WWDC 2010: Event Horizon

In typical manner before an Apple event, there are many rumors and hypotheses swirling about what our favorite fruit company may or may not say or show off on stage. Also in typical fashion I like to throw in my two cents of punditry. On Monday, June 7, Apple will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco with a keynote address, where the company has been known to announce or release new products.

The Mac

Mac OS X

I really doubt we’ll hear much about the Mac this time around. One may think this would be the perfect opportunity to give a first glance at Mac OS X 10.7, but considering the session list for WWDC is centered around the iPhone and iPad, along with the Apple Design Awards excluding the Mac entirely, I don’t think there will be much news on this front. I wouldn’t mind being proven wrong.

Safari

However, there have been some rumors that Safari will see a proper Extension API added to it. My guess is this would be the chief cornerstone of a new Safari (Safari 5, perhaps?). I could also see Apple using Safari 5 to fully embrace HTML5, such as fullscreen video playback, since the company has been by far the most influential voice in adoption of HTML5.

Also, a while back the WebKit team announced WebKit2, which will bring split process tabs/windows to Safari, much like how Chrome (which is also WebKit-based) does things. The difference is Chrome does it at the application level, whereas WebKit2 will provide this as part of the framework for any WebKit-based app. I can see the next major version of Safari being based on WebKit2.

Needless to say, I would love to see the return of tabs-on-top, at least as an option. Tabs-on-top were introduced during the betas of Safari 4, but the feature was dropped for the release.

The iPad

I’m sure we’ll hear about how insanely great the iPad is selling and how satisfied customers are with it. I’m hoping Apple will also issue a bug fix release of the iPad’s iPhone OS 3.2, as there are a few glitches here and there, and there’s also a pesky issue of poor WiFi reception. I can attest to that personally, as my iPad drops WiFi in my bedroom, whereas my iPhone 3G, MacBook Pro, and my wife’s iPod touch have no problems in the same location. And the router is 20 feet away in the office.

Beyond the trumpeting of great sales and addressing bugs, I don’t see much happening with the iPad until the fall when it receives OS 4, presumably OS 4.1.

The iPhone

There is no question in my mind that the iPhone will be the main focus of attention. Between a new OS, presumably new hardware, and Apple’s habit of announcing new iPhones at WWDC several years running, this is a sure bet.

iPhone OS 4

We’ll definitely get a summary of the new features coming to the iPhone (multitasking, folders, etc) along with a release date. Also, a Gold Master build & SDK will likely be available to developers following the keynote. A decent chunk of the keynote will be devoted to rehashing the details from Apple’s event in April, complete with a few third-party demos. There may be a few additions to the OS, specific to the latest generation of iPhone hardware. We saw this with the introduction of Compass and a revamped Camera app in the iPhone 3GS. I’ll detail my thoughts of what is in store here in the next section.

The New iPhone

This will hardly be a surprise, as we’ve already seen the hardware itself thanks to Gizmodo. But you never know, Apple may have a trick or two up its sleeve. What to expect? Well, a brand new hardware design, the Apple A4 mobile processor, a larger 5 megapixel camera with LED flash on the back, an iSight camera on the front, and a 960x640 pixel display at the same physical dimensions. 

I’d love to see the next iPhone sport Apple’s custom A4 processor, as it performs beyond expectation on the iPad. The A4 has absolutely impressive performance whilst using extremely little battery power. 

The advancements to the screen would be an improvement of epic proportions. At the same physical 3.5” diagonal measurement, a 960x640 pixel resolution would increase the iPhone’s pixel density would increase from around 160 pixels per inch to around 320 pixels per inch. That pixel density would be nearly indistinguishable to the human eye from the output of a laser printer. The next iPhone will likely have one extremely crisp screen. Also, rumor has it that Apple will be employing the use of In-Plane Switching (IPS) which is currently used in the company’s iMac displays and the iPad. IPS provides the ability to have zero color distortion from nearly any angle. 

As far as cameras go, the improvements to the rear camera will be very welcome, and may even provide for 720p HD video capture, whereas the iPhone 3GS captures at 640x480. If this is true, my Kodak Zx1 will be finding a new owner.

The front camera, which I am sure Apple will dub as an iSight like cameras on Macs, will be primarily used for video conferencing and self portraits. And this is where device-specific enhancements to iPhone OS 4 come in. The two apps I can see appearing exclusively to the new iPhone are iChat and Photo Booth. iChat for text IM purposes and impromptu video chats to show Grandma what her silly grandson is up to at this moment, and Photo Booth for taking fun self-portraits of you with your family and friends. These two apps just seem like a natural fit to the front facing iSight.

