The Official? WWDC Prediction Thread

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  • Reply 61 of 109
    mrtotesmrtotes Posts: 760member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Frank777 View Post


    I would think they held back for one of the following reasons:



    ? 30" LEDs are still outside the price range.

    ? Mini-Displayport can't handle the load properly.

    ? DVI allows a wider base of potential buyers.



    I still think it has to be something other than the 30" though. People will throw stuff at the platform if the only announcement is an update to a 5-year-old display that 90% of people can't afford.



    Samsung have a 40" LED television (1920x1080) for £1,199 compared to the Apple 30" display (admittedly 2560x1600) at £1,080. So I refuse to believe Apple couldn't do an LED 30" if they set their mind to it.
  • Reply 62 of 109
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iNtel iNside View Post


    [B]Here's my predictions:





    Don't Bet On It:

    -Other new Mac hardware products.


    -New Pro Apps.



    Why no new Pro Apps? In a way it makes sense



    Final Cut Studio

    Aperture

    Logic Studio



    all need to move to 64-bit. They all would be ideal showcases for 64-bit Snow Leopard. I'm inclinded to believe 9to5mac that Pro apps will be discussed at WWDC if only to show Apple apps running in SL and leveraging Grand Central, OpenCL and 64-bit frameworks.



    http://www.9to5mac.com/pro-apps-macbooks-updated-wwdc



    Also, he said there would be a big Pro apps update. Final Cut Pro, Aperture, Logic, Shake should all see significant updates.



    All are due for updates



    Aperture 2.0 was released on Feb 12, 2008 so by June it'll be 16 months since the last update



    Final Cut Studio 2 was released on April 15 of 2007 so by June it will have been 26 months



    Logic Studio was released on September 12 2007 so we're heading towards 2 years.



    Apple may do a shocker. These apps may be Snow Leopard only and set to ship in September with Snow Leopard which would give plug-in devs and other companies a bit of time to get their apps ready.



    I still contend that we may see a half priced OS from Apple which could mitigate some of the complaints about forced upgrades from Intel owners and PPC owners coule upgrade hardware to get the new OS.
  • Reply 63 of 109
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iNtel iNside View Post


    Here's my predictions:



    A given:


    -A big, long speech on Snow Leopard and the advanced new features, plus a ship date.

    -iPhone 3.0 software.

    -New iPhone: faster processor, 16 and 32 GB models, better camera with on-phone photo and video editing, same price.



    Yep right on the mark.



    With SL they are likely to disappoint with that ship date. Many seem to think it is months away.

    Quote:



    Likely:

    -MacBook touch: 10" multi-touch Atom-based tablet running Snow Leopard with $600-$800 pricepoint.

    -CDMA iPhone for Verizon Wireless. Much like Jobs announcing the stats that last year, "the biggest iPhone barrier was price", Schiller will say that the reason Apple's opening up the iPhone to VZW is because "Our market research shows that XX% of potential iPhone customers don't want to switch carriers".



    Not a chance on the Verizon Phone as that has been publicly discounted.



    The Mac Book Touch I just don't know about. There would be good aspects to ATOM in it but many negatives. The primary one being that ARM based systems are orders of magnitude less power hungry. Plus all of Apples investment in ARM can't simply be just for a couple of hand held devices. Couple that with what I imagine Apples tablet will be like and I have to say ATOM isn't likely. I suspect that Apple will try to stay as far away from the Mac Book family as is possible to avoid having to support Mac OS/X cruft. In other words Apples tablet will evolve from iPhone OS based devices with a clear distinction between it and the "computer" lineup.

    Quote:



    Don't Bet On It:

    -Other new Mac hardware products.


    -New Pro Apps.

    -iPhone for Sprint. After all, they want the Palm Pre to be the once-and-for-all iPhone killer.



    No to the PRO Apps also as I think they are all going to leverage SL. So not to after that comes out.



    One thing I'm still hoping for is a mid range gap filing machine. Slim chance yes. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Apple TV go ARM with some sort of tie in to iPhone apps.





    Dave
  • Reply 64 of 109
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gugy View Post


    New ACD's please!

    Specially 30" and maybe a larger than 30".

    iSight built-in.



    Come on Apple, it has been ages...



