We are just a few weeks away from the next Apple event, WWDC 2022, also known as the Apple event for developers. As you know, this event reveals, among other things, all the news about Apple’s new operating systems.
And, with the event just a few weeks away, a highly respected analyst has decided to reveal some details of the next iOS 16 update. For now, we know that it will be a flagship update.
In the latest edition of the newsletter Power On, Mark Gurman discusses the new version of the software of the operating system for iPhone. “There should be major system-wide changes,” Gurman predicts, including “new ways to interact” and “some totally revamped Apple apps.”
Although he does not finish saying anything concrete, from his words we understand that there will be important changes. That change in “the way you interact” could point to updates in how the widgets on iPhone.
The English publication MacRumors explains that widgets of the iPhone home screen, originally added in iOS 14, are not as interactive as they should be. This is precisely what could change with iOS 16.
As for “new Apple apps,” Gurman could simply mean that Apple intends to update — or freshen up — a number of internal apps that ship with iOS, like Safari or Messages.
However, this would be the norm in any iOS update, so we prefer to get our hopes up thinking that Gurman actually means that Apple is going to launch completely new applications, such as Files in iOS 11, Measure in iOS 12 and Translate in iOS 14 What new apps will we see in iOS 16?
While the functionality of the software change significantly, its appearance will remain largely the same, with Gurman explaining that a “complete redesign” is not expected.
The last time Apple completely revamped the look of iOS was the controversial iOS 7 redesign in 2013 – when the almost realistic “skeuomorphic” design language gave way to vivid flat colors – and ever since then Apple has preferred to tinker with its design.
On Monday, Apple released iOS 15.5, which could be the last big update to iOS 15. It brings some new features, bug fixes, and might also contain some hints about what Apple is planning for iOS 16.
Gurman’s predictions are usually quite accurate, although we must bear in mind that he is not 100% infallible. In fact, speaking of percentages, AppleTrack currently assigns it an accuracy rating of 86.4%.
His predictions about iOS 16, however, seem quite logical and fit what we already know and what has happened in the past. If anything, in fact, they could be criticized for being too obvious predictions.
In a tweet, Gurman reported that the first public beta is scheduled to arrive alongside the third developer beta in July. That’s slightly behind the schedule for iOS 15, which delivered the public beta on June 30, 2021.
iOS 16 will be announced and showcased at the WWDC keynote on June 6 and will likely be available immediately as a beta for developers to test. Following a series of evolving betas for both developers and members of the public beta testing program, iOS 16 will have its full public release in the fall, most likely in September, alongside iPhone 14.