Since launching the iPhone in 2007, Apple has pursued an aggressive approach to refreshing its mobile operating systems each year. The fast pace is taxing on Apple engineers, but the results have been impressive. The company’s products are often unique and more capable than those of rivals because Apple’s home-grown software works so well with the hardware.

The new updates also give users access to the latest services like Apple Music and the upcoming TV+ video-streaming subscription, which give Apple a recurring revenue stream.

It’s a delicate balance. Part of the allure of iPhones and iPads also comes from all the different apps made by independent developers. The company provides new tools for these partners, but it is increasingly building its own versions of popular apps, too.

That helps differentiate its devices from rivals but sometimes upsets third-party developers. Spotify Technology and other app makers have complained to European antitrust regulators that Apple’s own software and services give it an unfair advantage on the App Store. US presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has proposed splitting the App Store from the rest of the company, although few other policymakers have supported the idea.

“Developers, from first-time engineers to larger companies, can rest assured that everyone is playing by the same set of rules,” Apple said in a recent statement rebutting Spotify’s complaint. “That is how it should be. We want more app businesses to thrive – including the ones that compete with some aspect of our business, because they drive us to be better.”

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 users can download apps on the go.

This could open up huge new opportunities for outside developers, boosting app installations. But Apple has its own new Watch apps in the works, too. There will be new health applications, a Calculator and a Books app for listening to audiobooks from your wrist, the people familiar with the plans said.

So far, Apple has managed to make the strategy work. The App Store drove US$46.6 billion in spending last year, almost double the amount spent on Google’s Android equivalent, according to Sensor Tower estimates. It has wooed more than 20 million developers who have created over 2 million apps for Apple’s platform.

At the same time, 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 US$50 billion in annual revenue soon.

Here are the software features Apple is planning to announce at WWDC 2019, according to people familiar with the plans.

They asked not to be identified discussing unreleased product details. Apple’s plans are fluid and could change between now and the event, people familiar with Apple’s development process said. The company could also choose to push back some features until next year, like was done last year, they added.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

What’s coming for iOS 13:

Code-named “Yukon,” the refreshed operating system for iPhones and iPads includes tweaks and new features across several apps, including features originally planned for last year.

The company is also already working on iOS 14, code-named “Azul,” for 2020. That release is expected to support 5G wireless network speeds and new AR functionality for next year’s iPhone.

The software, for the second year in a row, will speed up the devices and reduce bugs. There will be user interface tweaks, including a new animation when launching multitasking and closing apps.

What’s coming for macOS 10.15:

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

For the first time, Apple will allow developers who write iPad apps to re-work their apps so the software can also run on the Mac. 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 Apple’s iOS and Mac App Stores, but the new software development kit will mean they do not have to write the underlying code twice.

What’s coming for watchOS 6:

Apple is adding the App Store directly onto the Apple Watch so users can download apps on the go, making the device more independent. Users currently install new apps via the Watch companion application on their iPhone. Apple is bringing the Voice Memos app from the iPhone, iPad, and Mac so users can record voice memos from their wrist. Apple is also planning to add Animoji and Memojis stickers to the device that synchronise from an iPhone.