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Apples Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) begins Monday, June 11, and Apple has promised more than 100 technical sessions presented by engineers; 100 hands-on labs offering developers code-level assistance; information on the future of iOS and OS X; engaging and inspiring lunchtime sessions with brilliant thinkers; and the announcement of the Apple Design Awards, recognizing the best apps for iPhones, iPads and Macs.
These events, of course, are likely the very least of what attendees at the five-day annual conference at San Franciscos Moscone West venue will be looking forward to.
Guesstimates, forecasts and reports based on loose lips say those filling the seats will also be treated to:
Apple iTV
There has been talk of an Apple television since purchasers of the Steve Jobs biography did a thorough reading between the lines. Most recently, Jefferies analysts reported that Sharp, at a June 8 analyst day in Tokyo, said utilization rates of its LCD panels will be 90 percent, instead of the current sub-40 percent. The target levels were met with skepticism, but the company does not foresee any LCD panel oversupply issues and believes there are lots of opportunities in the TV market. Hmm¦
The analysts went on: Given Apple managements increasing public comments regarding its hobby Apple TV, we remain convinced that iTV is an announcement for 2012. Whether or not the product is unveiled on Monday remains to be seen, but we believe it will launch in the fall.
Piper Jaffray analysts expect an Apple television to revolutionize how people consume content in their living rooms. The analysts expect it to sell for between $1,500 and $2,000though a subsidy is always possibleand they expect it to integrate Siri, be compatible with third-party devices, help consumers get a better value out of their cable subscriptions and be an attractive, stand-out centerpiece in a home, they wrote in a June 1 research note.
iOS 6
Apple confirmed there will be a look at iOS 6. The rumor mills say that look will include a new in-house mapping application that will allow Apple to ship iPhones and iPads without Google Maps on board. Apples purchase of C3, a Swedish company that uses declassified missile-targeting technology to create 3D maps, is said to be the brains behind the app.
Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said to also expect an iOS 6 with improved photo-sharing capabilities.
An Improved Siri
Seriously, we can straight-up confirm this, because Siri cant get any worse. When was the last time she showed you the respect she shows Sam Jackson and Zooey Deschanel and gave you a correct answer, on the first try, to a question you asked?
Also, Siri is in beta; its time for the real deal. Apple CEO Tim Cook, at the All Things D event May 30, told Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Theres more we can do [with Siri]. We have a lot of people working on this. Youll be really pleased with the things youll see over the coming months.
New MacBook Pros
Its said that Apples Retina display will expand beyond iPads, and that the MacBook Pros will be thinner and lighter than current models. Not a high-stakes guess.
New MacBook Airs
Intel executives have said that there are more than 100 Ultrabook designs in the works based on its new Ivy Bridge processors. It would be very un-Apple-like, indeed, to not show off a slim, clean-of-line, Retina display-including response to this PC trend.
An iPhone 5
This is arguably the most iffy of all the guesses. If Apple does show off a new iphone, however, chances are excellent it will include a 4-plus-inch display.
A Very Un-Steve-Jobs-Like Presentation
There is no duplicating Steve Jobs, as Tim Cook well knows. Again, at the All Things D event, according to a transcript from MacRumors, Cook told a story of Jobs telling him never to think about how he would have done something, but to instead, Just do whats right.
Michael Oh, an Apple Care specialist, has said he expects, Hes not going to go up there and try to do something like Jobs. ¦ Hes taken a step back and [will] let the substance be the driver of the message.
A Lot of Developer Love
Analytics firm Flurry said in June 7 report that Apple and Google combined have a market cap of approximately three-quarters of a trillion dollars. The degree to which those dollars get moved in one direction or the other has a lot to do with developers.
If the developer community embraces one platform over the other, developers will build the software that infinitely extends the value of the consumer experience, giving a platform a meaningful edge, Flurry said in the report.
The outcome of Apples WWDC, and Google I/O developer conference June 27 to 29, the Flurry report added, can largely impact the fate of some of the most prolific, innovative forces in the worlds economy today.