Apple Event Predictions

Update: Post event - I've striked out the things I predicted incorrectly.

First of all, I want to state that I do not write this post with insider tips of what is going to be released on Tuesday. I am also not arrogant enough to think that more than 5 people who read this post really care what i have to say on the subject. Instead, I write this mainly for my own amusement and enjoyment to publicly state what I think will be announced so as to see how right or wrong I was afterward. If any of this is interesting to you, then so much the better. A lot of what I'm to say you've probably read elsewhere already. By typing these words to pixel, I'm forcing myself to be honest and serious about what I want to commit to and not.

Getting that preamble out of the way, I am going to categorize my predictions into:

1. What will be announced (Confident Yes)
2. What won't be announced (Confident No)
3. What might be announced (Unsure)

Confidently Yes

• Two new phone models: iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.
• iPhone 5S in: White/Champagne, White/Silver, Black/Silver, Black/Black
• iPhone 5C with plastic backs in assorted colors
• iPhone 5C contains mostly or all iPhone 5 internals, with possible "weaker" components here and there.
• iOS 7 GM demoed (and released to developers for download)
• Sell and ship dates; pre-order Sept. 13 starting early in the morning, and delivered(FedEx/UPS) or on sale in store on Sept. 20.
• iTunes 11.1 + iTunes Radio demoed; available for download late Sept 19/early Sept 20
• AppleTV will receive some type of software update. Not sure on exact features as I haven't payed much attention to it in this beta period. AllThingsD said enchanced Home Sharing functionality to easily access your own content on foreign AppleTVs (as in ones at work or a friend's house). This plus whatever updates are being done to it to work with functionality being added in iOS 7.
• iPhone 5S will be faster, have a better camera, support new AC Wifi spec....you get the picture. Almost all existing hardware components will improve in some way.

Confidently No

• OS X 10.9 Mavericks will not be released
• No 'iWatch' or whatever it is to be called (and I'm still not convinced this will ever be a product)
• No new Apple TV hardware
• No Mac Pro or any updates to any Macs

Not So Sure About

• 128GB option for iPhone 5S Leaning yes. Somewhat confident
• I'm not sure if we'll see new iPads and iPad minis, but I'm leaning towards a no given that would be a lot to announce during a single event and we've seen very little to no rumors about these. I believe the iPad event will be in October along with the new Macs and Mavericks. Leaning no. Somewhat confident.
• iPhone 5S (maybe 5C too???) finger print scanner on the Home Button. There has been a lot of smoke about this one. Code for it was event found in the iOS 7 SDK. Leaning yes but not confident.
• Pricing shift with regards to storage due to the 5C being introduced:
• iPhone 5C will come in 2 sizes - 16GB and 32GB
• iPhone 5S will come in 3 sizes too - 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB at the existing pricepoints we're used to. Leaning yes but not confident. I can't help but feel that 16GB is much too small of a storage size on their premium model 6 years in. Adding the "cheaper" iPhone 5C for casual customers allows them to keep a 16GB option and to entice those same people to spring for the 5S due to 32GB size option on the low end. While everything I’ve listed above are a lot of things, something seems missing. Perhaps there is some sort of surprise related to any of these things - or something else entirely? Only Apple knows for sure. And they tell us one way or the other, tomorrow.

My Notes From Apple's WWDC Announcements

Software

OS X Mavericks

Finder

• Tabs
• Tagging
• Safari speed improvments & new features
• Apple Maps for Mac
• iBooks for Mac
• Calendar redesigned for the better
• Notification Center improvements
• iCloud Keychain (1Password has to be nervous)
• Lots of under-the-hood speed improvments and new frameworks for developers to take advantage of.
• Multiple displays
  1. Taking a window full screen now doesn't affect apps or windows on your second display.
  2. You can now access the menu bar or paneled windows on multiple displays.
  3. You can move or access your dock on either monitor.
  4. Mission control is now independent to each display, keeping track of two sets of spaces for each display which are independent from one another.

iOS 7

• OS-wide, overhauled design. New design if "flat" but has depth as well.
• In-depth page from Apple outlining all new features
• New Control Center, a Notification Center-like panel that slides up from the
• bottom giving you easy access to frequently toggled options or functions.
• AirDrop functionality added to share sheets where applicable. Useable with other nearby iOS devices.
• Overhauled UI for Notification Center, Multitasking, Photos, Camera, Safari, Siri, Mail, Weather and Messages. Gizmodo article on the new design.

iTunes Radio

• Build your own playlist on any Apple device (Mac, AppleTV, iPhone, iPad)
• The more music you listen to whether it is music you own, download or just play, stations will build around those selections intelligently.
• Define your own rules such as "New station from song", "New station from artist", and a slider bar that allows you to tune between Top Hits, Mix, or Discovery.
• Completely integrates with Siri.
• Purchase songs for download directly into your collection.
• If you subscribe to iTunes Match, then iTunes Radio is ad-free.
• Station history is stored in iCloud and synced across devices.

