New mail and messaging tools expected for iPhones, WWDC

New iPhones won't be out until the fall. But Monday, we'll get a sneak peek at what new features Apple has planned for us, not just for the next models but recent iPhones and iPads as well.

At its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple invites app makers to hear a road plan for what the company has in store, hoping that in return, the developers get excited and use the tools in their apps.

As always, leaks of new features for what's expected to be called iOS13 have made their way to Apple enthusiast sites. More on them shortly.

Apple welcomes developers to San Jose, California, against a backdrop of storm clouds brewing over its practices with them. The Supreme Court said an antitrust case can go forward from iPhone users who allege that Apple engages in monopolistic practices in the App Store. Music streaming giant Spotify pushed the European Union to investigate its antitrust complaint against the App Store, and the hugely popular app Netflix recently stopped making itself available in the App Store, saying Apple's commissions were too high.

On Wednesday, Apple defended its business practices in a newly built app developer webpage, noting that it has paid out $120 billion to developers over the years for their share in fees from the site and arguing that it allows competitive apps to be side by side with Apple apps in categories like music, calendar, mail, messaging and cloud storage.

"We believe competition makes everything better and results in the best apps for our customers," Apple said.

Tim Bajarin, a longtime industry analyst and the president of Creative Strategies, said Apple is smart to get its defenses out of the way before WWDC starts. "It takes it away from a lot of discussion at WWDC. They don't need disruption there since their main purpose is to give developers more opportunities to make more money from Apple."

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