Traditionally I don’t speculate. I began with my post from Thursday regarding the little list, or recommendation as I like to think about it, for the Apple TV. With WWDC 2012 hours away, I can’t help but join into the fun and throw out my little wish list of things I’d like to see during Apples opening keynote tomorrow.
We all are aware that most likely we’ll be seeing a finished, or close to, version of OSX 10.8 Mountain Lion. It has been announced for summer of this year and some features have already been published. You can even download the beta of Messages and begin to enjoy messaging your friends and family from your Mac. Another sure thing is the announcement of a new iPhone. We’ve all seen multiple speculations online, and even got the pleasure of seeing what potentially may be the back housing of the new phone. Last but not least, we’re all hoping to get a preview of what will be the latest iteration of iOS. Many of these may come to fruit, or not.
So we’ve got three potentials, but what else could we possibly expect or better yet, what do I wish we could see.
With Steve Jobs no longer with us, and Apple in the hands of Tim Cook, Apple has the potential to really shake things up. Some things I’d personally like to see happen to a variety of different products …
iPhone 5
As I said earlier, we’ve all been speculating what is to become of the new iPhone. One thing that is a given is that it will most likely tout the latest LTE chip. There is also potential for it to have a better processor and more RAM. Aside from new internals, we’re all hoping for some new design as well. There is no one design which I found that suits me personally, but one thing I definitely would like see changed, is for the iPhone to move away from a glass back. I’d personally prefer aluminum or a brushed metal. Also, a thinner profile and a antiglare retina display.
Some strong predictions are that it will move towards a larger screen. With most phone manufactures moving to 4″ screens, the iPhone 4S seems to be lagging behind. That said, I’m curious to see what they would do with the overall design. If we believe what we have seen from the release of the back housing video, the iPhone 5 may be taller and thinner. Two things I am not excited about however, is the potential for the 30 pin connector to disappear as well as the possible placement of the headphone jack. If either one is true, we will now be connecting our ear buds like iPod Touch users, at the bottom, as well as replacing all of our charging cables.
On the positive side though, it did appear as though there would be a larger speaker. This would help for those times when we miss a phone call or are having trouble hearing someone while FaceTiming.
When it comes to capacity, the iPhone stacks up fairly well. With 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options, I believe that there isn’t much to improve on. Yes it would be amazing if Apple came out with a 128GB model, however I don’t think it is necessary. If you’re carrying that much data with you, well, you’re up to something.
As I said, all speculation, can’t even classify any of these as predictions.
iOS 6
The next iteration of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch’s OS, will most likely be dubbed iOS 6. Unless someone decides to only increase it by half, then we’d see something called iOS 5.5 … not pretty.
Last time we were here, Siri was one of the hottest additions Apple put into the OS. Presented as a personal assistant, Apple had come out with a few interesting ads for it and all. Unfortunately, it’s a flop. I’ve personally never seen anyone walking around or sitting on a train and talking to their phone. The concept is good, but it’s full of bugs and truly unusable from what I’ve been told. (I only have an iPhone 4 so Siri isn’t supported.) Unfortunately Siri for the time being is also only a beta. Many of the features don’t work outside of the United States and from what I’ve gathered, don’t work as flawlessly as seen in the ads.
I am hopeful that for iOS 6, Apple will have taken some time to improve on its usability and capabilities. Unlocking all features for international customers would also be something to look forward to.
A simple and effective way to gain access to your critical settings. Only available on a jailbroken iPhone.
Siri aside, one new feature which I personally would like to see is having the ability to have a customizable pull down bar for quick access to such things as your wifi and bluetooth settings, quick access to my VPN or perhaps even to personal hotspot setup. A way to simplify the path to getting to those critical setting. For those of us who use these settings frequently, it would save us a few cycles to get to where we need.
Something we’ve all been hearing about is a new Maps application. I’m not sure how I personally feel about this. I don’t care about 3D, I care about getting to where I want to go with as little distraction as possible. If this new application has a way to better integrate itself with live traffic reports, turn by turn directions and the ability to provide better walking paths, then I am all for it. I find it frustrating that I can’t get from one place to the next properly in some cases, because the Google Map doesn’t support it that particular walk pathway. A more streamlined, faster and fuller Maps application would do a lot for those of us who don’t need to go long distances and care more about knowing where our destination is.
In terms of apps and features, I thing that’s really all we need updated. I’m sure Apple will have something interesting to show us at the event, but I’m not holding my breath. I would however like the OS to be lighter. Smaller in size if possible and more thoroughly designed to allow for quicker access and better speed. A streamlined OS would permit for better performance on the device.
Hardware
With school now just coming to an end, many of us are already looking forward to finding out what Apple and others will bring out for the new year. Yes I said it, many of us don’t want to admit it, however we all know that as of the end of June, companies will begin rolling out Back to School promotions and new gadgets. With the MacBook Pro line being a success, the Air’s enjoying a life of comfort either at home or in a board room and the iMac’s doing most of the heavy lifting, it is time to give all of them a bit of a boost.
We’ve all seen proposed specs released online recently of upgraded 13″ MacBook Pro’s and speculations of higher resolution 15″ screens. We’ve also heard that there is a possibility of getting a 15″ Air styled Pro. Something that I personally would love to see and have.
The key upgrades for me would be the following:
- Higher resolution screens for ALL MacBook Pro’s, not just the 15″
- A antiglare option for the 13″ MacBook Pro
- A true antiglare for the Air’s
- 256 GB SSD drive upgrades priced at maximum $200
- Latest Intel chipset
- Removal of those damn SuperDrives (DVD drives) and giving customers the option to double their internal storage through thee addition of a second Hard Drive
- Slimmer 15″ Pro profile, possibly exactly what we’ve heard about online
- LTE enabled laptop, something which would be truly a miracle
Of course my wish list is somewhat based on what I’ve heard, subconsciously I can’t get rid of it. Some of the features though are just upgrades I think would benefit both Apple and customers. Something we’d all be appreciative of. Hopes are there though.
Software
There is only one request that I have from Apple in this category. PLEASE UPGRADE iWORKS … it has been too long since us users have seen anything. Yes Aperture, Final Cut X and a few others have gotten some great new features, but iWorks has been what seems like in the dark. No one has mentioned what has been happening with it and no one has even heard of any remote rumor’s.
iWorks is Apples attempt on competing with Microsoft and their Office suit. Not a bad attempt but it has been lacking upgrades since it last release, more than 3 years ago. There have been a few attempts at making it work with online storage and integration with the suits for the iOS platform, but nothing which would overhaul it as it desperately needs to be.
I’m not going to request anything here because I’m not sure what I’d need. I find it funny and stereotypical, but I am occasionally one of those Apple Fan Boys, who doesn’t know what he needs until it is released by Apple. That said, I’m not one to love or jump at new products right away either.
For those of us who will be online scouring the internet for what Apple has released and watching our screens refresh with live updates from the keynote, find below a few online portals which will do just that; Gizmodo, Mac Rumors, MacLife and MacWorld.
I look forward to seeing everyone’s tweets and coverage of tomorrow’s keynote. The show begins 10:00 PST or for those of us on the east coast, 13:00.
Stay tuned …