No new iPhone hardware expected at Apple's software-centric WWDC - report - Page 2

The iPhone Turd? Only if Microsoft were making it, since they pretty much released a Zune Turd.

Yeah Balmer, brown is the new black...

Jackass.

Start with the Holiday Sales period and work backwards. iPods still sell and their early fall release is the kick off for their annual profits boost.

WWDC may be for developers, but the WWDC Keynote is Apple's huge free advertising program. The consumers, media and analysts all follow the Keynote. That's why there has not only been a lot of focus on the OS side, but also the introduction of a new hardware product.

Can you see the Apple Exec Team sitting around talking about the 50 to 100 million or so consumers who will be exposed to the features of the Keynote? Some one would ask what hardware will be featured and the answer is "Nuttin".

The iPhone 5 running iOS 4.x could be released. Maybe they will hold off on the iMac (doubt it), but it seems odd that Apple would not deliver some hardware product as a "One More Thing".

Hardware updates are becoming less interesting in terms of looks and features. I am totally happy with my ip4, my ageing imac and my 13" MBP. The (minor) cosmetic changes that follow each iteration are nice but what is important is processing power. As the OS and other SW develops my hardware always slows down. Do you really believe Apple purposefully cripples hardware through software updates, or just that updated software is necessarily more cpu demanding and so requires better HW? To purposefully cripple 1 - 3 year old hardware would be a very dangerous and in my view, unnecessary business practice.

Agree. My bet is that Lion is released in June after WWDC. iOS 5 gets previewed for a late August release, just before the arrival of the next iPhone in September.

Same here. His credibility is pretty darn good.

Sorry, but that is extremely unlikely. With low-power ARM SoCs, heat is not a major concern compared to other factors --- namely battery life. The A5 is not much different from other dual-core Cortex-A9 chips (T.I. OMAP4, Tegra 2, Qualcomm Snapdragon 86xx) which are already making their way into smartphones. With the constant evolution of process technologies, each year or so should be able to see a faster, lower-power processor.

Assuming they adopt a product cycle of internal upgrade one year, external redesign the next (so we get a new iPhone every year) the iPhone 4s will keep the same basic design with glass front and back but with iPad2 A5 processor and graphics chip and 4" screen. That plus new white model will be enough to sell it as a new version. The resdesign with aluminium back will happen next year.

With the faster processor/graphics and larger screen they will push developers at WWDC to develop more graphics instense app's to rasie developer profit margins and maintain their lead over Android app's.

Both this and the next article may be saying that Apple is having problems with the new phone design. It wouldn't be the first time this sort of thing happened. It could also be in error, and the new phone is shaping up just fine, in time for a late June or early July release. It's still March, and if many of the materials are similar, from the same suppliers, it may be that analysts aren't seeing the true picture.

It's possible that Apple decided to change a major aspect of the phone after much of it was designed, and so it might be late. It could also be that Japan's problems are pushing some part deliveries back by a month or two. This is all speculation right now, so it means little.

What it might not mean is that Apple is changing the way they're doing things.

I know that Mac OS and iOS have the same origins and are both built on UNIX. I was referring to the user experience (e.g., GUI, increasing use of gestures, etc.), not their technical specs (i.e., software libraries and such). Yes, underneath the GUI, iOS and Mac OS are very similar; implying that they weren't wasn't my intention. I was attempting to point out that how they behave (i.e., how people use them) is becoming even less dissimilar. That, and how that may be impacting Apple's future product release strategy, was my point.


Of course iOS and Mac OS won't end up looking exactly alike, and I don't think I implied that. Any future unified OS, if Apple does go that route (which seems perfectly feasible to me), will likely have a new GUI. It will probably retain many elements of both current OSes, but will be an altogether new animal (or river, or mountain, or whatever Apple names the future OSes after).


I don't see why this is so hard for you to believe. Universal OSes and apps have existed for years that could recognize what hardware they were running on and execute the appropriate code. I don't see this as Apple throwing away anything. I see it as Apple having learned valuable lessons from its experience and applying that knowledge to the improvement of its platforms.


If I'm "missing" the idea that iOS puts Mac OS, or UNIX, in my pocket (which I do understand, by the way), it's because I wasn't aiming for that. To apply Steve Jobs' comment about post-PC devices at D5, "it doesn't matter" what's under the hood. It's how you use it. It's how you approach it.

