The keynote of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference is always one of the most important tech events of the year -- and in 2012 it looks like we'll be seeing a host of big announcements concerning operating systems, Mac computers, and even the future of television.
Well, that's the scuttlebutt at least. Only Apple knows for sure what it will present next Monday morning during its WWDC kick-off.
When it comes to the specific agenda items of any Apple event, there's always a deep divide between what Apple discusses publicly beforehand -- i.e., practically nothing -- and what the technology press presents as conventional wisdom. Sure, there's a lot we can reasonably expect to see at this year's keynote. Details on new versions of iOS and Mac OS, for example, are almost certainly going to be revealed. The WWDC has become Apple's de facto "OS event," and that shouldn't change this year.
Beyond that? Well, we have to look at the bigger picture, delving into what Apple has telegraphed in its public event description, what the company has presented during past WWDC keynotes, and what various tech sites are reporting from inside sources.
So let's read some tea leaves, shall we?
Apple's Official Word
Details about Apple's keynote -- its very public press event -- are essentially nil. The event invite merely states, "It's the week we've all been waiting for."
Of course, developers attending WWDC get their own event schedules that have nothing to do with the keynote, but these are under non-disclosure agreements. And even the developer-only schedules are filled with sessions marked as "to be announced" -- it's near impossible to divine any helpful information from them, though Daring Fireball's John Gruber tries here.
Nonetheless, Apple is actually somewhat forthcoming with what to expect on its publicly accessible WWDC developer's page. Here you can glean a bit of intel concerning the company's most no-brainer-y announcements.
To no one's surprise, Apple will be demoing the upcoming Mountain Lion version of Mac OS in its developer sessions, according to the developer page. Developers can expect that the sessions will "cover Mountain Lion extensively," diving into the arcane machinations of AppKit, CoreText and other Apple development frameworks.
The Mountain Lion update to Mac OS was announced in February, so let's just go on the record and state that we're 100 percent sure Mountain Lion will be presented onstage during the WWDC keynote.
On the publicly accessible developer's page, there's also information concerning iOS sessions. "Sessions for iOS developers will explain how to develop fluid and realistic interfaces and take full advantage of the iPad’s Retina display," reads the language. Of course, iOS 6 isn't mentioned by name, but we're almost certain it will be demoed on stage during the keynote. It just wouldn't be a modern WWDC without some kind of iOS announcement.
A History Lesson
Apple's WWDC history is a bit spotty when it comes to hardware announcements. While OS announcements and demos are usually revealed at WWDC keynotes, hardware unveilings can be hit or miss.
The last Apple computer announced at WWDC was a 15-inch MacBook Pro in 2009. Before that, the Mac Pro was announced in 2006. The upshot? Despite fresh rumors that we'll be seeing new Macs on Monday (we'll get to these soon), a look back in Apple history doesn't bode well for summertime computer announcements in 2012.
Likewise, if you're hoping for a new iPhone to be announced, you might want to curb your expectations immediately. Apple usually releases a new iPhone every 12 months. The iPhone 3G, 3Gs and 4 were all announced during summertime WWDC keynotes (in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively). But that precedent crumbled with the iPhone 4S, which was announced in October 2011.
It's highly unlikely that Apple will announce a new smartphone only eight months after the release of the 4S. Plus, throwing the iPhone back into the mix would pull the focus away from, well, just about anything else Apple wants to spotlight (and read this article in total -- there's a lot the company could potentially spotlight).
As for iOS, Apple showcased iOS 5 at WWDC last year, and there's no reason why the company wouldn't continue the trend this year. WWDC is Apple's grand developers' conference, and offers the best possible opportunity to get app developers up to speed on the future of iOS, and all that it can do. Even more pertinent, an iOS teaser at WWDC gives developers time to get all their apps ready for a Fall iPhone and iOS release.
This was the formula that Apple executed last year, and it propelled the iPhone 4S to unprecedented levels of smartphone success.
