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Apple is expected to make big waves over the next few months, and it all starts on Monday.
Company Worldwide Developers Conference It begins with a keynote address at 10 a.m. PT at Apple Park in Cupertino, California. We’ll take a look at upcoming Apple features and software updates, like previews iOS and WatchOSbut we probably won’t see any new devices, like Apple’s The iPhone is rumored to be foldable, yet.
for now, Worldwide Developers Conference 2026 It revolves around Apple’s software features and artificial intelligence developments. And everything is still a big mystery. But that makes it fun to speculate about what might happen next week.
To get in on the action, CNET Group hosts a Great guessing game The contest is on its websites – CNET, Lifehacker, Mashable, PCMag, and ZDNet. Three rounds of guessing allow you to predict what Apple will unveil this year. Every answer you get correctly gives you one chance in the drawing to win the final answer Apple watch Announced in September.
The first round of the big guessing game was all about new Apple software (such as iOS, iPadOS, VisionOSand WatchOS Mac). Your guesses ahead of WWDC in June are out there and astounding.
Most readers believe that Apple’s new CEO will speak at WWDC
June’s WWDC keynote is expected to be Apple CEO Tim Cook’s last before He resigns in September. It is still unknown whether Apple’s next CEO, John Ternos, will speak at the event. The vast majority of CNET readers (96%) believe Ternus will speak during Monday’s keynote, while 4% believe he will not.
Here is some food for thought. Cook was Apple’s chief operating officer before being named CEO. He was less involved in product development and advertising, instead creating and improving Apple’s robust supply chain ecosystem, helping Apple become a trillion-dollar company.
Ternus is currently Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, and has been part of keynotes at Apple events before. We’ll have to see if Ternus ever takes to the stage as a presenter, but it’s almost certain that Cook will start the event off with his usual “Good morning.”
MacOS 27 may not have a title this year
CNET readers haven’t reached a consensus on what MacOS 27 will be called, but there are some notable guesses. Since 2013, MacOS has always had a nickname based on a California landmark, like Mavericks or Catalina. Before that, Apple Mac software had big names like Cheetah, Jaguar, and Puma.
The names readers guessed for the new operating system varied, but just over 9% think it could simply be called MacOS 27 without the California moniker this year, which would be a first. Some readers think it could be redwood (6%), Shasta (4%), and mammoth (3%). Other notable names include Big Bear and Emerald Bay.
Here’s a look at previous releases. Keep in mind that Apple changed its numbering conventions in 2025 to reflect the year following its release.
- Mac 26 (2025): Tahoe
- MacOS 15 (2024): Sequoia
- MacOS 14 (2023): Sonoma
- MacOS 13 (2022): Ventura
- MacOS 12 (2021): Monterey
- MacOS 11 (2020): Big Sur
Repeatedly mentioning “Apple Intelligence” is an oversight
Based on CNET Group readers’ guesses, the term “Apple Intelligence” could be mentioned anywhere from zero to a billion times during Monday’s WWDC keynote. Even among reasonable guesses, there was wide variation.
The average guess, or middle number of all guesses, was 26, but the average guess was much higher at 68. (There were some very high guesses.)
We heard the term for the first time Apple intelligence in WWDC in June 2024And it began to spread to iPhone, iPads and Macs in October 2024. Since then, Apple Intelligence has become a buzzword for Apple amid the recent development of artificial intelligence.
Apple Intelligence has launched with some features, including text rewriting, image cleaning to remove unwanted objects, and notification prioritization. However, artificial intelligence has advanced significantly since 2024, and Apple is increasingly investing in its development.
newly Apple Intelligence updates for accessibility features Devices detected: VoiceOver and Magnifier, to describe what’s on your screen. Apple Intelligence now supports natural language, letting you speak like a normal person to control your iPad or iPhone.
As Apple evolves to embrace AI, we’ll likely hear a lot more about Apple’s intelligence as it’s integrated into more operating system features, such as Late Siri update It is expected to run on Google’s Gemini AI core models. We’ll need to wait and see exactly how much AI dominates Monday’s WWDC keynote.
Watch this: What to expect from Apple at WWDC 2026 | Technology today
Readers are sure that WatchOS will have an AI-powered health coach
Speaking of AI, most CNET Group readers (89%) think the next WatchOS upgrade could include an AI-based health coach, while 11% don’t think so. WatchOS 26 came with some fitness upgrades in particular Workout buddyan AI-powered personal trainer that works in real time.
Vanessa Hand Orellana, CNET’s leading smartwatch writer, said in her commentary that Workout Buddy could be Apple that lays the foundation for fitness and artificial intelligence. It’s also an opportunity for Apple to see what it can do with AI on the smartwatch. The AI-powered coach helps you understand your needs, Orellana added Health data It motivates you to build better habits. So a health coach that focuses on your overall health isn’t too far off based on what we’ve seen from Apple.
Is it possible that the iOS 27 public beta will be released as early as June?
I like that Apple is giving us a chance to test the new software before officially releasing it through them Apple beta program program. But we never know for sure when the official public betas will be available to the public until they do.
A surprising number of CNET readers — 53% — believe Apple will launch the iOS 27 public beta this month, while only 17% expected it to come in July. Others think it may come in August (9%) or September (21%).
Although it was the third most popular guess, there is a strong case for July – the iOS 26 public beta was released on July 23, 2025, and the iOS 26 public beta was released on July 23, 2025. iOS 18 It will be released on July 15, 2024. We will have to see if Apple follows the same pattern and if we will get any hints on Monday.
Mark your calendars for July 7 for round two of CNET’s big guessing game, where we’ll focus on Apple devices, like Apple’s beloved iPad and iPhone. Remember, every correct answer puts you one step closer to winning the latest Apple Watch this September.