I think what Apple is doing is deliberately, and strategically, blurring the line between PCs and post-PC devices. Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5 could, let me stress again, could represent the culmination of their respective OS evolutions. Even the name "Lion" suggests this as there are no bigger big cats (unless they continue with Saber-Toothed Tiger or something). And I think Apple is doing it as part of an overall, larger strategy to not only make post-PCs more powerful and capable, but to make the user-experience transition between PCs and post-PCs as seamless as possible.

Maybe it's true that there'll be no iPhone hardware at WWDC. Jim Dalrymple is a credible source, so let's accept that. On the other hand, none of the other recent rumours are credible so it's still possible that the following is true:

1. There will still be an iOS 5 preview in April, as usual.
2. We won't see the iPhone 5 at WWDC. But we'll still see it in this fiscal year. (It could even be in May or July.)

Just because a bunch of rumours all come along at once, and you can make a story out of them, that doesn't make them true.

Dammit. If this is true, I will be miffed! Miffed, I say!

I held off on buying an iPhone4, thinking that I would just wait for the 5. I WANT MY iPhone5!!!

I couldn't agree more.

Well, you might be miffed, but I'll be peeved! And hopefully I won't become 'riled'!

It could be that Apple and Verizon have seen the lack of interest in the CDMA iPhone 4, and are hoping that rumors about a delayed iPhone 5 release will spark those customers that are waiting until June to take the plunge now??

I'm one of many that is sitting impatiently on the sidelines for the iPhone 5 with hopes that it will be a combined LTE/GSM/CDMA phone that can be used on any of multiple carriers in the US or internationally.

I think it's just a game to force more sales of Verizon's CDMA iPhone 4.

I'm not so sure there's a lack of interest. Several weeks ago it was shown that Verizon iPhones already made up almost 13% of all iPhones in the US. That's serious.

"...the FUTURE of..."

Not just the next version but a longer view, perhaps?

Mac OS XI? Abandonment of "cat" motif? New "cloud" motif... Stratus, Cirrus, Cumulus? Complete iOS/MacOS convergence instead of Lion's hodgepodge implementation of iOS features? How about non-contact physical gesture input, ala Kinect? How about a 3D representation of the GUI? Usable voice control?

C'mon, it's Apple, remember? Think Different. Look at Apple's patent filings... they are thinking WAY ahead. They are known for changing the paradigm, not for making incremental changes.

These could be very exciting times!

Now you're making me nervous.

If there is no iPhone 5 soon after WWDC in 6/2011, I'll feel even more stupid having waited to buy it, my 1st iPhone


The Focus could be on OS's and the Hardware would be another Evolution that allows the New OS Changes to showcase themselves best


The uncertainty about iPhone 5 coming at this WWDC in 6/2011 helps Apple and the Carriers, cause it increases those with the least patience to buy sooner!!! If the Delay of iPhone 5 does happen, it won't be a long one...

Apple likely won't wait till 2012, since Thunderbolt and other 4G Smartphones will be out there.
Apple won't allow all those 4G phones out there at Christmas Time!

BTW, Thunderbolt as a name for a phone seems deliberate, since Thunderbolt, formerly Lighpeak, is Apple's New Thing... And since Apple's Thunderbolt is almost "Exclusive" to Apple (whatever that means) for 2011, the delay in iPhone 5 would eat away at that exclusivity!!!!

Yep, in the past Apple chose to rid themselves from the Deadlines imposed by others - Macworld! That way Apple could choose it's own Deadlines, but.... Christmas can't be moved, and the Gold Rush to 4G, and Speed in general can't be ignored! Therefore Apple can't afford to sit out 2011 as far as iPhone 5!!!!

So, whether it's the "usual" WWDC to announce New iPhone, or September, ala Back To School - it's gotta be BEFORE Christmas... And probably before September, so that people can settle in with the New iPhone Hardware + iOS before starting the New School Year, which is not for just the Students, but for the Entire Education Industry, Parents etc...

In Conclusion - WWDC 2011 will focus on the New iOS and Lion and the New Tweeked iPhone 5 will be introduced then, with the availability 4-6 weeks later! iPhone 5 in October or November is way too close to the End of the Year, Christmas! It's too COLD in most places to be FREEZING in lines outside the stores for the New iPhone, as opposed to Summertime Let's Live and Buy Sunny Vibe!!!

