We’re just a few hours away from WWDC 2012 at Moscone Center, and both our team and Apple’s team are working hard to bring the best out of it this year. But before we could go ahead and report live from the event, I would like to make it clear as to what to expect from the event, and set the expectations, so that the WWDC 2012 won’t be disappointing for so many people out there.
Here’s a quick roundup and analysis of the hits and misses the WWDC 2012 could have this year.
The Keynote ‘might’ miss the magic:
This is the first point that I would like to address before going into what to expect from WWDC. The first reason to have our (I’m being generic here) expectations low is that Steve is not here. This would be the first major conference from Apple that happens without the company’s magician, Steve Jobs. Believe it or not, it was Steve Jobs who would create the magic at the beginning of the event, and have all the audiences’ attention and then give the control over to other peers. But this time, it solely depends on Tim Cook, who does not replace Steve, but still, plays an important role in creating some magic of his kind which we are unaware of in such a big event. But if Tim Cook is able to pull this off in his own way, this would be a new beginning for Apple’s WWDC.
iOS 6:
This is one of the confirmed software product that we’d see this Monday. And as usual, the best man, who knows completely about the iOS, Mr. Scott Forstall would take stage to unveil the next generation of their iOS, the iOS 6. The new OS for the iOS devices is expected to drop Google Maps as their default Maps provider and move on with OpenStreet Maps or Apple’s own Mapping application. Expecting a 3D mode for the new maps application might be a little disappointing, since Apple does not always fly high with anything they unveil new.
The next big thing that iOS 6 would have is the improvements to the Notification Center. We’ve heard that the ability to perform more operations like replying to messages would be available right within the Notification Center. And, the Notifications could also sync across devices via iCloud.
Yet another almost confirmed feature, is the Facebook integration for iOS. Just like how Twitter was integrated into the System, the Facebook is expected to get its taste of iOS this Monday. The ability to share and like the photos and songs are also coming.
Some of the not so heard of feature might be the 1080p AirPlay Streaming via iOS 6 devices. This would be a very cool feature for those who rely on AirPlay to watch HD videos on their TV sets. And now, the much talked about and rumored feature, the Siri for iPad. We heard from our sources that Siri has been under testing for the iPad and the new iPad’s chip is capable of handling Siri’s processing abilities.
Mountain Lion:
Yet another confirmed arrival. The Mountain Lion. Even though this is more like an add on to the existing Lion OS, this looks exciting with deeper iCloud and Twitter integration. Mountain Lion brings almost everything that was missing between iOS and OS X. The Mountain Lion has been with the developers for sometime now, and at WWDC, this would go live for the public. The upgrade will be a paid one for Lion and this would bring the compatibility for the new Macs that are also expected to come out on Monday.
Apple has also become stringent with Gatekeeper, that prevents unauthorized execution of code on your Mac. Which in-turn would push some users to purchase their apps from the App Store. Besides these, there are also some of the unannounced features which are coming like the Automatic App Downloads, and automatic updates. The cost for this upgrade is expected to be half that of the Lion. And we could see Phil Schiller take stage and explain the new feature in his own way!
Mac Hardware Upgrade:
There’s been some hints about the Retina Display Macs and also some improvements to the Mac Pro. The Retina Display Macs might finally see the light on Monday at the Keynote. It’s been so long since they touched the Mac Pro’s line-up for a processor beff-up and now, this might come alive again.
Talking more about the Retina Display MacBooks and Macs, the PPI when compared to the iPhone or iPad would be lower. Since this would consume a lot of battery than normal, and there’re going to be a lot of screams if the product would provide lesser battery life than its successors. But there’s been evidences of Retina Display for Mac with the Mountain Lion releases previously. The OS already has HD icons for some applications and a Mac with a Retina Display would be amazing.
There are also rumors that MacBook is about to receive an update for their design and would come with some advanced features like Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0 and a much better Thunderbolt and HDMI ports. But the least heard of is the adapter change that might come along with the new MacBooks. A smaller, sleeker power adapters are expected along with the thinner MacBooks this year!
Statistics and Sales Records:
This would be the first thing that Tim would talk about, as usual. And almost every other speaker is going to be ‘wow’-ing the audience with the statistics and the sales records that Apple has made in the previous quarter and the past year. And well, there are going to be some ‘pulling-legs’ stuff between Apple and Samsung at the keynote.
Apple has already sold a record breaking number of new iPads since its launch and this would be even bigger at the WWDC. They are also going to be talking about the Mac App Store statistics, about how many apps are available on the Mac App Store and the amount of money they have paid the developers via Mac App Store with a typical Cheque image on the screen.
So, where to watch WWDC 2012?
Well, you’re at the right place already. We’re already put up near the Moscone Center for Arts and we are going to be live blogging the event this year with a in-house blogging tool, which is not expected to have any downtime during the keynote. The image below will lead you to the live blogging page:
