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Isn't WWDC classically developer preview stuff now? Mainly software?

Apple has primarily strayed away from releasing hardware during WWDC. Last year, It was actually rumored that the second generation Apple Watch was going to launch during WWDC and that never happened. So I question the validity of this rumor at all, being that the developer conference is primarily the main focus.
 
Honestly I'm not interested in seeing any hardware at WWDC. I want Apple to focus on software. Because there are way too many bugs and dropped opportunities from Apple lately.
 
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Touchscreen "smart" speaker, more like "just revive the iPod Hi-Fi" and build an iPad dock with a good speaker in it.
 
I hope the Apple Speaker does NOT have a screen because then I can put it wherever I want. If it had a screen, I'd have to consider where to put it. I just wish for high quality output and Siri 2.0.

Looking forward to WWDC this year. We don't know much about what we'll see, and that includes software.
 
Why are tablets still a thing? Unless you're an artist, I don't thin people need them. Phones nowadays are big enough and laptops are small enough.
IMO phones, even the large ones, are not large enough to be used as a tablet for many things. Maybe for on the go, but at home I think a tablet has it's purpose for some. And personally tablets are more portable than laptops. Now I wouldn't necessarily use a tablet for "real tasks." Just "fun" stuff like YouTube, internet, and some games.
 
In the past, Apple hasn't generally timed iPad releases with major iOS updates so its feasible. Then again, you'd think Apple is starting to feel the heat from the Surface Pro and release a major update to make that happen.

I Personally don't think that is Apple's mindset when it comes to the competition from releasing products based off overall popularity on competitor sales. Clearly Apple has their own timeline on how they do things and there's been plenty of times where their product releases have not matched up with rumors.
 
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I hope the Apple Speaker does NOT have a screen because then I can put it wherever I want. If it had a screen, I'd have to consider where to put it. I just wish for high quality output and Siri 2.0.

Looking forward to WWDC this year. We don't know much about what we'll see, and that includes software.
I guess it could be a touchbar like display, like mentioned earlier in this thread.
It will be able to display some information and conformation that it is listening, and could be used for controls. But it could also have an Apple TV build in, so you it can use your TV for doing this.
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I Personally don't think that is Apple's mindset when it comes to the competition from releasing products based off overall popularity on competitor sales. Clearly Apple has their own timeline on how they do things and there's been plenty of times where their product releases have not matched up with rumors.

Yes, true. But.....

The release of a low cost 9.7 inch ipad, has led me to believe the divide between the regular ipads will be more than just pencil support and a smart connector/keyboard.
I think we' ll see that that the 9.7 inch pro will be fased out, and that the 10.5 and 12.9 inch ipads will get at least 4gb and an ios pro or PadOS, with more laptop like features, such as :

1.trackpad support in safari and text intensive apps+ spreadsheets, together with a new smart keyboard with trackpad.
2. Multi user login(by touchid?)
3. A simple filemanager/finder? app
4. This probably won't happen, but at least one usb-c port , in addition to lightning or instead of lightning.
5. A new layout for the app selecting screen, icons could be a little bit smaller with less spacing. It at least should look different than a blown iphone os.

At least the top 3 things would make the ipad more " pro" to me.
It won' t have all the possibilities of a macbook with MacOS, but it can be enough for most users, to buy this , instead of a mac/pc/chromebook/surface pro.
I wonder if apple would go that route: launch a new OS, that still has a great gui for touch, is compatible with IOS, but is a liitle more complex ,mature , open and refined, but with less complexity, flexibility and freedom than MacOS.

And ... give us an ipad with a black or jet black back, no more spacegray please.
 
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I think you may be on to something considering the way they pulled people off of that team. But that would require two pieces, right? You wouldn't want your Siri speaker to have to sit in a room next to your cable modem. A lot of people I know that have listening devices have them on the kitchen counter, or island or a piece of furniture in the living room, these are not typical places for a modem, and who wants to have that out in plain sight anyway? Our cable modem and time capsule are tucked away in a cabinet, nearly out of sight.
Good point. At the same time, you'd want the Wi-Fi to broadcast from a central location (unless I'm misunderstanding the hardware terms here), and this sort of thing would do well in a central location. I dunno. Networking kinda confuses me. :confused:
 
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Except that it's not -- just in your mind. Just to remind you once upon a time people kept saying Apple was never going to update the Mac mini and yet they did. Apple doesn't update a lot of products in predictable patterns. If something has low priority it can be years -- I give you the Mac Pro. But a product is not EOL until it is and then it's off the shelves.
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Not really, esp. the 12.9". If anyting it's best suited for pros in the graphics, photo editing, and related fields. It's a poor choice as a consumer device.

Couldn't disagree more. Strictly a consumer user here and could not be happier with the 12.9 with 128gb wif. Fits into our digital ecosystem perfectly and was not overly expensive. An IOS device as a computing extension is much easier to manage media/pics/etc than an additional computer would be...
 