We should also get a firm release date for the new iPhone hardware. Some purport that it will be available immediately, and that surely is possible, but I’ll err on doubtful.. The iPhone 3GS was released 11 days after the WWDC announcement, which was very fast, in my opinion. However, it was also two days after iPhone OS 3 was hitting existing devices. Apple is likely going to give developers some time to submit apps for iPhone OS 4 before release. That all could change, however, if Apple releases iPhone OS 4 beta 5 this week and invites developers to start submitting apps tested against that beta. This is a possibility since Apple essentially did the same with the iPad release. With the iPad, developers submitted apps built on a beta OS, untested on actual hardware, and didn’t receive a Gold Master until after the iPad itself was released. Apple may do the same with iPhone OS 4, and release the Gold Master and the next iPhone concurrently during WWDC.

Carrier Partners

Perhaps the biggest myth around this time of year for several years running is whether or not Apple’s US exclusivity with AT&T is over and done with. Many folks want the iPhone on Verizon and Sprint’s name has even come up a few times. The largest hurdle to the iPhone coming to either Verizon or Sprint is their CDMA based networks. AT&T, and all of the iPhone’s carriers worldwide, use GSM networks. This means Apple makes one iPhone, and just localizes the software according to its destination. If Apple introduces CDMA compatibility into the mix for the few countries that have CDMA then it has to either make an iPhone with a hybrid GSM/CDMA chip, or it has to make two iPhones, one GSM and one CDMA, which complicates manufacturing.

Another incentive for Apple to hold off on supporting Verizon/Sprint, is the upcoming 4G networks based on LTE. This would knock out Sprint from having an iPhone, though, as they are using WiMax for their 4G network. However, AT&T and Verizon both proclaim that they will have LTE networks in the next couple years, with some markets lighting up in 2011. This would fall more in line with Apple’s simplified manufacturing process.

I have been going back and forth on whether or not I think AT&T will lose exclusivity for weeks. I’m going to go with no. To me, evidence for AT&T keeping the iPhone to itself in the US far outweighs the alternative. I’m sure Apple would love to open the door to more customers, but the question is would Verizon bring in enough customers to warrant the cost of retooling the factory every now and then to make CDMA iPhones. 

I also suspect the iPad 3G’s sweetheart data plan was given by AT&T in exchange for more one-on-one time with their cash cow, the iPhone.

Steve Jobs

After a medical battle in 2009 that required the visionary of Apple to take a leave of absence, one that many thought he may not return from, Steve Jobs is taking the helm once again at WWDC, as he has been for all of Apple’s events since September 2009. I am sure we will also see appearances by Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall during the keynote, as has become custom. I expect we’ll see a great show, and be amazed in one fashion or another by one of the best showmen of our time. 

The Day that Twitter Clients Stood Still

No, I’m not talking about a Twitter outage. Rather, I am talking about a huge shakeup in Twitter clients. Specifically, clients on the iPhone, iPod touch, & iPad.

This evening Twitter acquired Tweetie, and is hiring its creator, Loren Brichter, to their mobile team. Tweetie for iPhone will be renamed Twitter for iPhone, and its $2.99 pricetag will be slashed to the low price of free.

Twitter’s reasoning for the acquisition:

Careful analysis of the Twitter user experience in the iTunes AppStore revealed massive room for improvement. People are looking for an app from Twitter, and they’re not finding one. So, they get confused and give up. It’s important that we optimize for user benefit and create an awesome experience.

Twitter says in the next few weeks Tweetie Twitter for iPhone will be released in the App Store, and that Brichter will begin work on an iPad version as well. I must say I found it peculiar that Brichter didn’t have an iPad version out on the iPad’s launch day.

One has to wonder what will become of the long-promised Tweetie 2.0 for Mac? The last real news from Brichter on the matter was back in September 2009.

Even more so, one really has to wonder what will happen to all the other iPhone OS Twitter clients like TweetDeck and my personal favorite, Twitterrific. One thing is for sure — if you are a developer for an iPhone/iPad Twitter client, you probably want a drink or two about now. 

Also worth noting is that Twitter has taken down their downloads page, which featured a slew of third party apps. I wonder if the grand scheme of things is to kill off the very clients that helped propel Twitter to where it is today?