I like!

My vision of this "unification" is that iOS will literally become the unified OS, in that it has all the GUIs built onto the same OS platform. That is to say that it will have the iPhone GUI, the iPad GUI, ATV GUI, and the Lion GUI all on the iOS platform. Then if Apple invents another device format, it will gain a GUI that applies best to its format, but uses the same platform.

Lion and the AppStore are about creating a foundation for the OS X GUI to sit atop iOS (and its much stricter security model, ie only signed apps run etc...). So while the desktop OS gains some fancy new iPhone/iPad GUI adaptations, the real power is in the under the hood preparations for unifying the backend solely for all the GUIs. OS X will still remain slightly diverged in that it has the needs to run Flash/Java/Carbon, etc... that iOS will not run, as well as installing programs from anywhere.

But the real mover, and looking at Apple's financials it is clear, the core focus is on moving iOS faster into adapting to whatever the GUI need is. If I take over my TV at home w/ my phone through Airplay or some other means, I get the Lion or ATV GUI and use a bluetooth keyboard/mouse w/ it. Then I take it out the door w/ me, and the data comes, but the GUI switches to the iPhone GUI.

When we add cloud MM to the mix, ie data with you regardless of where, this becomes even more of a powerful position to be in. All your data with you, and you use the GUI that best fits your situation at the time, same apps, different GUIs (as we see already w/ iPhone/iPad apps, and now slowly beginning w/ MacApps).

The new iOS or OSX 10.7 Lion might be appealing to Geeks or may even make some orgasm from delight knowing about how they work, they will not resonate to the average consumer, like myself.

Also, it won't be just another repeat of the focus on Apps as they did last year (but even then, they still announced the iPhone4). How can you make 360K even more spectacular? By reporting 400K or even 500k Apps? Yawns. There comes a point when incremental numbers do not ring as much to consumers or even the press. For this reason, Apple ony put focus on milestones -- 100 million, 1 billion, 10 billion, etc.

The average consumer wants something new.... and something physical that would make those "software" and Apps mean something to them.

And, if it is June, it means new iPhone.

The stock price of Apple will take a hit if Apple does not deliver.

CGC

I was thinking the same thing. Will we lose that nice pre-WWDC stock bump we usually get the week or so prior to the conference?(of course much of those gains are typically lost during the week of conference itself.)

The amazing success of the iPod touch, the iPhone, and (especially) the iPad, plus the halo effect from them, speaks to the contrary. I think the move to the Apple ecosystem is still a novelty for many consumers as it is ("Computers don't have to be a headache?!"). Beyond that, I think, more than anything else, consumers want their kit to work reliably while fitting their needs.

If apple is serious about releasing a white iPhone, then this report makes a lot of sense.

Steve Jobs, "Well that wraps it up for Mac OS X Lion and iOS 5, but, there one more thing."

Here's to hoping ur right. I still have iPhone 3G and really want to upgrade. iPhone 4 is good, but I reasoned that Apple was adding a lot of new stuff which might run into problems. iPhone 4 is like the 1st gen series 2 device, iPhone 5 is like 2nd gen series 2, a lot of new stuff which has had the kinks worked out...

The words on Apple's invitation to WWDC makes it pretty clear that there's no iOS 5 preview in April. If there was, Apple would've announced that first, and then announced WWDC dates at the preview or after (as has been the pattern of previous years).

September is still in this fiscal year (Apple's year ends Sept 24). Apple has been announcing new iPods on the Wed following Labor Day, so iPhone would now become the main fall product leading into Christmas (with iPad as the spring product).

This move also says that Apple is thoroughly confident that iPad 2 revenue will be huge and will carry Apple through the summer months.

Agreed! I hope they still plan to release an updated iPhone. That's when I've been planning to buy a few for my family & I.

No hardware announcement and it still sold out in half a day. Impressive.

I don't know why Apple doesn't hold this in a bigger venue. They know by now that it's going to sell out. Better to have some empty seats then cut many people out.

The average consumer understands the iPod, the iPod touch, the iPhone, and the iPad2, and even the Apps, the practical aspects of them. What they can do for them. But ask the average consumer whether it is iOS or OSX Snow Leopard or Lion that is inside their device, and most likely you will get a stare -- or what do I care.

