Keynote

Let’s Talk iPhone Keynote Predictions

2
229 days
by in Keynote

So tomorrow is the day that we finally get to see the successor to the phenomenally successful iPhone 4, but what is going to be new?

1) iOS 5
The one thing that the new iPhone is guaranteed to will ship with iOS 5. If you have not already seen the WWDC Keynote (if not why not?) then you already know whats coming in iOS 5. As a reminder you can look on Apple’s Website. The biggest change is how notifications work, they are less obtrusive and are all visible in one place. The other change that you will notice straight away (if you also have friends running iOS 5) is iMessage. iMessage is Apple’s awnser to RIM’s Blackberry messagener. It allows you to send free message to other user’s iOS devices, and you also get the option of recieving sent, received and read receipts.

2) iCloud

Although strictly speaking part of iOS 5, iCloud is a headline feature all of it’s own. It allows applications to store data “in the cloud” so it is accessible on all of your devices, be it iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Mac or one of those PC things. An important thing to note which differentiates iCloud from services like DropBox, is that applications can only see their own data (it is sandboxed by company). So for example, you can’t edit a photo in one application, and then upload it using another application by finding the edited image on the file system, in fact as a user you can’t even see your iCloud file system at all!!

3) A5 Chip

The iPhone 4 has an under clocked version of the iPad’s A4 processor, so it would make sense that new iPhone will have an under clocked version of the iPad 2′s A5 processor. The A5 processor (on the iPad 2 at least) has two cores, which will make your iPhone experience a little bit more snappy.

4) 8MP Camera

Not confirmed by anyone, but it would make sense (and would also be relatively cheap) to put a higher quality camera in the new iPhone. Bumping up the megapixel count for 5MP to 8MP is a logical step, and a few phones already contain this sensor.

5) 64 GB of Storage

The iPhone has been stuck at 32GB of storage since the arrival of the 3GS, so I expect an upgrade to 64GB so I am able to carry half of music collection, instead of a quarter of it. (I could really do with a 128GB iPhone if you couldn’t tell)

6) iPhone 5 or 4S

If I was Apple, I would call it the iPhone 5 how ever minor the update is, and that is for 2 reasons:

  1. I think people are more likely to upgrade to an iPhone 5, as subconsciously it just sounds like a bigger update
  2. If it is called the iPhone 4S, then what is the next iPhone going to called? The 6th iPhone surely can’t be called the iPhone 5. (I know there has been a 3GS, but that was because Apple called the 2nd iPhone, the iPhone 3G)

Other Updates

In addition to the iPhone, I expect the iPod Touch to get an update so it’s specifications are inline with the new iPhone’s. I don’t think it will get a 8MP camera though, but we might even see a 128GB Model. If we do see a 128GB Model, I do expect the iPod Classic to retire to the gadget museum. If we don’t see a 128GB, I don’t expect to see an iPod Classic update anyway … does anybody still buy them?

The iPod Nano will also get a refresh for the holiday season, now wouldn’t it be amazing if that run iOS 5…

WWDC 2011 Keynote Predictions

4
349 days
by in Keynote

I predict that the keynote will about Mac OS Lion, iOS 5 and iCould … OK we already know that, so here is what I think that really means.

iCloud

I think that iCloud will give users the ability to stream any of their iTunes purchased music tracks and videos to an iOS/Mac OS device, for a small subscription fee ($25-$50 per year). I don’t think they will do what Google and Amazon are currently doing, whereby they allow users to upload their own music regardless of where the files have come from (e.g. burned from a CD), and then stream this to users devices.

I also think that iCloud will incorporate the MobileMe service, and what would make things very interesting is if Apple do something smart with iDisk. If Apple makes iDisk available to every iOS application via a nice and simple API, it would solve two major problems.

  • Getting files on and off of iOS devices
  • Moving files between applications

At the moment a lot of iOS applications use Dropbox for this, but it doesn’t have to be this way, and Apple will probably want a piece of this pie.

