Think Apple Could Have Done Better At WWDC 2012?
June 11, 2012
Depending on what you were expecting from Apple's WWDC keynote, today's presentation was either a costly strikeout or a critical home run. Of course, every time Apple doesn't introduce a new iPhone or iPad, the detractors rise up in their pulpits and start with the venom and vitriol. So most reaction, at least in the short term, will probably skew towards the negative.
And that's wrong.
Yeah, we didn't get an iPad mini or a new iPhone or an Apple TV set. We didn't even get new iMacs! And, while that last bit really bums me out, my impression of the event is that Apple came through with flying colors. New 3-D maps, turn-by-turn directions, comprehensive iCloud initiatives, expanded Siri capabilities (including iPad support!), FaceTime over cellular,Facebook integration -- The list goes on. For iDevice owners and Mac enthusiasts, today was a very good day indeed. Especially if you're in the market for a new MacBook Pro!
After all, almost nobody thought the new iPhone would be announced at WWDC, and the iPad mini's presumed stocking-stuffer role is still a long way off. Most analysts peg the "iPanel" to launch sometime in 2013, so any discussion of the appliance today would've been irresponsibly premature. As for the little things we missed out on -- UDID replacements, the Ping app, a reworked iTunes experience -- those things are all probably on the way, and they'd each have played a decided second fiddle to all the blockbuster stuff Apple's execs brought out on the stage.
Apple's stock might have fallen, but our technological spirits are higher than ever!