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Couldn't disagree more. Strictly a consumer user here and could not be happier with the 12.9 with 128gb wif. Fits into our digital ecosystem perfectly and was not overly expensive. An IOS device as a computing extension is much easier to manage media/pics/etc than an additional computer would be...
Yes, i have a 12.9 inch too, and i partially love it. I love the big screen and i love it on the Smart Keyboard stand at the table, and use it a lot.
I hate it on the couch on my lap, without the keyboard though, it is too big for that(for me).
The 9.7 inch size was perfect for that, so:

-a 10.5 inch with less bezel with the same footprint as the 9.7 inch, or a 12.9 inch with less bezel, would be perfect for me(with a few more additions in IOS/PadOS)
 
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I hope the Apple Speaker does NOT have a screen because then I can put it wherever I want. If it had a screen, I'd have to consider where to put it. I just wish for high quality output and Siri 2.0.

Looking forward to WWDC this year. We don't know much about what we'll see, and that includes software.
I agree. The whole point of the speaker devices with far-field microphones (Amazon Echo, Google Home) is that you just talk to them and they talk back. If I needed something where a screen was necessary, I'd use my phone or tablet. There's no point to put a screen on something like this where I'd have to walk across the room to get next to it to see a response.

I'd like to see a MUCH improved Siri and person/voice identification. So if I ask it a question, it knows that its me and it can push a response to my phone or watch. "Siri, look up so-and-so on Wikipedia" or "Siri, look up some-movie on IMDb". Then I can grab my phone, unlock it and Safari (or an app) will open immediately to what I asked for.
 
Part of me is thinking we might just see a Time Capsule update......... No evidence to back the claim, just hope!
Maybe a "connected home" device will also take the place of the AirPort and Time Machine? Maybe something that jumps on the mesh network bandwagon too. So this "Siri device" would connect to your router and multiple units would be located in busy areas of your house. Makes sense as you'd want wireless where you spend most of your time.

I'm not much for "connected home" devices when I already have enough iPhones and iPads for every room of my house already. I could use Siri anywhere I want to already. As far as I know none of the "mesh network" devices connect local storage so we'd lose Time Machine and be forced to "cloud everything".
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It still seems so weird to me that they would have a 9.7 iPad AND a 10.5.
And the naming structure is too confusing for the non-techy people.
The rumors months ago were for the 10.5" to be the same extra hi resolution of the 12" iPad Pro. That would make sense as support for the 12" resolution is pretty thin in the App Store. Maybe sales of 12" models aren't that great and they just drop it next cycle? That model is pretty long without updates and I don't see the fancy features of the 9.7" Pro screen justifying the cost on a 12" screen.
 
Why are tablets still a thing? Unless you're an artist, I don't thin people need them. Phones nowadays are big enough and laptops are small enough.

phones are nowhere near large enough to provide a good reading experience, except for short periods.
 
Ok, so this rumor gives one more hope for ipad pro updates. A few months ago, I was all in for a 10.5 or 10.9" IPP. I have waited thru rumors of an update in March (nope) and then April (nope). And I'm now getting more selective. There has got to be more than the new size and A10 for me to replace my 9.7" IPP. Because that's what Apple usually does...i.e. just a little updating!
 
Except for designing the 2016 iPad Pro 9.7 for obsolescence with only 2GB DRAM the hardware is already more capable than the limited and restrictive iOS. Apple need to overhaul iOS before introducing new hardware.
 
Apple has a long history of announcing new stuff at WWDC. Especially stuff that needs developer support.

My question is where do the Macs stand? If new Macs are released in the next couple of weeks they could very well be minor bumps. If Apple waits till WWDC we could be seeing major hardware changes that impact developers.

Past history has Apple dumping minor Mac upgrades just before WWDC, especially if they have new products to debut for WWDC. New products could be the speaker or AI tech in general. Im also thinking Apples GPU will debut which could explain the current speculation around iPad and the lack of an X variant SoC.

With iPad people get too hung up on screen size. Screen size is often dictated by screen technology, that is the bezel is there to support the non visible hardware. What is of greater interest is what is driving that screen, this makes Apple GPU very very interesting. WWDC could focus extensively on Apple GPU this year if Apple expects to phase out all Imagination GPUs in two years. Frankly it would make lots of sense to debut on ipad to shake out the hardware and give developers time for the coming iPhone.

Interestingly i just had this flash, what if Apple licensed AMDs tech? This would block Imaginations lawsuit fairly effectively and frankly would give us better GPU tech.


If they are going to do it at WWDC I wonder if it's because of the screen size and developer apps?
Apple generally like to have hardware at WWDC but a new screen size is hardly something to focus on. If they do anything it will be to show off new capabilities within the hardware.
I find it very strange they will announce an iPad at WWDC but among-Chi-Kuo has been very reliable in the past so I'm willing to at least give this more credit than the usual rumours and threads about the new iPad's coming soon.
Then don't think about it as a new iPad. Instead think about it as a new SoC that is a big step forward. Remember WWDC is about developers!! If they in fact have 10nm chips in production that means a big jump in capability. Capability here meaning die area to implement new functionality. What functionality? How about AI hardware via its own subsection or integrated into the GPU? Maybe we will get another CPU core.
Maybe they also want to show off some new features like the rumoured being about to link your iPad Pro up to a Mac and use it as a Cintiqi kind of device.
That still would not justify iPad at WWDC. Especially with the rumored Mac overhauls. Expect something ground breaking if iPad is the star of the show.
 
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