So that's what WWDC history tells us about what to expect. But if we've learned anything from Apple's iPhone 4S launch -- specifically, the possibility that it was ostensibly "delayed" from June to October last year -- it's that Apple precedent doesn't always inform Apple execution.
What Rumors Would Have Us Believe
And now we enter the exciting and often frustrating world of rumors. It's a land where anything can happen -- and more often than not, it usually doesn't.
This year speculative reports have Apple unveiling an updated Mac line at WWDC. According to 9to5 Mac sources, Apple is planing on rolling out no fewer than four newly revamped computers -- this would represent four-fifths of Apple's current Mac line-up. The MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac and Mac Pro are the machines to be announced onstage, the website says. The computers would take advantage of Intel's recently updated Ivy Bridge architecture, with the Mac Pro receiving Intel Xeon E5 chips, according to a Wednesday report. 9to5Mac credits all its information to unnamed sources.
9to5Mac also reports that in addition to an Ivy Bridge processor upgrade, the 15-inch MacBook Pro will lose its optical drive and slim down to more closely resemble the MacBook Air. In the same story, the website reports the MacBook Pro's current LED backlit display will also be replaced by a Retina display. If this upgrade is revealed Monday, it will mark the first time Apple's super-high-definition display appears in a Mac.
Oh, and the Retina display rumors don't end there. 9to5Mac also reports that Apple will be going full-on Retina in its MacBook Airs and iMacs. The website, however, reported that it doesn't expect to see these display upgrades on stage in the new computers unveilings -- unveilings which are all pure speculation in and of themselves.
For our money, the oddest element in this bubbling morass of 9to5Mac rumors is that Apple will put a USB 3.0 port on the MacBook Pro. Apple is squarely aligned with Team Thunderbolt, and it seems like a big step backwards to add a USB 3.0 port to its professional notebook.
TV Rumors: An Apple Theme for 2012
And now we turn to Apple TV. The company's "hobby" (the words of CEO Tim Cook, not ours) is reported by BGR to be receiving a brand new and "much more feature-complete" operating system that will support a "control out" API allowing for third-party support of the device. BGR says the new OS will be unveiled at WWDC, and "that by using the API, it will be possible to control any connected components all from the Apple remote."
Such an unveiling would be a brilliant move on Apple's part. Imagine a new software platform that uses Siri and iOS-style navigation to make sense of byzantine TV scheduling line-ups. And imagine this system handshaking via an API with existing cable TV boxes. The mind reels at the implications. Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire painted a tantalizing picture of upcoming Apple television scenarios in a recent editorial -- but stopped well short of making WWDC predictions.
BGR's report states that the new API will not only make its way into the Apple TV set-top box, but will also appear in the rumored-to-be-inevitable Apple HDTV. Adding a quick reality-check to this provocative information, BGR says its source believes Apple won't actually show a "physical HDTV" at WWDC.
Neither do we.
As for apps and software in general, Daring Fireball's Gruber guesses that Apple could have an App Store for Apple TV in the works, but he has yet to hear anything from Cupertino on the matter. The current Apple TV's OS features icons that resemble apps, and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine more apps landing on the box.
Finally, BGR reports that Apple will be replacing the Google Maps app with its own iOS mapping application featuring 3D views. BGR cobbled together images and created a composite of what it believes the new app's interface will look like. Apple has been working on an in-house mapping solution for years, and purchased C3 Technologies and its impressive 3D mapping technology in 2011. We at Gadget Lab think a new iOS Maps app is all but imminent.
And if all of these rumors are true, the WWDC keynote could last well into the late afternoon with "One More Thing..." dragging on for hours as Apple releases item after item to the developers and press in attendance. Seriously: Look at the rumored agenda described above. Do you really think Apple can fit it all in?
A more sensible scenario is that three or four main OS items will be showcased on Monday, and hardware releases will be announced in the following weeks.
But, it's an Apple event, so why be sensible?
