WWDC: With SharePlay, Apple invites devs to watch together

In an interesting hint at what’s to come at WWDC, Apple has updated the Apple Developer app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV with a selection of interesting new changes, including SharePlay support.

Watching WWDC with friends

What this means for developers attending WWDC virtually is that even the most vulnerable will be able to watch event highlights, such as the keynote, with others.

The app will also be an essential tool for developers at WWDC. Developers will be able to join yet unannounced seminars, sessions and workshops on any new features the company will announce. They can also join Digital Lounges and take part in various challenges.

The SharePlay support works like this:

• Initiate a FaceTime call (or group call).
• Open the developer app to begin playback.
• You can then choose whether to play the video on your own device or share it with everyone else on the call.

What Apple has to say

Apple’s notes to the release explain the new update lets developers:

• Explore all WWDC22 has to offer, including session videos, Digital Lounges, 1-to-1 Labs, coding and design challenges, and more.
• Sign up for interactive activities like Digital Lounges and labs directly from the developer app.
• Watch videos together using SharePlay.

The company has also fixed bugs and rebuilt the search inside the app to be more extensive and to also support quoted phrases.

What we can expect?

With the exception of very broad stroke predictions around software, it seems strange to note just how little information is leaking out ahead of this year’s show (though a week is a long time in Apple coverage). New operating systems and APIs are inevitable (you can see Swift on the event invite), but what else can we think about?

Apple’s WWDC image seems to have its eye on Swift.

Back to realityOS

We do think Apple will ramp-up its APIs for Augmented and Virtual Reality. There is a small chance we may even experience an early tech preview of what the company intends to put inside Apple AR Glasses, and this will likely include first glance at realityOS, which Apple is now quietly staking trademarks too.

Two-year transition complete

There is some hope we may meet the first Apple Silicon Mac Pro at the event. While there may well be supply chain challenges to shipping the product swiftly (though Apple may have put plans in place), any such launch would make perfect sense as it would mark two years since the Apple silicon transition began and mark the first big refresh since the last Mac Pro, which was also introduced at WWDC. This also sets the stage for M2 later this year.

Home Matters

• I think there is also a good chance for additional news around Apple’s home devices, principally around the new Matter/Thread standard and additional use cases for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) as a way to connect products, particularly for high end streamed audio and video at very high quality.
• I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see news around HomeKit at the show, which will likely mark the looming launch of Matter, nor would it be completely unexpected for Apple’s new Classic music service to drop in the next few days, just before the event as a way to show the benefits of ultra-high quality wireless media playback.
• I would be very interested to discover if the new Apple Studio Display hosts UWB, if it does, as that may help compensate for the sad lack of Wi-Fi in those systems, given they do contain an iOS chip.

It’s going to be interesting, as ever. And now developers can watch what happens using SharePlay and enjoy a chat with their friends.

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