Further WWDC Thoughts
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at 7:42AM Although the sessions of WWDC are covered by NDA, I don't suppose there are any restrictions on discussing what wasn't covered?
We all knew well in advance of the event that the Mac and OSX was taking a backseat this year. From the absence of Mac OSX sessions, to the blatant exclusion of any entries in the Apple Design Awards, we sort of got the idea that Apple wanted to fixate purely on the iPhone and iPad this time round. No suprises there then!
However, I have to admit being slightly perplexed by the actual focus of WWDC, namely just the iPhone. After all, Apple were touting the event as an iPhone and iPad development event?
The iPad received little coverage in the keynote, other than the expected sales figures at the beginning of the event, and the iPad was quickly forgotten about, once the iPhone segment kicked off. We already knew that the iPad would have to wait until later in the year for iOS4, as this had already been mentioned in the iPhone OS 4 announcement earlier in the year. But no confirmation in the keynote, no proposed launch date.
Very strange?
Apple certainly do seem to have adopted a laser focus at these events, concentrating on a single message at each special event.
So are we to expect a special iPad iOS4 event in the summer with an announcement of any special tweaks for the iPad? Will iOS4 be the same on the iPad as it is on the iPhone? I for one, am excited at the prospect of the multitasking and folders on the iPad.
But what about the Mac?
Despite all the doom and gloom from certain quarters, the Mac is going to be around for a while yet. So what about OSX 10.7? Snow Leopard has been out for almost a year and was a maintenance release.
Apple have not even mentioned they are working on 10.7, no feature announcements, nada!
Surely, they can't leave it another year until the next WWDC? Surely iOS5 and the new iPhone 5 will be in the frame by then!
So do we expect to see another Apple special event before next WWDC focussing on the Mac?
It's fascinating to see Apple doing so well, especially as we still don't know the full story going forward...
Reader Comments (3)
I have put quite a bit of thought in about the focus of WWDC. It has been providing both rational and panicked debate amongst developers, which I find intriguing.
The absence of the iPad I think is actually quite an easy answer. WWDC exists as a platform to educate developers in new evolutions in Apple's frameworks and other developer tools. What was the new toy? iOS 4 (well and Xcode 4). What is iOS 4 going to be running on first? The iPhone. By the time it reaches the iPad the developers will be familiar with its new parts and it won't take too much to move the knowledge over.
The only question really is the Mac. Now as there is nothing new in "MacLand" frameworks wise, it fits into the "exists to educate" argument nicely. However, you make a good point that iPhone 5 will be around by the next WWDC. I also find it hard to picture a WWDC where the iPhone is shunned by the mac. Even last year it felt like the shift had already happened.
I'm not sure how it fits in, the only thing I can think of is a separate mac-specific developer conference. However, that doesn't convince me :/.
Don, what specific features or enhancements are you wanting from 10.7? I don't think wanting 10.7 to be released just for the sake of it after a 1 year gap justifies it. You really need to say WHY you want 10.7. Perhaps Apple have finished on OS X and are now looking forward to OS 11 into the future?
You failed to mention the new mini! OK I don't know how long it's been out, maybe only since you posted. Even Apple conceded 10.6 was a maintenance release, at least the way they priced it, and I for one felt let down by the promises of grand central and other speed promises made at WWDC08.
Part of the problem is getting all the mac apps to run 64bit, but it looks like now the only area of interest is iOSx :(
I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the new mini with its ambitious pricing combined with HDMI. Is this the final cash cow before they give away hdmi boxes for $99? Running iOS for hobbyTV on A4? Why has it got a superdrive and why oh why are they offering a spare superdrive as a buying option?