iPad By Davis: “WWDC 2013 Keynote Liveblog” plus 6 more

WWDC 2013 Keynote Liveblog
WWDC 2013, Wall Street, and what it will take to get Apple stock moving again
Looking back: The 2011 WWDC keynote - iOS 5, iCloud, OS X 10.7 Lion
iOS 7 dots, OS X 10.9 wave, and more WWDC 2013 banners -- plus wallpaper!
iPad Art: Seascape
Editor's Desk: Setting -- and blowing -- WWDC expectations
One iOS 7 Wish: More Substance, Less Style

WWDC 2013 Keynote Liveblog

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 09:22 PM PDT

WWDC 2013 Keynote Liveblog

Join us at 10am PT/1pm ET for our WWDC 2013 live blog! iOS 7, OS X 10.9, iRadio, and new Haswell-powered Macs could just be on the agenda!

WWDC 2013, Wall Street, and what it will take to get Apple stock moving again

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 09:18 PM PDT

Starting first thing in the morning, Apple's World Wide Developer Conference opens its doors. Tim Cook and other execs will take the stage to share all that is new from Apple. And unless you've been living under a rock you know that Apple's share price has dropped from $700 last September to below $400 in April, and has now recovered slightly to about $440 as I write this.

Apple stock price chart

The obvious question to ask about the stock is, "Will WWDC get things moving again?" Of course I don't know the right answer. I don't have a crystal ball and I don't think it's particularly useful to try to pick off short term movements in a stock. But it's still fun to talk about, and with the longer term in mind it can still be useful to discuss what next week means to Apple.

We all know that analysts and investors have been crapping on the stock for a few reasons. Most of them relate to fears of Apple losing its momentum (growth), losing its cool factor, and being attacked by Samsung's highly successful Galaxy lineup. Oh, and of course people are afraid that Apple will start to go after the lower end of the market meaning that margins suffer.

the last couple of big upward movements came on the back of earnings releases, not developer events.

When looking at the stock, I can't help but notice the last couple of big upward movements came on the back of earnings releases, not developer events. For example, Apple had a major breakout above $400 in early 2012, and started its climb towards $600 following the January earnings release. It then pulled back somewhat, and resumed its climb (reaching $700) after the July 2012 earnings call. Last year's WWDC hardly moved the stock at all. But let's dig a bit deeper. Obviously we know iOS is more important to Apple's stock price than MacOS. The revenue split in favour of iOS is undeniable. And we also know that at WWDC 2012, the big reveal of iOS6 was much more about Apple than it was about adding new features.

But WWDC 2013 should be different. iOS7 is coming. Johnny Ive and Craig Federighi are in charge now. What will they bring? We'll find out Monday. But even more important ... will Apple add new services (iRadio?) Will they dramatically improve the limited iCloud service? Can Apple ignite Wall Street's interest again?

Wall Street responds to numbers. Numbers are driven by products.

Perhaps. I'm not counting on it unless we get more than a glimpse of some of these new game changing products that Tim Cook says Apple still has up its sleeve. Wall Street responds to numbers. Numbers are driven by products, and WWDC is where many new things are announced. Wall Street's typical reaction? Finance experts suddenly become product reviewers and revise their financial models slightly as a result. Usually no major estimate changes come out of these events, and it is these estimate revisions that drive stocks in the short term.

But does WWDC matter? Of course. It's one of many paths in the long term evolution of Apple. I'm a long term shareholder of this company and I'm incredibly excited about what they'll unveil on Monday.

In the mean time, I'm still pleased to see that so many developers still support iOS before they bother with Android. Twitter's Vine app only hit Google Play five months after being available for iOS. As long as this kind of developer behavior is commonplace, I don't think Apple has anything to worry about.

Looking back: The 2011 WWDC keynote - iOS 5, iCloud, OS X 10.7 Lion

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 04:19 PM PDT

We're less than 24 hours out now from this years highly anticipated WWDC keynote, and we're continuing our look back on past events today with the 2011 presentation from Moscone West. Continuing the tradition of the previous 3 years, 2011 saw, the unveiling of iOS 5, OS X 10.7 Lion, and iCloud. This was also of course, the final keynote starring the late Steve Jobs.

iOS 5 continued the tradition of yearly updates to Apple's mobile OS. Headline features included iMessage, the iOS to iOS instant messaging solution, notification center and the long awaited over the air OS updates. With iOS 5 Apple also added their own reminders app, along with quick access to the camera from the lockscreen.

OS X 10.7 Lion was a major update, with over 250 new features to speak of. We saw such things as AirDrop, a proper full screen mode, Launchpad and Misson Control introduced, along with the brand new Mac App Store.

Then of course, came iCloud. Not just cloud storage as such, iCloud replaced MobileMe and was to become a way to push all your content to all your devices. Contacts, calendars, photos, apps, along with the facility to backup your device. All Apple customers would get a free iCloud account, and iTunes even got involved with iTunes in the cloud and iTunes Match.

So, that's 2011. As ever, share your own highlights with us in the comments below! Just one more day to go!

iOS 7 dots, OS X 10.9 wave, and more WWDC 2013 banners -- plus wallpaper!

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 11:24 AM PDT

iOS dots, OS X wave, and more WWDC 2013!

Moscone West is officially open for badge pickup for Apple's WWDC 2013 and it's been decorated up both inside and out. Here's a quick look at the design language Apple is using for this year's developer conference... and what it may -- or may not -- mean for tomorrow's keynote!

The banner up top is the one inside Moscone at the badge pickup point. Similar to past WWDC 2013 art, it's got the super-thin typeface mirrored by the year in Roman numerals. Gradients are present, layers abound.

