My 2012 WWDC Predictions
Friday, June 8, 2012 at 4:39PM WWDC in three days and I'm not going!
It was a deliberate decision on my part, one I think I'm now regretting.
It's traditional to have a punt at predications before the major WWDC keynote, so I'll have a go.
My major predication is that there will be much moaning, gnashing of teeth and cries of anguish from the Mac rumour sites. Regardless what Apple do announce, there is no way they can actually launch or announce all the products currently being touted by the rumour sites.
It's just impossible.
So this is my take on what will make it into the WWDC keynote on Monday.
IOS6
If there ever was a safe bet, this is the one. It's been 12 months since the iOS 5 feature set was announced and we've heard nothing since. Apple may be struggling to pick the low hanging fruit of new features this time round, as iOS is pretty mature and fully featured.
One thing we will see (as confirmed by Googles rushed mapping event earlier in the week) is that Apple will be touting their own Mapping solution in iOS. They've made the necessary acquisitions of technology and people, and they've had a few years to work on it, so I think its time has come.
We'll also see Siri move out of it's beta status and into full blown status on both the iPhone and the iPad. It's probably time that Apple opened up the APIs and let 3rd party developers in. Can't think of a better place to do this than at WWDC.
The New iPhone
They'll be some surprises but it's unlikely that they'll announce the new iPhone.
However, they've not said it wouldn't be there - not like last year. They made sure expectations for the new iPhone announcement at WWDC were quashed last year by some carefully released leaks. Not so much this year, everyone is just expecting to see the new iPhone in the autumn. There's lots of talk about a new screen resolution and we're starting to see some credible video's of new "alleged" iPhone parts coming out. Apple were hit last year by a slow down in iPhone sales leading up to the launch of the iPhone 4S. It damaged their projections.
What if this year they decide to bring the iPhone back into a summer release schedule?
If the developers need to recode Apps to accommodate a new screen resolution and the SIRI API is opened up, these need to be discussed at WWDC.
But what would that leave for Autumn?
A revamp of the iPod brand with the new "entertainment" iPod - the 7" iPad Mini (or now the new iPod touch) plus the Apple TV.
I'm going out on a bit of a limb here but the new iPhone may make a surprise appearance at WWDC.
Mountain Lion
Another safe bet. This is unusual in that Apple haven't publicly demo'd Mountain Lion yet. It was announced via the Apple website and some carefully orchestrated one to one sessions. So we may well get to see a peek at Mountain Lion - but of as yet unannounced features. We most certainly will get a release date.
iCloud
Yes, Yes, Yes - Mountain Lion is the release where the other shoe drops and we get to see the full extent of Apples iCloud strategy. This will be the full vision of iCloud and one where the Mac gets to play on an equal footing with iOS. Expect to see new iCloud enabled versions of iWork and iLife released with Mountain Lion but I don't think that they will demo at WWDC, unless to show developers how great Apps can be with proper iCloud integration.
New Mac Laptops
Lot's of talk about new Mac laptops being launched at WWDC - I'm starting to think it won't happen. They will appear either as a soft launch after WWDC or as a combined Mountain Lion/MacBook Pro launch. Remember, Lion launched with new MacBook Airs ISTR. It would be great to see them, but I don't think they will have time to include them in the keynote.
Apple TV
No actual Apple TV, they may hold any Apple TV announcements back until the Autumn. However, I would not be surprised to see a Developer SDK made available during WWDC with the requisite sessions for developers.
One More Thing
OK, I'll go out on a limb again here and say the one more thing for this years WWDC keynote will be:
The New Mac Pro
There, I said it!
Where better to launch the new Mac Pro than at the developers conference - imagine the howls of delight! I previously pontificated on the spec of the new Mac Pro but I think multiple SSDs and Thunderbolt will figure heavily in a new design, with a radical new form factor.
So there you have it, my predictions for WWDC 2012
To be taken with the necessary quantity of salt!
Reader Comments (2)
Well Don ... I hope you are right on one thing ... and that's the MacPro's ... been waiting a few years now to replace my good old MacPro Octo (2,1 revision)
I'm waiting for them to announce the iPhone 5! Just a sneak peek would do for me.