Leading up to the WWDC 2013 I’m feeling a lot of excitement and anticipation. I have been wondering what goodies are going to be unveiled and have been enjoying languishing in the suspense.
What is the WWDC?
For those that aren’t familiar with the acronym ( I wasn’t until as recently as a couple of years ago) TWDC stands for worldwide development conference. It is held by Apple for its developers and was pioneered by Steve jobs. He would appear on the stage much like a rockstar and present his magical products with his infectious enthusiasm and exuberance sweeping the audience of their feet with beautifully designed products.
Over the years this conference has gained a lot of momentum and when the tickets went on sale this year a couple of months ago they sold him 110 seconds flat.
There will be new versions of the Mac OSX and iOS
Mac OSX is the operating
system of the Mac, and IOS refers to the operating system on the mobile
devices.
The maps application on iOS was
a near disaster according to an article on the
verge and one that eventually helped seal formal IOS senior VP Scott
Forestalls fate. Scott’s refusal to sign the apology letter (for the map
application’s dismal performance) didn’t help any.
Scott’s departure paved the way
for none other than Sir Jonathan Ives who stepped in to lead the product’s
visual design. He is also rumoured to be behind iOS’s first major overhaul
since it was released 6 years ago.
There has been a lot of talk
about a flatter structure in the software, which I understand to mean fewer clicks
(layers of screens to work through) in order to execute tasks.
Apple’s stock price – on a roller coaster ride
One thing is clear: Apple is
going to have to come up with something pretty compelling to address the
alarming drop in their stock price which fell from a peak of $700+ to as low as
$450 in less than a year. The fickle stock market has mutilated apple’s stock price
but Apple’s cash reserves of $170 billion remain untouched and unassailable.
Personally I think that Apple’s
current P/E ratio of 10.47 (as the date this article was written) makes it
extremely cheap as a stock and presents a good opportunity to get on the Apple
gravy train.
Will there be a MacBook Pro refresh?
Unlikely given that the MacBook Pros were
recently refreshed with retina displays. There has been some talk about Intel’s
new Haswell chipsets but in my opinion they will find their way into the MacBook
Air rather than the MacBook Pro
The MacBook Air however is due for a refresh
9to5
Mac published an article about leaked SKUs that likely point to MacBook
refresh. Despite significant in entry-level constraints the new part code is
released in this article point to an imminent refresh on at least the MacBook
Air or the MacBook Pro with the retina display. I’d put my money on the MacBook
Air if I were a betting man.
Will we
finally see the Apple Television?
There has been a lot of talk about the Apple
television for over a year now and rumours seem to have died down lately. I
don’t think we are likely to see the much anticipated revolutionary TV next
week the Mac rumours reported that Apple television set with hiring motion
control is touted to be arriving late this year.
Sounds pretty cool but I’ll
believe it when I see it!
After much anticipation (and for
good reason) about what is going to surface at WWDC 2013 and I know I will be
waiting with baited breath to see the new goodies on display like many others in my techno geek tribe.
I’ll be hanging on every word of the Keynote announcement as I do each year
and will enjoy the grand unraveling of devices, software and the magic that Apple
has gotten so good at mesmerising us with over the years.
Sadly however I will miss the most important
element of the magic that is Apple – Steve Jobs. May he rest in peace.