Hardware

New MacBook Airs - I noticed on Apple Store, that you can now configure a 13" MacBook Air with a 1.7Ghz processor, 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD for $1849.

New Mac Pro (holy shit)

• My next computer.

New Airport Extreme

• Perfect timing for our new house for when I network everything.

Complimentary articles from reputable sites:

The Wirecutter's brief rundown of Apple's announcements.

MacStories Numbers Roudup

Why Microsoft Should Screw Its Hardware Partners

Mat Honan's first article at his new (old?) job over at Wired:

And then there are tablets. Microsoft isn’t even close to being a player in the tablet business, which is dominated by Apple and Android. (And, in all reality, Android is but a twee little sideshow relative to the iPad.) Many of Microsoft’s desktop partners have gone full-tilt toward Android tablets, so they’re already competing with Microsoft. So Microsoft’s best bet is to prove there’s a market in Windows tablets — which shouldn’t be hard given how abysmal Android tablets are.

Millions of pixels: Visualizing the Retina MacBook Pro

David Smith, at his blog, writes:

The new MacBook Pro introduced at WWDC features a new ‘Retina’ grade display with a resolution of 2880x1800. This is the highest resolution display Apple has ever shipped, besting the now discontinued 30” Cinema (2560x1600) by a million pixels. I wanted to link to his post so that folks would go and check out the two graphics he's created which show you just how many pixels the new Retina MacBook Pro screens use.

WWDC 2012: The News

Watch the video from the keynote. Well, that was exciting. Now that the WWDC Keynote has concluded, Apple has now revealed what they've been working on lately and was ready to release to consumers (or at least developers). Here is a rundown of the basics. I'm sure you can get much more detailed coverage from your normal sources:

The Hardware

MacBook Air:

• New Ivy Bridge Intel-based CPUs up to 2Ghz, dual-core i5. Turbo boosts to 3.2Ghz
• Up to 8GB RAM
• 60% faster graphics
• Up to 512GB SSDs
• USB 3.0
• Factime Camera now 720p

• Prices have decreased - 11" $999 & $1099, 13" $1199 & $1499

  MacBook Pros:

• New Ivy Bridge Intel-based CPUs up to 2,7Ghz quad-core i7. Turbo boost to 3.7Ghz

• Up to 8GB RAM
• 60% faster graphics - GeForce GT 650M, Kepler architecture. Up to 1GB video RAM.
• USB 3.0

• Prices the same - 13" is $1199 & $1499, 15" is 1799 & $2199

  Next Generation MacBook Pro:

• Ridiculously thin (.71 inches thin) - 25% thinner.

• Retina display - 2880 x 1800, 220 ppi. 15.4 inches. (5,184,000 pixels)
• 4.46 pounds - lightest MBP ever - lighter than a 13" MBP
• Glare/reflection reduced by 75%
• Battery life - up to 7 hours, 30 days of standby.
• HDMI port
• Up to 768GB SSD flash storage
• Up to 16GB RAM
• Using the new nVidia Keplet GPUs
• Quad-core i7 Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs
• Ports - SD Card, HDMI, two USB3, Magsafe 2, two Thunderbolt ports, headphone jack.
• Backlit Keyboard
• BlueTooth 4.0
• FaceTime HD Camera
• 802.11 N
• Dual microphones (uses beam-forming to enable a new generation of voice applications)
• No built-in Ethernet (see adapters below)
• No built-in optical drive (why need it?)
• Price is $2199 for the base model. Two new Thunderbolt Adapters:
• Thunderbolt to FireWire 800

• Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet

  Mountain Lion

• Over 200 new feartures

• Highlighted in the keynote: iCloud, Messages, Reminders, Notes, Documents in the Cloud, Dictation, Notifcation Center, Sharing Services, new Safari (synced tabs, unified address/search bar, tab view gestures, fastest javascript engine, share sheets), Power Nap (fetches email, reminders, calendar updates, photostream...in the background while asleep, Time Machine backups, auto Software Update), AirPlay, and Game Center.
• Ships in July for $19.99

• Developers get the Gold Master release today (Apple called it "near final" on stage).

  iOS 6

• Lots of new Siri improvements: Sports info, Restaurants (Yelp & Open Table), now launches apps, "Eyes Free" (working with various car manufacturers to have built-in Siri integration with their cars), lots of new international languages (including local search for these countries).