The Future, Unveiled

Apple today took the wraps off iPhone OS 4. My first reaction — what’s left for the haters to complain about? Who am I kidding, they’ll always find something.

The laundry list of improvements is staggering and downright impressive. Apple highlighted seven of over 100 new user features, and noted that developers will have over 1500 new APIs at their disposal for creating apps.

The seven “tentpole” (their word, not mine) features are:

1. Multitasking
2. Folders
3. Improved Mail
4. iBooks on iPhone & iPod touch
5. New Enterprise Features
6. Game Center
7. iAd

My thoughts on these:

Multitasking

As many folks are probably saying right now: Finally. I, for one, understood Apple’s stance in the past on multitasking, how running apps in the background would significantly drain the battery and slow responsiveness of the device. After all, the iPhone is a communication device, and what’s the point of background processing if the thing will be dead in an hour? 

As it was with copy & paste, Apple may not be the first to implement multitasking, but they are doing it better. Their idea is to multithread via seven different services available in the API.

• Background audio
• Voice over IP
• Background location
• Push notifications
• Local notifications
• Task completion
• Fast app switching

Examples: Pandora can stream it’s audio and use the pop-up screen controls normally reserved for the iPod app while the rest of the app basically falls asleep. Skype can continue a voice call or monitor for incoming calls. TomTom can continue to give directions while you switch to the iPod app. Push notifications as they are now can continue to be used. Local notifications allow for apps to post reminders or other events without using an Apple server. Task completion allows Flickr to finish uploading a picture while you move on to something else. And fast app switching essentially freezes an app while the user handles another task in another app. 

This method of using services cuts down on a lot of processing overhead while allowing the user to move on with their digital lives.

Folders

Folders allow you further organization of the home screen. Currently, with the limitation on how many home screens are available, only 180 apps can be seen on the device maximum. With folders, 180 folders can be present, containing a maximum total of 2,160 apps!

I can already tell I can consolidate my 5 home screens down to one or two, since I already use those screens as a rudimentary folder system (only two of them are chock full).

I consider this a very welcome feature.

Improved Mail

By far, this one stands out as a gigantic improvement for me personally. With the addition of Universal Inbox, I may actually put more than my MobileMe account on my phone. Apple is also adding the ability to thread conversations, which is something I have desired more than a universal inbox. There is also fast inbox switching, which I haven’t yet seen the details of how that works.

iBooks on iPhone & iPod touch

Since getting the iPad, I have really been enjoying the iBooks app. So far I’ve only gone through the included copy of Winnie-the-Pooh with my son over the past couple nights, and it has been great. Well, Apple is bringing the same reading experience to the iPhone and iPod touch, along with the iBookstore. Thankfully, purchases and the place you last left off in a book will wirelessly sync between all your iPhone OS devices. Kind of like Kindle’s WhisperSync. I’m thrilled about this.

New Enterprise Features

Now with faster warp speed! Wait, no, not that Enterprise.

Apple is beefing up security and services for business users, such as:

• Data protection
• Mobile device management
• Wireless app distrubution
• Improved Mail & Exchange Support
• SSL VPN support

 And that’s about all I care to cover on that.

Game Center

Apple is forming a social gaming network that will allow developers to have their games invite friends, matchmaking for multiplayer, leaderboards, and game achievements. Think Xbox Live for portable games.

iAd

Apple is breaking into the mobile advertising space. Why? This is what Jobs had to say on the matter:

“Developers [who create free apps] need to find a way to start making their money,” Jobs said. “A lot of developers turn to advertising - and we think these current advertisements really suck.”

His reasoning for this is the current situation of ad interaction within apps. When an ad is tapped, the user is yanked out of the app entirely and dropped into Safari. Apple is betting that if ads interact with a user within the app, more ads might get clicked. I say it’s a gamble. I personally am not an ad clicker, except on accident. That’s also why I opt for paid versions of apps over ad-supported versions.

I don’t know how much the average developer gets from ads that they place in their apps right now, but with iAd, Apple does all the work. They sell and host the ad, and the developer gets the larger slice of the revenue — 60%.

