World Wide Developers Conference

So, as a Mac enthusiast, I feel that it is my duty to have an opinion about what will be happening at the upcoming World Wide Developers Conference on June 11. Below are some of my predictions about new things from Apple.

iMac - I think we're definitely overdue for an upgraded iMac. I think the price points will probably stay the same, but I expect a brand new industrial design. Macrumors.com and Appleinsider both have had tips on a new design, and what a better time than now to release a new model. I'm excited to see what it looks like.

MacBook Pro - Recently, Apple updated their MacBook line with larger hard drives, and faster processors. I expect that we will see a new 2.33 standard, and a 2.4 for the top MacBook Pros. Maybe we will see something new in the application department, but I doubt it.

iPod - In light of the new iPhone, everyone believes that the newest iPod will be a touch screen, wide screen display. I disagree. In the past Apple has gradually built up its products, instead of just throwing up the ABSOLUTELY newest technology...for instance the iPod photo that was out for like 5 months, and was upgraded to the iPod video. Because of this, I believe that we will see a new widescreen display iPod, but not with touch sensitive controls - probably at the 50, 80, and 100 GB models. I do, however, think we will see the touch sensitive displays by November, just in time for the holidays. Also, the fact that Apple has released iTunes Plus, seems like a new iPod would just make sense.

Leopard - Mr. Jobs has already said that the first Leopard Betas will be available at the WWDC, so I expect that there will be a lot of focus on this OS. I expect some new "top secret" apps to be at least mentioned, if not displayed. Because Steve has said that we won't be seeing Leopard until October, I really don't know what else he could mention or bring up as regards Leopard...but then again he's always full of surprises. Maybe he'll give us an early present, and say it's going to be released in July!? We'll see!

iPhone - As of today, the iPhone has been officially slated for June 29. This information is via the ads posted on Apple.com. That being said, I think we'll get some more info about 3rd party developing as well as other specifics that Jobs never really hit on during the Keynote introduction in January.

Apple TV - I'm not sure what could be left to talk about as regards Apple TV. A few days ago, a 160GB hard drive option was released, which makes me a little more excited about it. When they released the 40GB hard drive, I wondered exactly how serious they could be introducing a product that has less hard drive space than some iPods. I do expect new things in the regard of its future (upcoming apps that can be installed, accessories, etc.).

MacMini - I believe the end of MacMini is near, based solely on site rumors. The fact that they are still using Core Duo with much slower processor speeds, makes me think Apple is digging itself a hole as regards the Mac Mini. Compared to the idea of adding $400 and getting an iMac with brand new, up to the market specs, just makes me think the MacMini is either going to get severely upgraded, or discontinued. I guess we'll see.

iLife '07 - A few days before MacWorld was set to begin, Amazon.com had 4 pre-orders available, titled: "MacWorld Announcement Product No.1" through 4. Most people thought that it was iLife, iWork, and maybe some other stuff. However, neither of those products were released at MacWorld, and soon thereafter, the pre-orders were taken off of Amazon. I think that we'll see the intro of iLife '07, but I also believe that it will be named iLife Leopard. This just makes more sense to me. Maybe we'll also see iWork Leopard.

New Product! - At first I thought that maybe there would be a new product or something we have never seen, but I really doubt that now. There just seems to be too much going on at Apple, with the Apple TV, iPhone and Leopard all being launched within a 9 month period it just seems like adding something new to the mix is very unlikely. However, that being said, it IS Apple, and we are to expect the unexpected.

In closing, I just want to point out that Apple DID just upgrade their MacBooks with faster processors, and larger hard drives, and did the same thing last week with the Apple TV. Why would they do this so close to WWDC? My thought is that they have so much to talk about during the Keynote, that they wanted to get the little things out of the way! That's just me though. I'll post again after the Keynote on June 11, to analyze my thinking.

P.S. My MacBook Pro will be here tomorrow! WOOOOOO!