    Be careful of what you ask for. You know it would be just like the 24" LED Cinema. Apple isn't going to release 2 different designs. So you know it will be a glossy screen with a isight cam. The only differences is it I would think they'd put both DVI and Mini Display Port on it as some of the new graphics card for the Macs don't have Mini Display Ports on them.
  • Reply 65 of 109
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by WPLJ42 View Post


    I hope Apple surprises us with a new voice in SL. Perhaps a girl voice with the same high quality as Alex. Resolution Independence too, please. In dreams, I wish Apple would morph Apple TV and the mini. Let the optical drive become an attachable add-on, just like Bose does with the Wave CD changer. iLife could be consider and extra as well, perhaps $59. OS X comes with just about everything one would need to get started. Without an optical drive and iLife, the mini could be priced at $399 with a slightly slower processor. At that price, they could get rid of Apple TV. Do put the HDMI connector on the mini though. For the person who has bucks to spare, the mini should have an option for a biggie SSD. I have an iMac and enjoy it, but would prefer a mini with the HDMI option so I could go straight to an HD TV. So, again in dreams, I hope for low vision enhancements for SL. To be realistic, a Mac mini HD with price points from $499 to $999.



    In the past, Apple has never released any consumer hardware at the WWDC conference. The only way they would is if it had something to do with the software they were releasing/demoing.
  • Reply 66 of 109
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Amorph View Post


    Yeah, I just went through that helping someone buy a notebook. There are a lot of PC notebooks out there with last-generation hardware and a less than spectacular 15" or 17" screen for $800-$1300. No, they don't compete with the MacBook Pros and they're not intended to. They're for people who want a big screen but don't need the muscle (or the cost) of professional hardware.



    Apple can go on about clear product lines all day, but if they took the baseline MacBook and put it in a 15" or 17" case they would sell those things all day, every day. Now that MacBooks look like MacBook Pros they would admittedly have a devil of a time disambiguating them the 15" and 17" laptops visually, but in that case it may be time for a design refresh.



    That particular hole in their lineup has stuck in my craw for years.



    [edit: on topic, Apple has a habit of releasing hardware updates ahead of WWDC so that the developers' conference is about... developers, and specifically the topics that developers are interested in. However, that precedent was set when Apple was still trying to gin up hype for their products. They don't have to do that anymore, so I can safely predict that there will only be major announcements of major overhauls or new products. Refreshes will go out the door when they're ready and Phil wants them to hit the market, accompanied by a press release.]



    What people sometimes forget is, Apple isn't about making cheap hardware. This isn't what they do. They're not in the game to make a cheap Mac. If they were, they would have done this ages ago. They're here to take 80% of the market. They've even stated these things many times. People want Apple to be what its never going to be. Apple isn't a Dell, HP, Acer, etc and for good reason.



    Apple has a simple lineup because its easy for them to maintain, its easy for customers because you don't have 10 different versions of a MacBook and it saves them money by having a simple lineup. Do we really want Apple to go back to a Macintosh Performa type lineup to suit everyone's supposed needs?



    I think Apple is also afraid of releasing another G4 Cube, especially with the way it hypes everything up. I think it makes them really sit back and see what people are really going to buy down, not today, but down the road. Which is why you don't see Apple creating a netbook.
  • Reply 67 of 109
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    I think it's more about margins.



    Apple wants computers with margin and style. Netbooks ain't either
  • Reply 68 of 109
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hmurchison View Post


    I think it's more about margins.



    Apple wants computers with margin and style. Netbooks ain't either



    Its definitelly about margins. This is why Apple competes in the markets it does and not the $899 15/17" notebook market just because a few people want it. There's no money to be made in that area. In case we forget...Apple is business to make money so it will do what makes it the most money and run with it.
  • Reply 69 of 109
    gugygugy Posts: 794member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post


    Be careful of what you ask for. You know it would be just like the 24" LED Cinema. Apple isn't going to release 2 different designs. So you know it will be a glossy screen with a isight cam. The only differences is it I would think they'd put both DVI and Mini Display Port on it as some of the new graphics card for the Macs don't have Mini Display Ports on them.



    I don't mind the 24" LED design at all. The only thing is mandatory is a optional matte screen. Specially because most 30" buyers are professionals.
  • Reply 70 of 109
    frank777frank777 Posts: 5,839member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    No to the PRO Apps also as I think they are all going to leverage SL. So not to after that comes out.



    As Murch said, if the Pro Apps are leveraging Snow Leopard and the new Mac Pro, WWDC is the place to show them. Regardless of whether they will ship in August, September or January 2010.



    Apple has to show developers that they are eating their own dog food. Period.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    One thing I'm still hoping for is a mid range gap filing machine. Slim chance yes.



    Good luck with that. I've given up. I simply hope that Apple will silently announce a build to order Mac Mini option with 4GB Ram and a 7200 RPM drive. At least that will narrow the gap somewhat.



