Apple issues press invites for WWDC 2017 keynote on June 5; here're 7 most likely announcements

Apple on Tuesday began sending out press invites to members of the media for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2017), confirming that it would host a keynote presentation on June 5 at 10:00 am Pacific Time (10:30 pm IST).

The keynote is scheduled to take place at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. As announced by Apple in February, the WWDC 2017 will take place from June 5 to June 9 in San Jose, marking a departure from the past editions of the event that had long been held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

It will be the first time since 2002 that the company has held its annual developers conference in San Jose.

Apple is expected to host about 5,000 developers and 1,000 engineers during the event, which is known for introduction of new software products. Those who cannot attend the conference will be able to watch it online through the WWDC 2017 website, and the WWDC app for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

The WWDC 2017 is widely expected to take the wraps off Apple's four new major software platforms, including iOS 11, macOS 10.13, tvOS 11 and watchOS 4. In addition to these software packages, the iPhone-maker is also likely to introduce its much anticipated Siri smart speaker, a new smart home accessory which is expected to rival Amazon Echo and Google Home.

KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also said in a report last week that Apple would very likely unveil a Siri speaker, which may go on sale in the second half of this year.

The Cupertino tech giant is also expected to use the event to announce a new iPad Pro, which could feature the company's A10 series of chips that debuted with the iPhone 7. While rumours are rife that Apple has been working on a significantly overhauled iPad, it's unclear whether the WWDC 2017 will witness such a device.

The seventh most likely announcement during the upcoming event could be related to new MacBooks since Apple's popular 12-inch notebook computers with Retina display have not received any update in over a year.

Apple is highly expected to launch three iPhones this year, including a 4.7-inch iPhone 7s, a 5.5-inch iPhone 7s Plus and the so-called iPhone 8 with an edge-to-edge OLED display. However, it's very unlikely that the company will make any relevent announcement about these handsets during next month's event.