What To Expect from WWDC
It is getting close to that time of year. The time in-between MacWorld and the next MacWorld where Apple gets it's development community together for a few days of fun. This year, of course, isn't a time in-between now that Apple has left MacWorld behind. All the more reason for Apple to do something big in June.
There are even more reasons to expect something big and they are called Microsoft (Windows 7 and, uhh, Pink), Palm (the Pre which I predict will be a resounding dud), and Google (will the Android take off, or not?).
Here are my predictions/hopes for WWDC. Chime in with your below.
1. Snow Leopard unleashed
Apple has been saving up this one for quite sometime and will undoubtedly either announce a release candidate for Snow Leopard or have the actual goods released.
The big question on my mind is will it really matter? I've said it before, but I will say it again and again, the GUI OS wars are so over. The differences between Windows 7 and OS X will become even more minimal. And unlike the iPhone, which is a quantum leap ahead of anything like it in the marketplace, OS X is too similar to Windows 7 to make a big difference. Sure, it is better, less-prone to viruses, etc but the differences are minimal. This is why we see iPhone ads that are all about the applications on the iPhone, and Mac ads are are all witty attacks on Microsoft (And the latest ones are good).
The big unknown concerning Snow Leopard is will Apple have some sort of top secret reveal? A touch-based interface? The only thing that could possibly get me excited is some kind of innovation that we haven't seen before. And that isn't something like Spaces.
Apple will undoubtedly hype Snow Leopard at WWDC, but it won't be what I'm most interested in.
2. iPhone 2.0 aka Mobile Computing 2.0
There really has been only one iPhone since its launch. The second version introduced 3G and GPS but that was about it. Now that Apple owns the momentum in the mobile phone space it is time to seize the opportunity and take it to the next level. With the Palm Pre trying to get some attention in this space (wasn't a web-based development environment with the iPhone what everyone was complaining about?) and Microsoft up to something with their aptly code-named Zune-phone, Pink, Apple needs to keep way ahead of the "competition".
My predictions and hopes may get mixed up here, but here are my hopes for the growth of the iPhone platform, and no, they won't release anything labelled DX!
a) A new form factor for the iPhone that will be iPod Touch like in slimness. Same size screen. Possibly the announcement of a so-called 4G network.
b) An iPhone with a physical keyboard. This sounds blasphemous but I put this in the "Steve-said-there-would-never-be-video-on-the-iPod". In talking to many many people about the iPhone this is the number one complaint, and the only real one. We can laugh at these people, saying that you can type just as fast on the screen, but it is besides the point.
The problem here is that no one has designed a phone with a slide out keyboard that doesn't feel horrible from a physical design standpoint. (I haven't touched the Pre, so no comment there). But if anyone can do it Apple will. This, like the magsafe magnetic power cord is an area ripe for innovation.
c) I don't think we will see a smaller screen iPhone, aka, the iPhone Nano. There is too much invested in the application space to introduce another screen size. What I think we will see is the older iPhone's reduced greatly in price, probably to a $99 entry level price.
d) I'm going to go way out on a limb and say Apple will release a netbook/iPad/whatever you want to call it and will align it with the iPhone product and not the Macintosh line. It will be under $500, but not $200. It will come a built-in 3G connection (maybe with Verizon?). And it will finally be Apple's foray back into a category it arguably defined with the Newton.
The questions here are many. If it has a bigger screen, will iPhone developers now have to develop two versions of their application (I say yes)? Will it run OS X with everything visible like a Mac? Or will it hide the OS like the iPhone? Lots of questions, and I think Apple will have all the answers with this product. Just as the iPhone has become the de-facto choice for a mobile device so too will this new device become the device of choice for a cheap, hyper-portable laptop. (And yes, this article has been partly written on my Acer Aspire One Hackintosh)
3. Apple TV 2.0
Apple has been accused of treating the Apple TV as a hobby and it is difficult to disagree. Since launching the product (2?) years ago there has been no real changes. This is a shame because, even today, the Apple TV is a great product. For any of you who have had to suffer through the interfaces provided by the cable or satellite providers you know what I mean. Even Tivo cannot compete from a UI perspective. But the UI of the Apple TV is simply not enough. The living room has become more and more complex, and if Apple is going to win in this space it has to take on these complexities head-on. This includes functionality like DVR, Sling-Box, etc.
What would be great to see in an Apple TV that can integrate with whichever content provider you have (much like TIVO) and allows you to manage and rebroadcast that content anywhere (much like Slingbox). The new device should not have a Bu-Ray player as some hope for, this would be an anachronistic nod to the passing days of digital media. What it should do is be the best way to manage all our content in our living rooms.
4. And One More Thing?
While Steve Jobs won't be doing this keynote this doesn't mean that there couldn't be one more thing. The labs in Cupertino are notorious for working on products years ahead of time. There could very well be a product that will be born of those efforts that none of us have thought of before. There are reasons for it being presented at WWDC (to make the point that Apple's innovations continue without Steve Jobs at the helm) and reasons against (Steve may want to save it for when he is better). Either way, there is that One More Thing, it is just a question of when it will be released.
What do you think? Where am I completely on the mark and where am I off? What would you like to see released at WWDC?
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Slashdot
StumbleUpon
Comments
Hadley, since you report on the Apple universe, would you please keep in mind that the word “Macworld” is not, and has never been intercapped? It’s not “Macworld.” It’s “Macworld,” for both the magazine and the conference/expo.
I/wish/people/would/stop/using/the/slash/as/a/universal/punctuation/mark/or/to/separate/synonyms/as/if/to/say/“I/don’t/know/what/I/mean/pick/a/word.”
The only thing wor(s)e i(s) putting (s) in parenthe(s)e(s), which is unnece(s)(s)ary, can’t be pronounced, and amount(s) to li(s)ping in print.
NO PHYSICAL KEYBOARD
It makes no business sense. If they have a physical keyboard, they have different SKUs for each layout: US English, UK English, Swiss German, Icelandic, and so forth. They would have to plan what to do with the surplus stock if sales in Nunavut don’t take off. With the software keyboard, they have one SKU for the whole world.
Sure flargh, although the original Macworld magazines were all caps back in the day but I’ll do my best in the future to write Macworld and not MacWorld!
Since you must be from Macworld what do you think about what may be coming at WWDC?
Free ponies! Magic ones! With rainbows!
They can’t just make an iPhone 1/2 the size of the current iPhone - ie: the same size as the iPod touch. I agree that chip technology is getting smaller so if we don’t see a performance boost then they can now save some space, but the antenna, battery etc are still the same size.
And I’d rather see a speed/memory boost of the iPhone than just having it thinner. Apple picked a size-point for the iPhone and then squeezed in what is possible. I expect we’ll see no change there.
ps.
Also a slide out keyboard will add a good 4mm (1/6 inch) to the thickness of an iPhone. You don’t mention that in the post, but is that okay?
I’m with hugmup.
I reckon though (as I’ve said before) a slide out virtual keyboard could be a rather interesting innovation, esp as it solves the problem hugmup mentions of multiple SKUs.
It makes no business sense. If they have a physical keyboard, they have different SKUs for each layout: US English, UK English, Swiss German, Icelandic, and so forth. They would have to plan what to do with the surplus stock if sales in Nunavut don’t take off Russian Translations. With the software keyboard, they have one SKU for the whole world.
a slide out virtual keyboard could be a rather interesting innovation, esp as it solves the problem hugmup mentions of multiple SKUs. CNA Training