Let’s talk about WWDC 2020, ARM-based Macs, and more

WWDC 2020 is just around the corner, and there's a lot to talk about.

It's the middle of June, and it's quite an exciting time indeed. That's because WWDC 2020 starts next week, and boy, there's a good chance that there's a lot of stuff that will happen during this online-only event.

First, Apple has unveiled their program lineup for WWDC 2020, which kicks off June 22 at 10 am PDT with the usual Special Event Keynote. If you're a developer, there will be over 100 engineering sessions to participate in, along with new developer forums, 1-1 labs, and more. Apple will also have a customary Platforms state of the union several hours after the keynote, and it'll discuss the latest advancements and features for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

I'm eager for any hardware announcements, as well as the first looks into iOS and iPadOS 14, watchOS 7, and macOS mostly. Our own Joe Keller has put together a fantastic wish list of what he wants to see in iPadOS 14, so make sure to give that a look.

Speaking of WWDC, we're expecting Apple to announce that it is shifting away from Intel chips in new Macs and replacing them with its own ARM-based processors, similar to the A-series chips that we have in iPhones and iPads. Even though the hardware could be months away, using ARM-based processors in Mac would require new architecture, so developers need to re-optimize their software.

Joe Keller wrote a piece about why ARM-based Macs would be a good thing back in April, and I highly recommend giving it a read if you haven't already. Apple dumping Intel chips for their own processors would mean Macs having consistent improvements and upgrades on a regular basis, as well as better overall performance and power consumption. Again, if Apple does switch to their own ARM-based Macs, the transition may be a bumpy one, since developers need to re-optimize software. But the end result could be well worth it.

Another rumor that's making rounds is that Apple will debut a new iMac at WWDC with AMD Navi GPU and — finally — no Fusion Drive. Honestly, I've been wanting to upgrade my desk setup to an iMac, and if this is true, then I can see myself upgrading sometime soon. One of the reasons I haven't bit the bullet on an iMac is that the options within my price range all have Fusion Drives, and from what I hear, they're terrible. So Apple eliminating the Fusion Drive from the iMac lineup would be perfect because SSDs are the way to go. Seriously — who still wants a regular hard drive with moving parts in this day and age?

With all this talk about ARM-based Macs and other upcoming things to look forward to at WWDC 2020, it certainly has helped the company in the stock market. The price of AAPL has bounced back to above the $300 per share mark that it started 2020 with (before everything caught fire), making Apple the first-ever $1.5 trillion U.S. company. So at least there is some light at the end of the tunnel that is 2020.

In other news, Adobe has finally released its new Photoshop Camera app to the public, after being in beta for a while. I'll be taking this app for a test drive over the weekend, so stay tuned for a full review later this week. And if you want some video games to distract yourself with, because this year has sucked royally, make sure to check out Nintendo's Summer Game Sale. It ends on June 16, so hurry on over to the eShop for some great new games for your Switch!

Until next time,

- Christine Romero-Chan