    Forget about changing the video card in a consumer Mac. With the iPhone and AppleTV becoming Apple's new game machines, Cupertino has never cared less about desktop gaming.
  • Reply 71 of 109
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    my guess



    1) Snow Leopard release date

    2) iPhone & OS 3.0 release



    3) if macbook re-branding is true

    we might see 15" MacBook - white plastic - lower prices



    4) desktop CPUs goes to iMac and lower prices
  • Reply 72 of 109
    shubiduashubidua Posts: 157member
    Just some elements to think about, please correct me if I'm wrong :



    We recently had an entire event dealing with iPhone OS 3.0 (I think it was late March), so I don't see them spending a lot of time on this one, unless they hid some major features.



    Snow Leopard has not had a real demonstration, at least I can't remember one. I've been watching some older keynotes lately, and they showed a huge preview of Leopard 6 or 12 (I think it was Macworld 07) months before it shipped.



    Moreover, introducing new groundbraking new hardware (like a tablet) would take too much time. (the keynotes never last any longer than 1h45m).



    So my guess would be :



    - Preview of SL and maybe some pro-apps taking advantage of these new features

    - new iPhone hardware with hidden features in the OS 3.0

    - Maybe something new about their iwork.com project (Macworld 09) ?



    Maybe some hardware upgrades on the macs, but this would seem weird, as it is a developper conference. (iPhone updates are related with new software functions, so it is different).
  • Reply 73 of 109
    olternautolternaut Posts: 1,376member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by macxpress View Post


    In the past, Apple has never released any consumer hardware at the WWDC conference. The only way they would is if it had something to do with the software they were releasing/demoing.



    At this point there is almost no doubt that Apple will introduce a new iphone at the WWDC. Remember now that there is no Macworld for Apple to lean on. And this will coincide perfectly with the debut of the finished iphone 3.0 SDK.
  • Reply 74 of 109
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Frank777 View Post


    As Murch said, if the Pro Apps are leveraging Snow Leopard and the new Mac Pro, WWDC is the place to show them. Regardless of whether they will ship in August, September or January 2010.



    Apple has to show developers that they are eating their own dog food. Period.



    For the developers that have apps that can leverage SL they are already well on their way developing for SL. This has been a long time coming Apple won't need to do much at all to get developer buy in.



    That is for developers working on apps where SL would make a big difference. For many apps there won't be a lot to leverage.

    Quote:









    Good luck with that. I've given up. I simply hope that Apple will silently announce a build to order Mac Mini option with 4GB Ram and a 7200 RPM drive. At least that will narrow the gap somewhat.



    Forget about changing the video card in a consumer Mac. With the iPhone and AppleTV becoming Apple's new game machines, Cupertino has never cared less about desktop gaming.



    I don't care about desktop gaming all that much myself. Still in raw CPU performance Apple has nothing midrange at all. I'd be a bit happier if iMac offered that up. In many ways though I've transitioned to mostly using a MBP. A "desktop" that could act as a media server would be very nice. Basically a small desk top with enough expansion slots for disk drives to implement a nice RAID. Oh and it needs to be able to drive common large screen TVs.



    Now just because I wish for such doesn't mean I expect it at WWDC. In that regard I'm expecting a new iPhone. With respect to a tablet I have more reservations. There may be nothing ready for WWDC but I just have this feeling when they come it won't be a one pony show.











    Dave
  • Reply 75 of 109
    dhagan4755dhagan4755 Posts: 2,152member
    My suspicions are raised. Three things:



    1. Apple yesterday bumped the white iBook and is now offering a 500GB HD that isn't available on the other models. If Apple doesn't "bump" the specs on the other notebooks next week to also offer the same CTO 500GB drives, then it probably means they are addressing the line-up at WWDC. What other major changes could Apple to warrant keynote time ? aside from saying hey the 13" MacBook is now a 13" MacBook Pro? 16:9 displays with different/new notebook sizes? Built-in batteries across the unibody line-up? Built-in 3G WWAN?



    2. I am also beginning to think the iPhone news will be limited to the software release date and overview of new improvements made to iPhone OS. I think it will be glancing blow compared to the stuff about Snow Leopard. I think iPhone hardware news will come later at a special event closer to when the new iPhone will be available (in late June or July, with the OS release). The bulk of the conversation will probably be on the release date, new AT&T phone plans (lower prices), and improved bandwidth (7.2Mbps).



