WWDC 2022: How to watch tomorrow's keynote, what to expect

WWDC 2022 (Worldwide Developer Conference) is scheduled to kick off on Monday, June 6. As it has been in the past, it is once again a virtual event that can be attended primarily online and is free for all developers to participate.

In the lead-up to WWDC, the theme for the event was revealed as “swiftly approaching.” This could be a reference to the Apple Swift programming language, hinting at the focus on developers. With that said, you can expect a ton of updates and news surrounding Apple’s operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, MacOS, watchOS, and more.

How to watch WWDC 2022

WWDC begins at 10 a.m. PT, or 1 p.m. ET, with the opening keynote. You can convert this to your local timezone here.

You can follow that opening keynote live on Apple’s website. You’ll also be able to watch on Apple’s YouTube channel, which we’ve embedded the video above for your convenience.

The best place to catch the action, though, is Apple’s event page. This page will be updated with a replay of the keynote shortly after the event ends. It also will also link you out to any hardware recaps or official details on other related announcements made on the stage.

Of course, if you own your own Apple hardware like an Apple TV, you can watch there, too. Or, if not, you can watch using the Apple TV app across platforms. And if you’re a developer, you can watch via the Apple Developer website.

What to expect at WWDC 2022

Blue MacBook Air concept image. — Apple Tomorrow/Twitter

Unlike Apple’s annual Spring or Fall hardware events, WWDC is reserved for talking about software. It’s rare for the company to showcase hardware at WWDC, but we do expect some this year if rumors end up being true.

We’ll touch on the software in a bit, but first, the good stuff. A new MacBook Air is the leading hardware that we expect to see at WWDC. It could come with iMac-like updated colors and a new webcam. We’re also hoping that Apple might announce an M2 processor for that MacBook Air. A MacBook Pro 13-inch with that same M2 is not out of the question, either.

Other than that, we hope to see a refreshed Mac Pro, which hasn’t been updated to Apple’s own custom silicon yet. This has been teased by Apple execs in the past at Apple’s last hardware event. A new Pro Display XDR might also fit in well with this, too as it is yet to have a true successor.

Mac Pro cheese grater design. — Simon Hrozian/Unsplash

On the software side, you can look out for some big updates to be announced for your iPad with iPadOS 16. Reports have it that this year’s update could bring long-requested features like resizable windows and a new MacOS-like multitasking mode. As for iPhones, expect iOS16, which could bring features like Door Detection, Live Captions, changes to notifications, and an always-on lock screen.

Then, for Macs, there’s MacOS 13, which could bring more exclusive features to M1-powered Macs, and improvements to System Preferences to match those of iOS. We even think that it could be named “Mammoth.”

Other updates coming at WWDC will be watchOS 9, and tvOS 16. WatchOS 9 could bring new features centered around sleep, fitness, and medication management for women.

And let us not forget the wildcard, Apple’s mixed reality headset. It’s said that Apple is working on “realityOS” for the headset, so it could make mention at WWDC. But that’s just a wild hunch.