Other Features

Other features that were either mentioned or just shown on the screen :

• File & delete Mail search results
• Search SMS/MMS messages
• Web search suggestions
• Choose image size in Mail messages
• Bluetooth keyboards
• CalDav invitations
• Larger fonts for Mail, SMS & alerts
• Cell data only setting
• Spell check 
• Persistent Wi-Fi
• Gift Apps
• Birthday calendar
• Recent Web searches
• Create Playlists
• Top Hit in search
• 5x digital zoom
• Nested Playlists
• CardDav
• Tap to focus video
• Upload workouts to Nike+
• Places in Photos
• iPod Out
• Home screen wallpaper
• Search SMS/MMS messages
• Wake on wireless

Items in that list I am interested in are home screen wallpaper (loving this on my iPad), upload to Nike+ (no need to let iTunes handle it), and Birthday calendar (currently the only calendar that I have to sync via iTunes, because MobileMe doesn’t handle it). Another is nested playlists (I think that means folders in the iPod app).

Things Missing

An overhaul of the notification window system would have been nice, and so would a status summary of notifications and events on the lock screen. Also, no word on when AT&T will support tethering on the iPhone. This one is seriously beginning to bother me. It’s been over a year since tethering was announced and in two months it will have been a year since the feature has been available in the rest of the world. AT&T needs to get with the program, or Apple needs to make an iPhone for Verizon, which says it can handle the traffic. 

Final Thoughts

Apple says that OS 4 is slated for release to iPhones and iPod touches this summer, and iPads this fall. 

This is also the first OS release that won’t cover all devices. First generation iPhones and iPod touches won’t receive the update.

And like last year with the original iPhone not supporting MMS, the iPhone 3G and the second generation (late 2008) iPod touch will not have multitasking. I suspect this is because both devices have 128 MB of memory, versus 256 on the iPhone 3GS, third generation (late 2009) iPod touch, and the iPad.

I would be a little miffed since I own an iPhone 3G, but I had already planned on upgrading this summer as soon as a new model is released. 

Overall, this looks like a great step for the iPhone OS platform. People who have downloaded and installed the beta OS have said it is the most stable beta 1 release they’ve seen from Apple for iPhones. All things considered, this looks to be a maturing step for iPhone OS.

I highly encourage watching Apple’s video of the event.

Predicting the Future of iPhone OS

In a few hours time, Apple will pull back the curtain on iPhone OS 4. As you’ll recall, Apple’s invitation stated that invitees would “get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS.”

Prior to Apple events, I tend to throw in my predictions. Last time I was wildly wrong. So this time I am going to keep things conservative. The usual suspects have spoken, and I am going to ride their coattails. There are three things I think will be added to iPhone OS:

• Multitasking of some sort for third party apps
• An advertising platform for free apps, and
• Support for higher screen resolutions.

 Multitasking and screen resolution are the things Apple has been getting slammed on since the Motorola Droid and the HTC Nexus One Android phones came a-knockin’. Now, I’m sure Apple will have many more things to trumpet about. I’m just not sure what those will be.

I do, however, have my own little wish list.

Mail

• Unified inbox
• Threaded messages

iPod

• Folder support
• A freaking quick-scroll bar in the Playlist section
• Get rid of cover flow

Lock Screen

• Status summary of notifications/upcoming events/weather/etc.

Notifications

• New system for presenting these. The blue grey pop up box just doesn’t cut it.

Tethering

• I’d like to see AT&T actually support this here in the US. But, I’d actually like to see this taken one step further. I’d like to see the iPhone gain support for mobile hotspot. Some new smartphones are featuring this ability to take the phone’s 3G signal and then turn the phone into a WiFi hot spot for other devices. I’d love to see this feature, but I have doubts as that would cut into sales of 3G+WiFi iPads. 

Those are a few things I’d like to see happen with the iPhone. Some, like mobile hotspot, would likely require new hardware. Support for higher screen resolutions could be in advance of new iPhone/iPod hardware and/or taking a step toward unifying the versions of iPhone OS that iPhone/iPod run on versus the iPad’s flavor.

All will be revealed soon. Any last minute comments from the peanut gallery?

Apple Sends Invites to iPhone OS 4 Event

Moments ago Apple sent out invitations to an event demonstrating iPhone OS 4. The invitation shows a partial 3D model of a number 4 casting a shadow  onto a blue background. The text on the invitation reads “Get a sneak peek into the future of iPhone OS.”

The event will take place at 10 AM PDT on 8 April, 2010 at Apple’s Cupertino Campus. Let the wild speculation begin.

Addendum: It just clicked after the initial jaw drop that this is in 3 days. THREE. DAYS. Color me officially shocked.