    3. Apple is going to spend a significant amount of keynote time showing off Snow Leopard. They will probably show the performance difference in SL compared to Leopard and Vista/Win 7. Hopefully there will be some bake-offs, just like the old days. I think there's a bunch of other stuff they'll spending time demoing, too, like the ActiveSync stuff, and the tweaked Leopard interface, Marble.
  • Reply 76 of 109
    shadowshadow Posts: 373member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    For the developers that have apps that can leverage SL they are already well on their way developing for SL. This has been a long time coming Apple won't need to do much at all to get developer buy in.



    That is for developers working on apps where SL would make a big difference. For many apps there won't be a lot to leverage.



    Developers did have some time to work on their SL applications but I am pretty sure Apple execs will spend significant part of the keynote talking about SL. The reasons:
    1. Although WWDC is, well, developer conference, Apple is fully aware that the keynote gets lots of attention from the media and from the Mac crowd. The keynote will be addressed to a wide audiance, the rest of the WWDC - to developers.

    2. Apple always used the keynote to showcase what the new technologies can do. No reason for an exception this time around.

    3. Apple still needs to do something to get the developers buy in. Even the best technology is worthless if it does not get wide support. When starting work on new application, the developers need to set the target OS version. More backwards compatibility is better. On the other hand, if the new technology can save a lot of work and/or make the app better they may choose to target the new OS only. Same applies to the new versions - they could be new OS only. More SL-only applications - more incentive for the users to upgrade to the new OS. It is not the money Apple will get the most important thing here, there are a number of other benefits for Apple. The most important one is the advantage against Windows. For example, there is no Core Data, Core Image, Core Animation, Image Kit, access to Spotlight database, QuickLook, ... [put other technologies in here]... in Windows. The more apps use these technologies, the wider the perceived advantage of Mac OS against Windows.

    4. With every new Mac OS version so far there is a lot to leverage for the majority of the applications.

    5. Apple knows Windows 7 is coming, and it knows MS will push hard to make it look better than it actually is. Apple needs to show they are the leader and MS is the copycat.

  • Reply 77 of 109
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DHagan4755 View Post


    My suspicions are raised. Three things:



    1. Apple yesterday bumped the white iBook and is now offering a 500GB HD that isn't available on the other models. If Apple doesn't "bump" the specs on the other notebooks next week to also offer the same CTO 500GB drives, then it probably means they are addressing the line-up at WWDC. What other major changes could Apple to warrant keynote time — aside from saying hey the 13" MacBook is now a 13" MacBook Pro? 16:9 displays with different/new notebook sizes? Built-in batteries across the unibody line-up? Built-in 3G WWAN?



    2. I am also beginning to think the iPhone news will be limited to the software release date and overview of new improvements made to iPhone OS. I think it will be glancing blow compared to the stuff about Snow Leopard. I think iPhone hardware news will come later at a special event closer to when the new iPhone will be available (in late June or July, with the OS release). The bulk of the conversation will probably be on the release date, new AT&T phone plans (lower prices), and improved bandwidth (7.2Mbps).



    3. Apple is going to spend a significant amount of keynote time showing off Snow Leopard. They will probably show the performance difference in SL compared to Leopard and Vista/Win 7. Hopefully there will be some bake-offs, just like the old days. I think there's a bunch of other stuff they'll spending time demoing, too, like the ActiveSync stuff, and the tweaked Leopard interface, Marble.



    i like what you said



    they can add 15" plastic macbook and make macbook and macbook pro with lots of different feature difference.



    just 10 days to go! 6 working days to go!! i will be at WWGC (gambler's conference) @ las vegas, will be missing all the news, oh well, will check out with iPhone



    APPLE surprise us with something!!!
  • Reply 78 of 109
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by gugy View Post


    I don't mind the 24" LED design at all. The only thing is mandatory is a optional matte screen. Specially because most 30" buyers are professionals.



    I would think Apple would have to make the 30" a little more flexible than the 24". Maybe a Matte option and DVI alongside mini display port.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Olternaut View Post


    At this point there is almost no doubt that Apple will introduce a new iphone at the WWDC. Remember now that there is no Macworld for Apple to lean on. And this will coincide perfectly with the debut of the finished iphone 3.0 SDK.



    They may intro it, but it may not be shipping that same day. If so, Apple better have inventories building up as we speak. WWDC is a little over a week away.



    Apple doesn't need a MacWorld to introduce its products. It can always schedule something on their own campus, which is what they've been doing. Apple can get attention whenever it wants. All it has to is invite the media to their campus for an announcement.
  • Reply 79 of 109
    I'd like to see the iPhone 3.0 software release on the first day of WWDC Hey, its possible. They did that with one of the other updates.



    And then announce the 3rd gen iPhone to come in just a few weeks later with improvements to the camera, processor, memory, and battery life. I love AT&T so we're good there.



    Snow leopard I could live without. I bought my MBP with Tiger and that was great and shortly afterwards Leopard came out and I used my $100 vaseline from the original iPhone to buy it with a student discount and got it for $16, and thats cool but there wasn't a big difference for me besides the dock.



    And then Jobs will go on about how well the iPhone is doing in 32,000 counties and how everyone of your purchases in the app store puts a slice of cheese in an Ethiopian child's hands.



    And finally he'll turn it over to somebody that'll introduce some new games.
  • Reply 80 of 109
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shadow View Post


    Developers did have some time to work on their SL applications but I am pretty sure Apple execs will spend significant part of the keynote talking about SL. The reasons:



    Don't get me wrong I expect them to talk a lot about SL both publicly and privately with developers. SL is a big transition for Apple and will provide a base for applications that will be around for a long while.

    Quote:
    1. Although WWDC is, well, developer conference, Apple is fully aware that the keynote gets lots of attention from the media and from the Mac crowd. The keynote will be addressed to a wide audiance, the rest of the WWDC - to developers.



    1. Somewhat yes to this, I don't expect much difference between this keynote and last years. That wider audience is why the keynote is more or less public.

      Quote:

    2. Apple always used the keynote to showcase what the new technologies can do. No reason for an exception this time around.



      Yes and it shouldn't be much different this time around except for one thing. That is Apple has two major programs coming to release. That being iPhone OS 3.0 and Snow Leopard. Thus I don't expect so much new tech but rather an effort to bring everybody on board. That is release of SL's API to the public for example so that developers outside of the special status developers can start their integration. Likewise much the same for iPhone 3.0, where they would release the SDK for that.

      Quote:

    3. Apple still needs to do something to get the developers buy in. Even the best technology is worthless if it does not get wide support. When starting work on new application, the developers need to set the target OS version.



      The little bit of info that comes my way about SL is that the developers that are working on apps that will benefit from SL greatly are already hard at work on those apps. The key here is that this is a small segment of the developer community. As much as many people dream it will not all apps are going to benefit greatly from SL. Six Four bit isn't need for every app, neither are things like OpenCL or Grand Central.



      The thing with SL is that some apps will benefit massively from SL and others not so much. If a developer has an app that falls into that massive category he really has to be working on it right now to be ready with SL release. Otherwise he will get left behind real quick.

      Quote:

      More backwards compatibility is better. On the other hand, if the new technology can save a lot of work and/or make the app better they may choose to target the new OS only. Same applies to the new versions - they could be new OS only. More SL-only applications - more incentive for the users to upgrade to the new OS.



      Backwards compatibility is always nice, but to much emphasis on that has sunk more than one company. The SL only apps will likely be the ones that can grab the largest performance gains from SL. I expect these apps to come real quick, mostly so that they remain competitive.

      Quote:

      It is not the money Apple will get the most important thing here, there are a number of other benefits for Apple. The most important one is the advantage against Windows. For example, there is no Core Data, Core Image, Core Animation, Image Kit, access to Spotlight database, QuickLook, ... [put other technologies in here]... in Windows. The more apps use these technologies, the wider the perceived advantage of Mac OS against Windows.



      Those features are nice but I don't want to see Mac development end up stagnating because developers always take the easy way out.



      In any event just because Windows doesn't have those frameworks by name doesn't mean that there aren't analogs in the windows world.

      Quote:

    4. With every new Mac OS version so far there is a lot to leverage for the majority of the applications.



      Yes Mac OS has gone forward at a rapid clip but SL should allow for a whole class of new apps that where never possible before. Likewise apps that might not have been realtime or interactive can now become much more Mac like with SL. SL is a bigger step than past Mac OS upgrades in my mind simply because it offers up access to 64 bit computing and easy access to vector/GPU processing.

      Quote:

    5. Apple knows Windows 7 is coming, and it knows MS will push hard to make it look better than it actually is. Apple needs to show they are the leader and MS is the copycat.




    Nope Apple needs to offer up a better solution. Somethings in SL make it obvious that it is.



    Frankly I see SL release date being announced at WWDC and it will be suspiciously close to Windows 7. Not because there is a lot left to do but rather it will look like the better solution when compared side by side.





    Dave
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