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wrldwzrd89

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jun 6, 2003
12,110
77
Solon, OH
iOS 9:
Main areas of focus: Stability, Developer API additions, new core technologies
Device support added in this release: iPhone 6S, iPad Air (3rd generation), iPad mini (4th generation)
Device support dropped in this release: iPhone 4S, iPad (2nd generation), iPod touch (5th generation)
Other notable changes: The iPod touch will cease to exist as a product Apple sells with the release of iOS 9.
Release date: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 (for existing devices) / Friday, October 23, 2015 (for newly added devices – the same date those devices themselves become available)

iOS 10:
Main areas of focus: Accessibility, "Grand Unification" of APIs
Device support added in this release: iPhone 7, iPad Air (4rd generation), iPad mini (5th generation), iPad Pro (1st generation)
Device support dropped in this release: iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPad (3rd and 4th generations)
Other notable changes: The iPad Pro will likely have a custom build of iOS 10, which will more closely resemble OS X on a laptop. Swift 1.3 will be released.
Release date: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 (for existing devices) / Friday, October 21, 2016 (for newly added devices – the same date those devices themselves become available)

OS X 10.11:
New features: UXKit framework - "The bridge between iOS and OS X developers have been waiting for"; Siri makes its debut on OS X
API changes: Carbon switches to "Run-only" mode. The headers for compiling Carbon apps will go away as a result.
Developer tools changes: Swift 1.4 will be released alongside Xcode 7.
Supported Mac changes: Support dropped for all 2007 Macs and some 2008 Mac models.
Other interesting notes: Apple will pick a marketing name for 10.11 from the remaining pool of California place names. Which one they'll use is anyone's guess, but I think "Corona" is a likely choice.

OS X 10.12:
New features: "Grand Unification" of APIs, stronger core (like Snow Leopard)
API changes: Apple Java 6 support is removed.
Developer tools changes: Swift updated to 1.5. Xcode updated to 7.x as well (exact number depends on the number of iterations of iOS 9).
Supported Mac changes: Support dropped for remaining 2008 Macs.
Other interesting notes: Apple will once again pick a marketing name for 10.11 from the remaining pool of California place names. Which one they'll use is anyone's guess, but I think "Modesto" is a likely choice.

Beyond iOS 10 and OS X 10.12:
This is where things get REALLY interesting. There are several paths Apple could take at this juncture: Bumping OS X to OS XI upon the release of iOS 11 is one of them. Also a strong possibility is the first ARM Macs being unveiled.
 
Apple seems to want to roll out products to augment the iPhone and iPad, just like it augmented the Mac with the iPod. Apple is reportedly planning an iWatch for the fall. It will not be a monster profit-maker like the iPhone. But it will be a nice product that supports the Apple ecosystem and complements what Apple already has in place.
 
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