• Siri coming to the iPad
• Facebook Integration - just like Twitter in iOS 5. Photos app, Safari, Maps, Came Center, iTunes Store, App Store (you can like apps or see what people have liked), Notifcation Center posting (Twitter also gets notification center posting), Contacts (Contacts data within Facebook will show up in Contacts app).
• Phone app (messaging/reminders options to incoming calls).
• Notification center: Do not disturb feature
• FaceTime over 3G/4G
• Unify Apple IDs with your phone #.
• Safari: iCloud Tabs, photo uploads, smart app banners
• Shared Photo Streams: Easy way to share photos with other people.
• Mail: VIPs, add photos & video from compose window, pull to refresh.
• Passbook: OS integration of movie ticket, starbucks card, plane ticket type apps. Makes it easy to find your tickets for various things within apps.
• Accessibility: enhanced features to benefit autistic kids (kickass Apple), single app-mode (allows teachers, for instance, to lock an app preventing the home buttom from being used).
• Maps: Local Search(Yelp integration), Traffic Service (pools data from other iOS users), Turn-by-turn navigation (routes you around traffic, can display on lock screen for mountin in a car while driving), Siri integration, Flyover (3D views).
• Beta 1 released to developers today.

  Post-keynote Update: Mac Pros

Not that big of an update. Disappointing. No USB 3, no Thunderbolt. Mac Stories has a good rundown of new vs old.

WWDC 2012 Rumor Roundup: iOS 6, Mountain Lion, iCloud and Macs

Arnold Kim, at Macrumors:

With Apple appearing to have a full slate of announcements lined up for its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote on Monday, we're offering this roundup to summarize a number of the high-profile rumors that have been circulating ahead of the event. Arnold has done an excellent job of compiling together all of the rumors that have been floating around over the last several months. He does a good job laying out the more or less credible ones too. I for one am hoping for new Mac Pros, and an iOS 6 Beta… Happy Keynote Day everyone.

The New iPad's Greatest Feature: The Battery

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, writing for ZDNet's Hardware 2.0 blog:

While Apple has undoubted put more power efficient technology into its next-generation iPad — for example, dropping the processor architecture down from 40nm to 28 nm would have resulted in quite a significant power saving — the more dramatic improvement has been the battery itself. Between the release of the iPad 2 last year and the announcement of the new iPad yesterday, Apple has nearly doubled the capacity of the battery, taking it from 25Wh to a massive 42Wh. Measured in milliamps this boosts the battery from 6944 mAh to a monstrous 11,666 mAh. Kingsley-Hughes covers much more in this article that I would like to quote here, but when I was trying to decide exactly what to quote, I found that I wanted to quote entirely too much. Just go read his entire article. Done? Good. I've only seen a couple of sites write anything about this and yet, this is one of the major accomplishments that Apple has made with the 3rd generation iPad. Had Apple not been able to make these battery advances, the new Retina display, 4G networking, faster processor…all together would have greatly reduced battery performance. The tech press would have been howling that the new iPad was doomed to failure. And yet, Apple has miraculously increased the battery by so much, without adding a significant amount of weight or altering the case design, that most seemed to not even notice this great improvement. Most wrote it off as am insignificant accomplishment on Apple's part. A shame, I think.

Apple Shipped More iPads Last Quarter Than Dell Did PCs

Daniel Eran Dilger, writing for AppleInsider:

In the last calendar quarter, Apple shipped 11.1 million iPads, which not only expanded the computing market with less need for DRAM, but also held back sales of conventional PCs. Apple actually sold more iPads than rival Dell sold in all its PCs together (10.6 million). Sales of the iPad replaced conventional laptops at a variety of companies and schools at a time when the demand for generic PCs has matured in the US. Gartner had originally projected that Q3 PCs would achieve 5.1 percent growth globally, but reported that shipments only grew by 3.2 percent in the fall quarter. PC sales have been in doldrums since 2008; in the winter quarter of that year, Windows sales dropped by 8 percent rather than growing by 10 percent as Microsoft had expected. Sales remained down during 2009's global financial crisis and then Apple released the iPad in 2010. Apple has since sold 40 million iPads, and may sell another 20 million during this winter quarter, according to Forrester Research.