Friday, March 29

What To Expect From WWDC 2017

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Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote kicks off 7pm local SAST (South Africa Standard Time) tonight.

The conference is usually filled with software and OS news and updates, however it seems like Apple has let one piece of news slip prior to the start of the event.

According to a tweet by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, Apple’s US App Store had a placeholder listing for an Apple-developed app called Files. The listing didn’t have many details, but according to the screenshot, it appears that the app requires the yet-to-be unannounced iOS 11. and its icon is unmistakably that of a macOS-style folder.

Based on the icon, which is clearly the same as the MacOS folder icon, as well as the name of the app, it appears that Apple is overhauling iOS’s file management system. Unlike Android devices, which allow you to access files on your handset, Apple’s iOS devices  – iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad – have only allowed file and document access to select apps and cloud based services.

If you’re using the iCloud Drive app, you’ll get a semblance of file structure, but the files themselves  would need to stored on iCloud Drive. This is unlike Android’s approach which favours  traditional file management.

Alongside an iOS 11 announcement – as well as the official Files app announcement – Apple is expected to be unveiling their answer to Amazon’s Echo speaker with a Siri powered speaker, as well as updates to the entire MacBook range and a new iPad size.
You can livestream the event here from 7pm SAST tonight.
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