Apple Job Posting Suggests Future iPhone OS Devices

[rwilliams]

This seems like a sneaky/clever way to gradually move people to a locked down OS where Apple can dictate the user experience. As much as I enjoy the iPhone OS on my iPod, I would not embrace a scenario where it becomes the feature OS from Apple. I'd move back to Windows or Linux in a heartbeat.

 

[Grimace]

Guys, when they are talking changes to the low-end Mac line, they are talking about ARM technology as it advances, not just slapping the iPhone/iPad OS into computers.

 

[rwilliams]

That's not true. There are several apps on the iPhone that allow you to print over the network.

All of the ones I've seen require some kind of print server software on a host. It would be nice to be able to find a printer on a local network and print directly to it without the "middle man", if you will.

 

[bacaramac]

I would have to think that they wouldn't keep the same UI if it did jump to Apple TV. Underlying OS and Hardware can change, but User Experience would improve (at least that is what I hope for).

On the print drivers, it bugs me that Apple does not support this feature for iPhone, but think it is required for iPad. Since OS X now has native print driver support, I think it is time for Apple to update the iPhone/iPad OS with it.

All of the ones I've seen require some kind of print server software on a host. It would be nice to be able to find a printer on a local network and print directly to it without the "middle man", if you will.

The only thing I have used is HP's print app to print pictures. It works, but pointless. I prefer to have native integrated support across all relevant Apple apps. i.e. Safari, Maps, etc.

 

[notjustjay]

Apple toaster time

I would buy that in a hearbeat! 😱

Seriously, though, an Apple TV update would be great. The Apple TV would fit perfectly into my household and lifestyle (in fact I can see buying 2 or 3 of them) but I am holding off because of the underpowered hardware that runs hot. The software is pretty much all in place and exactly where I want it to be, though of course any cool updates would be welcomed!

 

[bondsbw]

iphone os makes sense for the iphone ipad and anything thats not a lap top or computer

Not really. iPhone OS is all about touch. I personally don't see me moving my fat butt out of my chair to the Apple TV just to touch the show I want to watch. I have a good ol' remote for that.

Everything about the OS would have to be reengineered for a non-touch platform. Apple has four platforms, each geared towards a specific type of input device:

1. Mac OS X, for the mouse/keyboard combo
2. iPhone OS, for touchscreens
3. iPod OS, for scrollable/hierarchical interaction
4. Apple TV OS/Front Row, also for scrollable/hierarchical interaction

I could believe the convergence of the bottom two into something better than either of them, but no way the iPhone OS takes over anything other than a touch screen device.

 

[lyzardking]

Everything evolves and looks like Apple wants to stay on the leading edge and set the pace rather than play catch up

It will be interesting to see what "new devices" emerge

This is how will get into the "low-end" market (and make money) by using there own chips, OS (iPhone OS) and locking others out.

Net appliances not unlike the atoms out there, except no MS/intel tax (just the tax, which stays in their pocket) plus the iStore feedbag

These will be "net appliances" of 3yrs ago but will be way more than just email & 'net because they'll "just work®"

😉

 

[mex4eric]

Appliances

Probably not MacBooks, but other consumer appliances, fridges, stoves, thermostats, iRobot-like vacuums, tvs, all with wi-fi connectivity and ability to control from iPhones in the house and from Macs remotely.
😉

 

[kresh]

Just what I always wanted, A single tasking Mac Mini or MacBook with every piece of software I install DRM'd and tied to the appstore. No thanks, I will never board that train. I will accept those restrictions on an iPhone or iPad but not a traditional computer platform. Nope, never!

 

[mister880]

Here we go again!

We all hold on to the PowerPC as being faster than any Intel Design because Steve said it was while so 40mb Photoshop file rendered in the background. Then big slap into the face of all those die hard PowerPC users. The Mac has gone Intel. We are moving away from PowerPC and 10.6 is first OS with out PowerPC support and now Apple is talking about new chips again!

Does anybody remember when Apple made computers? It was a great time! I lived for Macworld Expo each year when Steve would take the stage and brainwash me into replacing my 12 month old Power Mac with a new once because it's faster! Or it has a superdrive!

Sure I got sucked into the iPhone craze and yes I love my iPhone 3G! Hell I will even admit I will buy a 3G iPad when they ship. But it's time for Apple to put the Computer back into their name and come out with some great new hardware / software to make all of our mouths drip again!

How about a new Mac Pro, Maybe a new Monitor lineup don't even get me started about about Apple's ADC legacy! I now have a great working 23inch Cinema Display I can't use without some hunky adapter now.

So I sit with my 1st Gen Mac Pro and my AL Mac Book with my iPhone waiting for new updates!

Mister880

 

[cogitodexter]

My guess: AUTOMOTIVE.

Think about it -- Microsoft is going into automotive big time. Now think about APple and Microsoft in user interfaces.

Ye gods!

That'll bring a whole new meaning to "Blue Screen Of Death".

 

[str1f3]

So from PowerPC to Intel to ARM...

They're really going to have to rebrand that OS. Having "iPhone OS" on your TV just seems too goofy.

How about "Touch OS"? I also correctly guessed the iPad name well before.

What do I expect?

-the Apple TV to get the "Touch OS" which should have happened long ago ago. Now Apple has to think of the proper remote because it will also be a casual gaming machine

-every Mac will come equipped with an Intel & ARM processor. The ARM processor will function solely as means to run iPhone apps as widgets on your Mac. The trackpad will become a glass screen to run these processes. That may be the end of traditional widgets on the Mac as we know it.

 

[theydonotmove]

I like the iPhone, and i like the iPad. But i would never dream of using either to replace my computer.

