With Apple ’s Worldwide Developers Conference just around the street corner , the tech industriousness — and , dare we say , the human race — is once again on tenterhook over whatApple CEO Steve Jobs will show off when he takes the level . remarkably , however , it seems that this year ’s tonic may have less of an element of surprise than in past eld .
Still , you never be intimate when Steve Jobs might pull a lapin out of his turtleneck — as uncomfortable as that voice — so do n’t forget to tune into our live coverage on Monday , June 7 at 10 a.m. Pacific .
The sure thing
Apple has put in a new version of the iPhone osmium — and a new iPhone — every summertime for the last three years . This class appear to be no exclusion : Apple already spill the detail on iPhone O 4.0 at a special consequence in April . The Apple CEO , who drop anchor the upshot , said that the new operating system of rules would make its way to iPhones “ this summertime ” and to iPads in the fall .
Multitasking is the most outstanding new feature article of iPhone OS 4.0 , which is also probably the most welcome since 3.0 ’s addition of cutting and paste . two-fold - clicking the iPhone ’s Home clitoris will now slither the screen up to reveal a list of all presently be given applications , allowing users to rapidly jump back and forward .
During the presentation , Apple executive director Scott Forstall also ran down the seven areas in which Apple would actually allow lotion to ply in the background : audio playback , voice over IP , location services , the existing push notifications , local notifications , chore pass completion , and quick app shift .
Forstall claimed these cases would address the Brobdingnagian majority of apps call for backdrop documentation and , since they ’re built into the group O , Apple can make certain there ’s no adverse effect on battery animation or performance .
iPhone 4.0 will also bring the power for users to aggroup their apps into folders , customizable wallpaper , an overhauled Mail diligence , and add the iPad ’s iBooks app — complete with iBookstore . The fellowship also dish on new endeavor features such as support for encrypting e - mails and attachment , the power to have multiple Exchange account , and support for Microsoft Exchange 2010 .
Developers were n’t given short shrift either , with two major bullet points devoted to behind - the - scenes features . The first was Game Center , Apple ’s answer to play connection like Microsoft ’s Xbox Live or Sony ’s PlayStation connection . It allows game developers to easily add up funding for things like buddy lists , on-line matchmaking , leaderboards and more . It also vie with similar established offerings on the iPhone and iPad , such as OpenFeint .
In the retentive term , however , the more crucial lineament for developer may be iAd , Apple ’s new mobile advertising system . mount from the ashes of ad firm Quattro Wireless , which Apple purchase last year , iAd allows developers to easily integrate advertizing into their applications programme . During the presentation , Jobs dinge exist ads for being intrusive , taking you out of your software , and being on the whole badly designed . iAd , which will be base on HTML5 technologies , will allow for video and synergistic elements without yanking the substance abuser out of their app , and they ’ll be designed by Apple .
These wo n’t be the only features in iPhone 4.0 , of course . Apple said the new variation would bring 100 young features , some of which were displayed on a playground slide behind Jobs at one distributor point , including spellcheck , Bluetooth keyboard reinforcement , rap - to - focus video , 5x digital zoom , and others . Some of these features , such as keyboard support and spellcheck , already live in the iPad ’s iPhone OS 3.2 , so iPhone 4.0 may lend conservation of parity between the two gimmick .
One other long - look feature will likely rear its head in iPhone OS 4.0 , if Apple ’s U.S. carrier mate AT&T is to be believed . The wireless providerannounced new smartphone data point plans this workweek , include the power for tether . While Apple added tethering functionality in iPhone 3.0 , it ’s never been available in the U.S. AT&T said tethering would be available for the iPhone “ when Apple releases iPhone O 4 this summer . ”
One crazy summer
iPhone oculus sinister 4.0 may be a ringlet , but what about new ironware along with it ? As with iPhone OS reading , Apple has released a new iteration of the iPhone computer hardware every summertime since the original mannikin ’s introduction in June 2007 . While the yearly product refresh has been turn over an open secret in the past , this class the emphasis was decidedly on theopenpart after April find out a prototype iPhone surface in a Silicon Valley - area legal profession .
finally ending up in the hands of tech blog Gizmodo , the epitome was subject to intense scrutiny and even dissection as disceptation engage over whether or not it was the real article . In the end , it turned out that the gadget was a real prototype , as Apple need the phone returned anda criminal investigation ensued . That enjoin , it ’s yet to be determined whether or not the gadget we saw is an genuine product or an bare prototype .
If it turns out to be a twist that gets announce next week , we know much of what to gestate : a faster C.P.U. based on the same Apple A4 chip that powers the iPad , 802.11n wireless networking , a gamy - resolution screen , a camera instant , and a front - face video camera that hints at TV - calling features . The unit also boasts a different design from its predecessors , with a flat back , atomic number 13 bezel around the edge , and redesigned bulk clitoris .
Speaking earlier this workweek at the D8 conference , Jobs described the story of the pilfer prototype as “ amazing , ” tell “ it ’s obtain thievery , it ’s got buying slip attribute , it ’s got extortion , I ’m certain there ’s some sex in there … the whole affair is very colorful . Somebody should make a movie out of this . ”
The iPhone kerfuffle has raised interrogation about whether there will be any surprises left for the WWDC tonic . But give that the prototype that Gizmodo acquired would n’t really rush , there are still unanswered contingent about what other new features the phone might have and how they might make . Not to mention , at this point , we ’re dying to see if Jobs will make any mention of matter while onstage .
Better off dead
If you ’re expecting tidings on the Mac OS during WWDC , you ’d be wise not to place a Brobdingnagian bet . While Apple ’s desktop atomic number 8 may make a cameo visual aspect , it ’s unlikely that it will get much strain time . Apple even resolve to do away with the Mac applications category for its annual Apple Design Awards this year , a move thatroused anger from many developers .
Whenasked via e - mail about the want of Mac content , Jobs reputedly evidence one concerned developer :
We are focusing primarily ( though not exclusively ) on iPhone atomic number 8 this class . mayhap next year we will pore mainly on the Mac . Just the normal round of things . No veil meaning here .
Likewise , though the iPad is apparentlythe gravid affair since sliced lettuce , do n’t expect Apple to spend much time on it other than vaunt what the equipment has already achieved . As it ’s only been out for two calendar month , it ’s not as if there ’s a new edition on the skyline , and Apple ’s already sound out that iPhone OS 4.0 wo n’t be available for the gimmick until the drop . A smaller OS update is still possible , however .
Say anything
There are a routine of other topics that could conceivably be cite during the Jobs keynote , though some would be better become for another time and place : a rumoredApple TV upgradeoriTunes streamingseem more likely to be discussed at the society ’s annual fall music consequence . Both the Mac Pro and the Mac mini are rumored for upgrades , as is Apple ’s MobileMe service , which is presently test a vamp beta version of its Webmail . Any of those could make an appearance during the keynote .
And , of course , there ’s always Steve Jobs ’s trademark “ one more thing ” which could herald any phone number of unexpected promulgation . That suppose , even if nothing at the event really surprise , a unexampled iPhone and iPhone OS will bring much appreciated improvements to Apple ’s existing intersection lines , and that ’s nothing to sneeze at .
