What To Expect From Apple At WWDC 2010

Many news outlets have spoiled Apple’s big surprised for the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference by publishing early photos and details of the next-generation iPhone. In a recent e-mail, Steve Jobs promised a customer that “you won’t be disappointed” by the announcements to come. So what else might Apple have in store the event, which happens from June 7 to June 11 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center? In addition to the obvious new iPhone, we’re predicting something big happening with relation to streaming video. We also dismiss recent rumors about Microsoft making an appearance to announce iPhone OS developer tools and file the possibility of a Verizon iPhone under “unlikely.”

The Fourth-Generation iPhone

Gizmodo and Tinthe appear to have spilled all the beans about the next-generation iPhone; an aluminum chassis, a thinner case, a front-facing camera, a higher-resolution, and camera flash. It’s important to note that Apple legally confirmed in an unsealed affidavit that Gizmodo’s prototype represented the fourth-generation iPhone, so there is no longer a need to speculate about whether it was really Apple’s next smartphone: it is. One thing that both Gizmodo and the Vietnamese blog were unable to demonstrate was the prototypes actually doing anything, so plenty of questions still remain. We personally think the highlight feature of the iPhone 4G / HD will be the front-facing video camera. How will video-conferencing with a front-facing camera work in terms of bandwidth? AT&T has acknowledged its 3G network being overloaded by traffic coming from smartphones (especially iPhones), and plenty of people have issues just making phone calls or surfing the web. Also, thinking beyond iPhone 4G/ HD owners video-conferencing with other iPhone 4G / HD owners. We predict that the iPhone 4G / HD owners will be able to video chat with iChat users with webcams on their macs. Agreeing with our theory, there are already clues in developer releases of iPhone OS 4.0 that there will be iChat support in the next iPhone. It is quite possible that Apple will have something to say about one-way video streaming. Maybe Apple will finally put to use its massive data center, which could provide the bandwidth requires for video feeds of movies, short video clips, and more. We speculate that streaming video may eventually play a key role in Apple’s future of personal media. Especially after Apple’s acquisition of Lala suggests the company is interested in turning iTunes into a streaming music service, and adding live video would turn iTunes into a personal media hub. A big question remaining is the back of the iPhone, neither Gizmodo nor the Vietnamese blog were able to confirm the exact material, but they said it as a glasslike plastic. The kicker is, an analyst said in January that he’d heard Apple’s next iPhone would feature a touch-sensitive housing similar to that seen on Apple’s multitouch Magic Mouse. We’re thinking that the next iPhone’s back will detect multitouch gestures so you can control core features such as the music player while the device is still inside your pocket. The next iPhone is likely to ship sometime in June. (Apple announced its iPhone 3GS during WWDC on June 8, 2009 and began shipping it 11 days later.) Engadget has heard iPhone HD and we’re thinking it is probably right.

iPhone OS 4

Apple already previewed iPhone OS 4 in March but only a few key features such as multitasking, universal e-mail, and the ability to create folders among others were all highlighted. Expect the full story at WWDC. The latest beta releases have already revealed clues about unannounced features, such as a new widget interface for the iPhone’s music player, tethering for AT&T customers, and file sharing with your PC. In addition to getting the full details on iPhone OS 4, expect a release date possibly as soon as the day of the keynote. Apple has said iPhone OS 4 is due for release in the summer ofr iPhones and iPod Touch devices, and in the fall for the iPad. (Make sure to note that if you own an original iPhone or first-generation iPod Touch, you’re out of luck. iPhone OS 4 will be compatible with the second and third-generation models of each device and presumably the next-gen iPhone too of course.)

No Steve Ballmer or Silverlight

Developers and analysts were buzzing about a rumor that Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer will take a stage at WWDC to announce its own third-party developer tools (such as Silverlight) for making iPhone and iPad apps. That already seems like a far fetched idea considering that Jobs in an open letter explaining why Flash isn’t allowed on the iPhone OS, made it clear that he didn’t want meta platforms participating because they would result in sub-parr apps. Microsoft announced on Twitter that Ballmer was not making an appearance at WWDC, so you can consider the rumor debunked.

No iPhone For Verizon Users

Along with angry AT&T customers, Verizon suscribers have been wanting an iPhone hoping that Apple will share its next iPhone with the Verizon network. We wouldn’t bet on that happening at WWDC. The most credible rumor report published by The Wall Street Journal claims a CDMA iPhone is scheduled for mass production in September. We would expect a Verizon iPhone no sooner than then, though we would lean toward the conservative side in guessing that such a device won’t see the light of day until 2011.