Mac OS Lion

I don’t think we (developers) will see anything new from Lion in this Keynote (other than anything iCloud related), but they are likely to go over the previously unannounced features such as Version and AirDrop. I think the GM will be given to developers at WWDC, and we will be given a release date … I think the end of July.

iOS 5
Notifications, Notifications, Notifications. I think Apple have to deal with how applications show notifications. At the moment they force the user to deal with them there and then … which may have been the simplest option to implement in iOS 1, but every other mobile OS has a better solution in comparison to iOS.

I think in tandem with the new notification system the springboard will get a small update to accommodate them. I’m not expecting anything major but support for widgets would be nice.

Over the air updates … I think this may finally happen. For me having to plug my iPhone into my Mac for it to upgrade the OS isn’t really an issue, it’s the syncing of apps and music (which I do regularly) that is the major issue. If they allow me to sync over WiFi (or something clever with iCloud) then I will be extremely happy with this as an iOS update.

What there won’t be

There will be no iPhone 5 (or iPhone 4S or whatever it is called) shown at WWDC, neither will there be any iPad hardware updates. I think the only hardware that we might see unveiled is a Thunderbolt MacBook Air, or a refresh of the Time Capsules to do something clever with iCloud … it does have a hard drive after all.

Come see what 2011 will be the year of. – Predictions

0
445 days
by in Keynote

Apple’s first keynote of year is nearly upon us, but what will it bring?

Lion preview
Apple caught everyone by surprise last week by making the Mac OS 10.7 Lion preview available to developers. I expect Apple will go over some of the previously unannounced features such as Versions and AirDrop (I think everything has been leaked now though … naughty developers!!!).

iPad 2.0

I’m firmly under the impression that the iPad 2 will be a minor update that will simply keep it ahead of the competition. I think a front facing “FaceTime HD” camera will be included alongside a faster processor and more RAM. I don’t think it will get an SD card slot and I don’t think it will get a retina display … although I would like to see that.

MobileMe

MobileMe can no longer be purchased, but Apple have already stated that their new data center will be used for it. This is the strongest indication that it is simply just changing form. I think there will be a free version with Dropbox type functionality, so you can easily share files between your iOS devices. Other than that I’m not sure what they will add.

Something to do with the BBC ?

The BBC are hosting an event at the same time as Apple’s keynote, so I imagine there is some link between them.

I think it will be one of 2 things:

1) A subscription deal on the iPad
2) The iPlayer integrated into Apple TV

iOS 4.3

iOS 4.3 will be made available tomorrow, but I don’t think there will be any surprise features.

iOS 5.0

One thing that I would like to see is the beta of iOS 5.0. I think iOS 5.0 really needs to clean up how notifications work, I suggest they copy webOS’s very clean and simple implementation. In addition to that I would like some sought of synergy between my iPad and iPhone (through MobileMe ?) whereby I can do things such as replying to text messages on my iPad. They may even open up the Apple TV in iOS 5.0… that would make things interesting.

“Back to the Mac” – Thoughts and Predictions

0
579 days
by in Keynote, Opinion

Apple are looking to close off the year (in terms of keynotes anyway), with Steve Jobs talking about the Mac. The 4 keynotes previously in the year, focused on the iPad, iPhone and more recently the iPod line up.

If pictures paint a thousand words, the invitation clearly shows a lion, so one would assume that this event will be the unvaling of Mac OS 10.7 Lion.

As I like guessing a bit too much, here are my predictions for what we will see in Mac OS 10.7.

What I think will be in it:

  • FaceTime
  • AirPlay
  • A replacement for Finder

What might be in it:

  • UIKit (or some additions to AppKit to make it a UIView based system like the iPhone i.e. NSCell is a subclass of NSView !!!
  • A Mac AppStore (hopefully it won’t be the only way to get software on there)
  • Support for 64 Bit, Multicore systems only.

What needs to happen but won’t:

  • Decoupling of iTunes into separate applications (Store, Library, Device Manager etc)

Other than Mac OS X, there is more than likely going to be a Mac hardware announcement along side iLife/iWork 2011. The MacBook Air seems to be the safe bet, but I also expect the entire MBP line to get a speed bump … Can I wish for USB 3.0 ?

One more thing … Maybe we get to find out what the “revolutionary feature” is.

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