What is Apple planning for its WWDC 2015 event today?

The World Wide Developers Conference is Apple’s yearly event aimed at its growing global community of software, hardware and apps makers and is traditionally not the venue for new hardware reveals. However, expect plenty of new services. The most eagerly anticipated announcement is Apple’s response to the music streaming market, typified by the success and ubiquity of services like Spotify. Music Apple’s take on streaming is expected to be baked into iTunes and the music player app on the iPhone and iPad and will put curation by music fans above generating playlists via algorithm. What isn’t clear yet is how much the company is going to charge for the premium, ad-free tier of the service. The latest reports put the figure at $10 a month and suggest that as well as uninterrupted music,  the service will come with a number of exclusives from artists including Drake and Pharrell. TV In May, it was finally revealed that despite constant denials, Apple had indeed tried to build its own television set but had abandoned the project after finding it impossible to create a traditional television different enough from every other television in the world to make the venture worthwhile. That’s because television is now about content and that’s where Apple is focusing. Expect a new Apple TV set-top box with a greater focus on gaming, a much more comprehensive remote control unit and possibly even gesture recognition. Or not TV Apple has also been developing its own subscription-based internet TV service, which promises curated and exclusive content. However, rumours suggest that it is still having problems negotiating terms with some rights holders and that, as a result, it may not be officially unveiled at this year’s event. Operating systems The WWDC is where Apple gives the world its first taste of what to expect from the next updates to its desktop and tablet and smartphone operating systems. The new versions of both are tipped to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, ironing out the bugs and improving functionality. See for yourself Apple will be streaming the keynote address live, which is scheduled to begin at 10am Pacific on June 8, via its events channel on the Apple TV and on its own website – however, the video will only play on its own Safari web browser. AFP