Apple To Reveal New In-House Apps At WWDC

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where the company introduces new products and services and an operating system upgrade, is slated for June 3.

Bloomberg reports that the company will introduce a slew of homegrown products that illustrate Apple’s aim to straddle the line between working with outside app makers and creating products that compete with them.

The company is planning to release updates for all of its products, including the Apple Watch and Apple TV, noted the report. Legacy iPhone apps like Maps, Reminders and Messages will all be upgraded, as will apps for the Apple Watch to make it more independent of the phone.

Companies like Spotify and others have complained to regulators in Europe that Apple’s position as both app maker and overseer of the App Store gives it an unfair advantage.

“Developers, from first-time engineers to larger companies, can rest assured that everyone is playing by the same set of rules,” Apple said in a response to Spotify’s complaint. “That’s how it should be. We want more app businesses to thrive – including the ones that compete with some aspect of our business, because they drive us to be better.”

Some of the reported features coming to Apple’s iOS 13 include a new operating system called Yukon, as well as software that will speed up devices and get rid of bugs. There will also be interface tweaks, including the launch of new animations and widgets. A new nighttime mode called “Dark Mode” will also debut, and Apple is reportedly testing a new keyboard that would let users swipe across letters. Additionally, an upgraded health app is in the works, along with a potential new feature that would allow users to use an iPad as a second screen for drawing. The Reminders app upgrade will also include a new screen with four default task sections.