Apple is set to host its five-day annual developer conference from June 7.
The online event, with a tagline 'glow and behold', will be live streamed on the company's website and other platforms from its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
“Building on the record-breaking participation and learnings from last year’s online conference, WWDC21 is an opportunity for developers to learn about the new technologies, tools, and frameworks,” Apple said in a statement.
“WWDC21 will offer unique insight into the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS."
Here is what the iPhone maker is expected to introduce to the market during the event.
New iOS and iPadOS
Apple is not expected to launch new iPhones and iPads before September. But the company will most likely reveal its next operating systems, reportedly called iOS 15 for phones and iPadOS 15 for tablets, at the event.
Apple could also offer more tools for home screen customisation and a redesign of its App Store.
First glimpse of Apple Glasses
Apple is reportedly providing a first glimpse of its much-awaited augmented and virtual reality headset, Apple Glasses – a product that has been in the development pipeline for many years.
This will be Apple's foray into the augmented reality devices segment, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who closely follows the company, said in a research note to clients. Apple's AR/VR product roadmap will be rolled out in the next few years. A helmet type equipment will be revealed by next year, glasses in next four years and contact lenses will be introduced by 2030–2040, he added.
“We foresee that the helmet product will provide AR and VR experiences, while glasses and contact lens ... are more likely to focus on AR applications," Mr Kuo said.
Update on Apple Watch
Apple usually unveils the latest software for its smartwatches during the developers conference every year. It is expected to release the trial version of the new WatchOS for developers that will be followed by public betas. Industry experts expect the new software, likely to be called WatchOS 8, to add new health monitoring tools and sleep tracking features to the device.
Apple has a clear leadership in the smartwatch industry, with the iPhone maker having a 40 per cent share of the global smartwatch sales in 2020. It was followed by Samsung (10 per cent) and Huawei (8 per cent), according to Counterpoint Research. The company sold 33.9 million smartwatches last year, up 19 per cent from last year.
Second-generation M2 chips for Macs
Apple is expected to reveal the second-generation of its in-house chips, the M2, for desktop computers. In November, it announced plans to introduce a laptop with its own silicon chips, ending a 16-year partnership with Intel. Last month, it rolled out its first iMac line-up with a processor developed in-house, the M1. It will update the market on MacOS during the developers' conference.
How to watch Apple’s developer conference?
Live streaming will be available through apple.com, the Apple Developer app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, and YouTube. Users can also access the on-demand playback available after the conclusion of the stream.
More than 200 sessions and video collections will be posted each day, the company said. Users can also get one-on-one guidance on how to implement Apple technologies, design principles and manage their app on the App Store.
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
FA Cup quarter-final draw
The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March
Sheffield United v Arsenal
Newcastle v Manchester City
Norwich v Derby/Manchester United
Leicester City v Chelsea
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Everton%20Fixtures
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
