Apple WWDC Live Stream Announced: How To Watch The Keynote Speech

Whatever Apple CEO Tim Cook says in his much-anticipated keynote speech at next week's World Wide Developers Conference will be heard by a lot more people considering Apple will live-stream it. While some 5,000 tickets to the WWDC -- at $1,599 a pop -- were distributed via a lottery system, Apple announced on its website Tuesday that it will stream the keynote address online, beginning at 10 a.m. PDT/1 p.m. EDT on Monday.

Viewers of the event will need to have Safari installed on Mac OSX 10.6 or later, iOS 4.2 or later, or Quicktime 7 for Windows installed. The Cupertino, California, company will create a WWDC channel on Apple TV, but users will need to have a second- or third-generation Apple TV with iOS 5 or later to view the content.

The big announcements expected at this year’s WWDC range from new software and apps to hardware upgrades, and possibly an entirely new product category. On the software front, there's Healthbook, a suite of health-and-fitness apps packaged together, a la Passbook. Healthbook is said to be a way to connect external sensors to iOS devices, and some watchers think it will connect with the rumored iWatch wearable.

The iWatch as well as a whole new product category Cook has hinted at may be announced at the WWDC. We'll have to see on that, but what's very likely in the hardware department is a new MacBook Air with Retina, as that's the only Apple hardware line that hasn't had a high-resolution monitor. The company has struggled to finding batteries that will power the monitor for the length of time required while still maintaining the model's lightweight frame.

The Financial Times recently suggested that Apple will announce an iBeacon or NFC-related home automation process at WWDC, as the event's audience of developers would likely jump at the opportunity to create programs or integrate the process into current apps.

It is also speculated that Apple will use the stage to announce the much-reported and nearly complete acquisition of Beats Music and the addition of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre as executives on the Apple board of directors. The move may make Dr. Dre -- the hip-hop artist and producer famed for his start with rap group N.W.A -- the first billionaire hip-hop artist. The streaming service Beats Music will likely see integration with Apple’s iTunes Radio.