It’s time for my version of the WWDC wishlist. WWDC is almost always about the software. Each year they talk about what’s coming in the various *OS plans for the year. They decidedly do not focus on hardware. You can get a prognostication of the hardware they have in the pipe, but it’s fun to see what they have in mind for future iterations of the software.
Last year I was convinced that Apple was going to go full pro with iPadOS after the introduction of the M1 iPad. I think we’ll start to see more “pro” get into iPadOS, but it’ll still be iPadOS. Running macOS on iPad doesn’t make sense. I realize now that I was a little premature. It makes sense, because not every iPad is running on an M1 processor yet. But they have introduced it on the iPad Pro and the iPad Air. There’s very little left for them to do before they introduce more “pro” development and creation features to the iPad. Generally, I think we’ll start to see more of those plans this year.
Apple has a knack for building things under our noses over the course of years… actually, even decades. They’re really good at building onto their technology when it works. When it doesn’t work, they throw it out and start over, only to build it up in the way that matches their final vision. We saw this happen with the M1 chip. It took them more than a decade, but they finally cashed in on their vision. I think we’re about to see that happen again at WWDC 2021.
Apple never announces hardware updates at WWDC. They only talk about the software and things that developers care about. The new hardware always comes in the September/October timeframe. I don’t understand why the press continues to think Apple will release new hardware at WWDC.
Yes, they talked about Apple Silicon, and they gave you a good guess about when it’s coming out - but they didn’t announce anything that you can buy, yet.
How is it that Apple has followed this formula for more than a decade and people still don’t get it?
One thing I wanted to mention in my post about WWDC last night… did anyone feel that the tone of the overall keynote was different? It felt a little more relaxed and fun. It seems like Tim Cook has encouraged his staff to be more relaxed and at ease with what they are doing. There was more humor and more open honesty.
I think Tim is trying to strike a keen balance between old school Apple secrecy and a new humane approach to the work they are doing. I think he’s listening to the consumers about how things should be (iCloud Drive is a likely example of that).
I should be at WWDC 2014 this year, but I’m not. I work for a Microsoft-centric shoppe right now and they just don’t see the value in it. Nevertheless, I put my name in for the lottery and I didn’t win anyway.
I watched most of the keynote from afar and parts of the State of the Union address. All of it is ultra exciting. If they get Continuity, iCloud Drive (FINALLY OMG) and Messages right, this will be a killer OS combo with iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Guess who didn’t get a ticket? There’s absolutely no way I will ever be able to purchase a ticket through my corporation if the windows is down to the hour. No way. I was going to be lucky to pull a purchase within 48 hours.
Apple needs to expand this conference and offer paid developer accounts a first right of refusal.