The OS matter only in the sense that it is what makes the gadgets work. This will appeal to the geeks and the tech savvy. But, to the average consumer, it is the new gadget that works with the features that will get their attention.

Do you get the nuanced difference?

CGC

I think we're arguing the same point regarding user expectation: consumers are attracted to cool new gear and they just want it all to work while it's the geeks who pay attention to the tech specs of all that crap.

The point I was trying to make, that I guess I'm not articulating well, is that the user experiences (i.e., user interaction with) of Mac OS X and iOS are currently different (in other words, PC vs post-PC). I suspect that the road map for iOS and Mac OS X that Apple will unveil at WWDC will show developers (and the world) how Apple plans to take all the underlying technical similarities that they're both built on and create a less differentiated user experience between the two (hence, a "unified" OS).

Do you understand what I'm trying to say now?

That's a good point.

While the Japan quake might have made a slight difference in the release schedule, I don't think it affected things much. Steve probably wants to give the iPhone 4 on Verizon more than six months to sell. Maybe he wants to move onto a release cycle that gets him first digs at some new LTE chip that's coming out this summer, or even next summer. Perhaps he's taking the extra time to smooth out potential wrinkles with a unified NFC system rollout, which includes collaboration with numerous smartphone makers and NFC storefront transceiver manufacturers. We don't know.

And I suspect that Steve probably doesn't care too much about a new shape to the iPhone. It can have the same basic industrial design as the iPhone 4, only with an aluminum back, and it'll sell as much as it would with a more curved shape. Besides, the iPhone 3G-to-3GS evolution was a successful one. There's no need to completely reinvent the phone on this run, either. With the exception of durability issues, due to the glass back, and the lack of a dedicated camera shutter button, the iPhone 4 is almost a perfect piece of hardware, as it is.

Of course, no one, no matter how well connected, outside of some people in Apple, and Foxconn, actually know this schedule, and that includes many of Apple's suppliers. They also don't know why, if it is true that there will be a delay, unless it's due to a company or companies with problems making parts. While I have respect for Jim Dalrymple (spelling!), and he's got a pretty good record in predictions because of the people he knows, he's not always right, nor are his reasons.

It's still pretty early. I think it would be dangerous for Apple to get off a once a year upgrade schedule for the hardware and OS. Others are moving too fast. The usual criticism is that Apple needs to update more quickly. I think this may be true. Apple's concept with products is to come out with one extremely dynamite design for their entire line, and stick with it for an entire year, while others come out with new versions twice a year if need be, or at least have several versions out at once.

Apple does have two, when including last year's model at a cheap price. But it's not the same thing. I can only conclude that if Apple decides to come out with this on a longer schedule, as some are suggesting, it will only hurt sales. The industry is still too young, and there are too many things coming out in too short a time. At some point in time, maybe ten years from now, it will be different, but not yet.

So I wonder if this is a change in Apple's release policy, or some problems cropping up instead.

Well under the trunk is what you dont see and that does not matter to most people. It only matters to apple. Seriously i dont understand why they should converge (mac os X /ios) other than you can do same things essentially which you cant do now...

The biggest convergence issue though is the user filesystem which is a real issue if you thing about it. If mac os gets more like IOS then its saionara for me, you can count me out. BUT if ipad gets more os x userfilesystem features then the convergence is less a problem. You could just change the gui on a computer depending on the display or input devices you have with you. Im just not seeing user filesystems coming anytime soon which is a real bummer...

I installed multigestures via xcode 4.0 and my ipad is much more usable. I dont know why you would ever want to use the same gui on a computer/slate that you use on a small phone. The Ipad is quite good but the GUI needs more options.... saving files localy is a BIG downside so you have to jailbreak anyways. Then you can use sd-cards or usb memory and . the only problem with this is that you cant use this document saving area to launch official apps that can read the files. You can only use Jailbroken apps to use your files. Theres no real options for taking files with you when you might not be connected at all.

And what can I say about the app-desktop on the ipad. PLEASE change that to something usefull. Maybe add widgets to one side of the display or even more customization.

Its a nice device but its POTENTIAL is badly hindered. Its the best device in its class NOW, but if these things dont change then it might not be like that for long. Hope icloud is the answer to our prayers.