Apple Inc is planning to unleash a slew of new apps, features and development tools at its annual software conference, the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), on June 3.

To improve its devices and strengthen its connection to the customers, the consumer technology giant will walk a fine line between wooing other app makers and also competing against them.

At the conference, the company will reveal updates to the operating systems that run the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV.

According to sources familiar with the plans, highlights include upgrades to core iPhone apps such as Maps, Reminders and Messages; new apps for the Apple Watch that make it more independent from the iPhone; and enhancements to the health tracking capabilities of Apple devices.The new updates also give users access to latest services like Apple Music and the upcoming TV+ video-streaming subscription, which give Apple a recurring revenue stream.

New features coming to the Apple Watch illustrate the balance the company must strike.

Apple plans to add the App Store directly to the Watch so that users can download apps on the go. This could open up new opportunities for outside developers, boosting app installations.

Apple has its own new ‘watch apps’ in the works, as well.

There will be new health applications, a calculator and a books app for listening to audio books from the wrist, said people familiar with the plans.

The App Store drove $46.6 billion in spending last year, almost double the amount spent on Google’s Android equivalent, according to Sensor Tower estimates. That’s wooed over 20 million developers who have created over 2 million apps for Apple’s platform.

There are 1.4 billion active Apple devices in use, and 92 per cent of iPhones and iPads run the latest operating system, or the version before that.

The App Store and other digital services are on course to generate more than $50 billion in annual revenue soon.

The biggest change coming to the Mac this year is the ability for iPad apps to run on laptops and desktops, as Bloomberg News reported.

For the first time, Apple will allow developers to rework their iPad apps so the software can run on the Mac, as well.

This will be useful for developers who are looking to simplify their development process, but it will also brighten the macOS app ecosystem with several new applications. Developers will still need to submit separate versions of the app to Apples iOS and Mac App Stores, but the new software development kit will mean they don’t have to write the underlying code twice.

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