For the first time this year, Apple has also decorated across the street from Moscone West with 5 large panels showing the Apple logo, stacked, colored, semi-translucent icon shapes (or roundrect shapes at least), and the slogan "where a whole new world is developing". The iPhone 5 event had old-style iOS icons stretched out. Does this have new iOS 7 icons stacked one on top of the other?

iOS 7 seems to be shown off only by the number 7, also super-thin, and set on a background of gradient dots. Not green felt, certainly, but not blasted clean either.

And OS X seems to be represented by just an X, still in the super-thin typeface, but set against a tidal wave.

No iCloud banner this year. Make of that what you will.

The WWDC 2013 keynote kicks off tomorrow at 10am PT/1pm ET. Be here.

Meanwhile, here's a quick-and-dirty version of the icon banner as wallpaper, Retina iPad sized. Just save the linked file to your Camera Roll then scale and crop to fit your device.

And one for OS X...

iPad Art: Seascape

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 09:29 AM PDT

Here's another example of wonderful art created on an iPad. Sticking with this weekend's summer theme, this is another image that brings to mind all the best of being near water or out in the water.

This one is titled 'Seascape' and was created by Helene Goldberg, using the ArtRage app. I'm a huge fan of Goldberg's work. It's often abstract and always has fascinating colors.

This seascape image is enticing and serene all at once, and it also brings back lots of good memories of lazy afternoons on a catamaran.

Check out more of Helene Goldberg's incredible iPad art at her hgberk Flickr photostream. And of course take a look at our iPad Insight Flickr group for lovely iPad art and iPad wallpapers.

I'm sitting across from Moscone Center West where, in around 28 hours, Apple executives including CEO Tim Cook will take to the Keynote stage to kickoff their annual developers conference, WWDC 2013. No period in Apple's recent history has been more competitive for them, with rivals Google and Samsung pushing the mobile pace into damn-nearly a sprint, and no period in Apple's recent history has it been so long between keynotes before, almost 8 months having past since the iPad mini even back in October of 2012. Those twin tensions put a lot of expectational pressure on Apple. Everyone is waiting. Everyone is watching. Everyone wants to know -- what will Apple do, and what can Apple do?

Seeing a lot of the iOS 7 wish-list to date -- including some of my own -- made me realize that way too much focus has been put on the idea of Apple "catching up" to Android. The deep desire for Jelly Bean if only it were as elegant and performant as iOS. And then I realized--

Screw that. If that's the list, just get Android and hope Google gets their butter/ghee together.

When the iPhone launched in 2007 it had nothing in the way of feature parity with the Treo or BlackBerry that dominated in the day. It did something different. It offered something else instead. It leapt ahead, even as it left some very important things behind to do so.

That's what I'd like to see from iOS again. That leap forward. That something next.

Most people will forgive almost any existing feature omission if the overall experience delights and new features are uniquely compelling. That's what happened in 2007, and that's what I'd like to see happen again.

Last year a lot of effort and resources went into iOS 6 and while there was some great stuff for developers, there wasn't much else in terms of moving the state of the art of very personal computers forward. This year iOS 7 is getting a redesign, but will it be only skin deep, or will it once again push the boundaries of usability and delight?

A cosmetic change, sadly, could be more important in terms of mass-market kvetch-control than a re-imagining of core experience. If Apple understands that, the value of a fresh coat of paint, then the new iOS 7 look could likewise have dominated resources this year around. (Those highly iterated assets don't code themselves).

If that's the case, if this year is as much about Apple re-inventing their look as last year was about them taking ownership of their platform, then so be it. But I'll be looking for signs of more -- of where they're headed.

There's going to be a lot to unpack on Monday. I'm here with Peter Cohen and Martin Reisch, as well as with my co-host from Debug, Guy English, and co-hosts from Iterate, Marc Edwards and Seth Clifford. From our coverage in the morning to our (not live, but released soon-thereafter) show in the evening, we're going to bring it all to you.

Now, just to further help set -- or blow -- expectations:

Apple didn't provide multitasking, they provided ways for people to listen to music while surfing the web or using turn-by-turn directions. Likewise if they offer something for inter-app communication in iOS 7, it's hard to see them grafting in the overly complex and unfriendly sharing and intents system of other platforms. Rather, I can see them figuring out the most common use cases, and providing a simple way to address them.
If Apple does a subscription/streaming music service it probably won't be with every geek bell and whistle imaginable, but one that'll appeal to the 80% of the market who just want to tap a button, hear songs, and if they like them, keep them. And if they have to launch without every partner possible, I don't see them hesitating any more than they did with DRM-free iTunes music or iBooks.
Given the realities of battery life, I don't see Retina MacBook Air's in the near future. I do see a Retina MacBook Pro that, thanks to Haswell, makes people who want a Retina MBA think about maybe going 13-inch pro instead.
Out of time! I'll be back later with more!

One iOS 7 Wish: More Substance, Less Style

Posted: 09 Jun 2013 08:40 AM PDT

It's been an odd year for Apple fans. No new iPad in the Spring, no big new product announcements, court cases left, right, and center – and even the rumors cycle has got quite boring.

Apple's WWDC keynote event is tomorrow and hopefully there will be some exciting news after such a quiet first half of 2013. In the weeks leading up to it the vast majority of the speculation I've seen has been all about an expected design makeover for iOS 7 – the by now infamous 'flat' design, that's taken to be all but confirmed by the look of the banners up at the Moscone Center where the keynote will take place.

The more I read about the expected new flat design for iOS 7, the more I think I have on big wish for the new version of iOS: that Apple is focused on improvements in features and functionality, not just on design. Great design tends to bring great functionality alongside it,...

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