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What's Apple Going to Announce Today? (Updating Live)

Apple's World Wide Developers Conference kicks off today. There will be lots of major announcements for sure, so get ready for an exciting summer. Here's what we know, what we think, and what we wish is coming.

We will be covering the keynote live and giving you detailed information on every new product starting today at 1pm EST/10am PST.

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Until then, check out our up-to-the-minute rumor roundup here. Updated with new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Pro, and ultra-high-end MacBook Pro specs.

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iOS 6

Like last year, there is a very high probability that Apple will feature iOS prominently at WWDC. iOS 6 will be the cornerstone of the keynote and the follow-up sessions. Don't expect it to be available for users quite yet, though. Like iOS 5 last year—detailed at WWDC, released in October—iOS 6 will probably be available at a later date. Also like last year, it will have quite significant new features, perhaps new maps and Facebook integration.

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This will be a technology preview or a beta aimed at 1) getting developers ready for its new features and changes, 2) getting consumers excited, and 3) putting the screws to Google.

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Gut feeling: Definite

New MacBook Pro

With the current stock depleted and rumors screaming left and right, there is also a very high probability of a new line of MacBook Pros. We think—and very much hope— the new MacBook Pro 2012 will be like this, with new industrial design, Ivy Bridge chipsets, new graphic boards by Nvidia, high-definition retina displays, and solid state memory drives instead of hard drives, just like the MacBook Air.

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Update 1: But lately there have been rumors of new MacBook Pros with no retina display.

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Update 2: Leaked photos that allegedly show the MacBook Pro's guts indicate that the industrial design will be exactly the same as the current configuration. The board has the same shapes and their screws are at exactly the same position. Had Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro to be more like the Air, these would have been entirely different.

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Update 3: Alleged specifications for the MacBook Pro line may have been leaked:

13.3 inch: 2.5GHz dual core processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive
13.3 inch: 2.9GHz dual core processor, 8GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive
15.4 inch: 2.3GHz quad core processor, 4GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive
15.4 inch: 2.6GHz quad core processor, 8GB of RAM, 750GB hard drive (BTO upgrades to 2.7GHz quad core and 1TB HD will be available)

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I still think that there will be a flagship 15-inch MacBook Pro with retina onboard, while lower tier versions may not sport that screen. Like in 2010, when there was a special Build-to-Order option to upgrade your 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 1680x1050, while the rest of the models came with regular resolutions.

Update 4: If this rumor is true, then there will be a MacBook Pro with Retina display. These are going to be expensive, as much as $4,000 in some countries. Check out the specs:

MC975LL/A – MBP 15.4/2.3/8GB/256GB FLASH-USA
MC976LL/A – MBP 15.4/2.6/8GB/512GB FLASH-USA
MD831LL/A – MBP 15.4/2.7/16GB/768GB FLASH-USA

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That top of the line with 16GB of RAM and 768GB of Solid State storage looks like a dream machine.

Gut feeling: Definite on new MacBook Pros. Maaaaaaaybe on a 15-inch MacBook Air or special top of the line MacBook Pro.

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New MacBook Air

And since Apple will be updating the guts of the Pros, there's also a very good probability that the MacBook Air will receive a guts refresh as well. Especially with all of its ultrabook competitors getting Ivy Bridge bumps already.

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Update: There is an alleged leak on the MacBook Air specs: The base 11.6.inch model will see its RAM bumped up to 4 GB, run at 1.7GHz and use a 64GB solid state drive. The happy medium also has its RAM bumped to 4GB, with 1.7GHz processor and 128GB SSD. The top of the line gets a sweet 8GB of RAM, while running at 2GHz and sporting a 256GB SSD unit.

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The 13.3-inch models get the same RAM bump, with the top of the line getting a 512GB SSD, of the ultra-fast SATA-3 variety.

Gut feeling: Definite

OS X Mountain Lion

Mountain Lion has been available for testing for quite some time now, since last February. There's a high probability that Apple will be previewing and releasing the final version at this event, or at least announcing a near release date. I hope they'll have some surprises to turn the bad into good—but I doubt it.

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Gut feeling: Quite likely

Mac Pro

There's a last-minute rumor that Apple is going to refresh the Mac Pros at WWDC. I'm sure that there are at least 54 people holding their breath for new Mac Pros, but it's hard to imagine Apple releasing a pro product like that—especially after such a long time of having this line on basic life support. Still, someone claims that this allegedly leaked price list contains model numbers for the new Mac Pro.

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This is also a rumor that always comes and goes with every WWDC, but never materializes. That makes me even less sure about this.

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Update: There are alleged Mac Pro specs, so it seems that these may happen for real after all. The first model will have a 3.2GHz quad-core processor, with 6GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and an ATI Radeon 5770 graphics card. The second a 2.4GHz 12-core processor, with 12GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and an ATI Radeon 5770 graphics card. A server configuration will have a 3.2GHz quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM and 2 1TB hard drives

Gut feeling: Definite

New iMacs

That allegedly leaked price list also contains model numbers for new iMacs. Perhaps the whole Mac line will receive an update. The iMacs are certainly due for a revision.

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Gut feeling: Maaaaaaybe

Updates to iCloud

There's a big banner at Moscone Center showing iCloud, which is the third cornerstone of Apple's future, which ties the other two. There's no doubt that there will be an update on iCloud, like rumored new web apps. I just want it to work perfectly, because iMessages synchronization sucks and iTunes Match is unusable when you have a huge library.

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Gut feeling: Definite

Apple TV Apps

This is an interesting rumor, one that makes sense. If Apple wants to turn Apple TV into a successful platform, it really needs to open up the device to far more apps. Just like with the iPhone, the app ecosystem will be a huge part to turn the Apple TV into something desirable. Especially if it allows Hulu.

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Personally, I'm hoping for a Microsoft SmartGlass-ish solution, something that will allow me to tightly merge my iPad, iPhone and Apple TV.

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Gut feeling: Maaaaaaybe

New iPhone

It didn't happen at last year's WWDC and the iPhone is so important that it deserves its own product launch. But with so many rumors lately and alleged leaked parts, maybe there will be a surprise.

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Gut feeling: Seriously doubt it.

Updated accesories

Update: There are rumors of updates in a lot of small Apple accessories, like the Airport Express or a new USB DVD unit. I doubt we will see these featured in this already-action-packed keynote. If anything, they will appear in the Apple Store.

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Gut feeling: Maaaaaaaybe.

Apple HDTV set

Even while they later denied it, Foxconn's founder said they were starting work with Apple on manufacturing the fabled HDTV set. That means it won't be ready for a long time, if ever. So not a chance, Munster.

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Gut feeling: Ha-ha.