If Macs start using an iPhone interface then it'll be like 1996 for Apple all over again... they'll be producing pricey computers that don't do anything useful.

Keep macs on OS X Steve, and let small devices have small OS's.

 

[bacaramac]

Probably not MacBooks, but other consumer appliances, fridges, stoves, thermostats, iRobot-like vacuums, tvs, all with wi-fi connectivity and ability to control from iPhones in the house and from Macs remotely.
😉

I like, now I just need an iFridge with built in AppleTV, TV Screen, and apps like cookbook, etc for the wife.

 

[CFreymarc]

This makes a lot of sense. My friends, as Flash RAM gets cheaper the personal computer paradigm of an OS resident on a disk drive goes away. Eventually, virtual memory, hard disks and primary removable media will become a thing of the past.

The desktop computer of the future; think a slab of a printed circuit board with minimal IO (built into the monitor or as a small box like the Mac Mini) on your desktop with a nice big flat screen that you interact with via voice commands and hand movements. Talking with people and talking with your computer will start to create a new lexicon for modern society languages.

Sitting in front of your computer will be one of many different ways to interact. Standing in a work studio, walking in an Augmented Reality space and having more than one person interact with a computer in the same physical space will start to be common. No more "one machine, one seat" paradigm.

Your smart-phone wireless links to it when you are in proximity as needed. All your data will be in your own personal cloud that you manage yourself without any service fee if you want. There will be keyboard and mouse legacy input devices for old school types that field weird interacting with a computer as they do people.

Your grand-kids will see the Window / Keyboard / Mouse interface as we view paper tape readers and panel switches.

Apple has it right, the rest of the world just has to catch up.

 

[Peace]

New Cinema Displays could utilize the A4 or A5 pretty good.

That and the Apple TV.

 

[anthonymoody]

I think you guys focusing on a particular existing hardware product are missing the boat. It's not a question of the mini or the air as we know them getting the iPhone OS as we know it. Rather, it's a continued broadening of both the iPhone OS and the capabilities that higher end hardware (e.g. A4 -> A5, etc.) and particular apps can provide when thoughtfully combined with the right front-end overlay.

Think about "things most people want to do" and robust, relatively-bullet-proof combinations of hardware and software to provide those "things" and that's where we're headed.

Gotta get away from the paradigms we're stuck in today.

 

[German]

We all hold on to the PowerPC as being faster than any Intel Design because Steve said it was while so 40mb Photoshop file rendered in the background. Then big slap into the face of all those die hard PowerPC users. The Mac has gone Intel. We are moving away from PowerPC and 10.6 is first OS with out PowerPC support and now Apple is talking about new chips again!

He also said:

What about the PowerPC?
It works fine. It's a Pentium. The PowerPC and the Pentium are equivalent, plus or minus 10 or 20 percent, depending on which day you measure them. They're the same thing. So Apple has a Pentium. That's good. Is it three or four or five times better? No. Will it ever be? No. But it beats being behind. Which was where the Motorola 68000 architecture was unfortunately being relegated. It keeps them at least equal, but it's not a compelling advantage.
http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cach...ntage"&cd=1&hl=de&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

😉

 

[BornAgainMac]

I wonder what will happen to the full OS X?

 

[zedsdead]

I would be very happy with a new Apple TV. It is my most wanted product from Apple.

 

[ppnkg]

I am reaching a sad realisation..Apple Computer dropper the 'computer' for a reason...

 

[NXTMIKE]

sure it probably will happen....
but boy would it take a while to see the next iPhone OS device.

 

[wackymacky]

I am reaching a sad realisation..Apple Computer dropper the 'computer' for a reason...

I think Jobs said it all at the iPad media event when he stated that Apple was now mainly a mobile device company.

Mobile drvices, running a stripped down OS, using server based Apps and processing.

 

[ctucci]

DTotFuture

This makes a lot of sense. My friends, as Flash RAM gets cheaper the personal computer paradigm of an OS resident on a disk drive goes away. Eventually, virtual memory, hard disks and primary removable media will become a thing of the past.

The desktop computer of the future; think a slab of a printed circuit board with minimal IO (built into the monitor or as a small box like the Mac Mini) on your desktop with a nice big flat screen that you interact with via voice commands and hand movements. Talking with people and talking with your computer will start to create a new lexicon for modern society languages.

Your smart-phone wireless links to it when you are in proximity as needed. All your data will be in your own personal cloud that you manage yourself without any service fee if you want. There will be keyboard and mouse legacy input devices for old school types that field weird interacting with a computer as they do people.

Your grand-kids will see the Window / Keyboard / Mouse interface as we view paper tape readers and panel switches.

Apple has it right, the rest of the world just has to catch up.

(Harp music wafting, screen shimmers and fades, as I drift into the future)

<Client screaming in backgroud:> "...and if you don't get that server back online RIGHT NOW, why, I'm gonna..."
<You>: "Computer."
<Computer>: "Yes?"
<You>: "Open client Smith's RDP"
<Computer>:"You need to take a pee?"
<You>: "No, no... Open client Smith's RDP"
<Computer>:"You think you have some fleas?"
<Client>: "YOU'RE FIRED!"

I'll keep my obsolete Rig for the forseeable.

 

[barkomatic]

Not sure how I feel about this. The iPhone OS is constrained by the Apple "ecosystem" of content limited to iTunes purchases/rentals. If it migrates to the laptop line that's where I draw the line. Nevertheless, that seems to be what many companies want. Low powered devices that depend on cloud computing to perform complex processes for them and locked down to a particular companies content offerings.