anymore either. iOS 5 still has enough play left in it to all for the addition of a new new features like NFC chips and the addition of widgets. We may not see iOS 6 until an paradigm shift in the operating system's is functionality is made… but Apple, rumors being what they are, we're ready to be proven wrong. 

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Original Page: http://www.maclife.com/article/columns/rumor_roundup_what_will_apple_reveal_wwdc_2012

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Regards,

Derik Chan