Thoughts on Apple's WWDC 2012

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(All pictures here: Copyright © 2012 Apple Inc.)


Let me start by saying this: I used to hate Apple. I would rant that an iPad is just a "giant iPhone" and even said that the iPhone was a gimmick and only a few people would actually buy this due to its price. As usual, I would bash the Macs for being the most expensive computers ever made. Well, that was the old me. The me that used to hate Apple has now turned into an Apple user. What can I say? I fell in love with the mobile devices.


It all started with an iPod touch. Introduced in 2007 months after the release of the original iPhone, it would be a device that has the best of what the iPhone can do except of the phone capabilities. I owned a first-gen iPod touch and I was still contented with the content I had with it. Since then, I followed Apple's announcements, news, and even posted opinions here in my blog about what Apple and its competitors are doing.


In this post though, I will focus on Apple's WWDC 2012 keynote presentation last Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) and put out my unbiased opinion on what Apple has in store for us over the course of the next few months.


By the way, I'm sorry if this was overdue, but I had to finish my "Final Days of Summer" and OJT Series in order for me to do this complete reaction to this event and all the new stuff they released.


Here are the three things that highlighted this year's keynote:


MacBook Pro with Retina Display

I gotta say, I was surprised that they actually did this. Rumors spread around that there would be Retina displays throughout the whole MacBook line but never I expected that at least one of them would really get that significant upgrade. So, here it is, the new king of the MacBooks. This beast has a lot going for it, so here are the base and the maximum specs:

• 15.4" Retina Display with a 2880x1800 resolution
• 2.3GHz 3rd generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with 6MB shared L3 cache (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) (processor up to 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz)
• 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory (up to 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory)
• 256GB flash storage (up to 768GB)
• Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• 720p Facetime HD camera
• Connection ports: Magsafe 2 port, 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports, 2 Thunderbolt ports, HDMI port, 3.5mm headphone jack, SDXC card slot
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi networking
• Backlit keyboard
• 7 hours battery life

Honestly, I can't believe they shoved all this into a laptop that's 0.71" thin and weighs 4.46 pounds! The design is simply well-thought and Apple clearly applied what they've learned over the years. Although the lack of an ethernet port is a worry since this is mostly aimed at professionals, there's a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet adapter so I hope this wouldn't be much of an issue. Overall, this notebook gives more compelling reasons for people to buy this, although a big turn-off would be its price: it starts at $2199. :( Still, I would recommend this to anyone who can shelve off a LOT of money. Moving on...




OS X Mountain Lion




Yes, yes. After a year with the Lion, we get another update which is Mountain Lion. This update focuses more on how the Mac can connect with your Apple mobile devices even better. This update includes Notification Center, which was carried over from iOS and implements it in the same way, Game Center, also from iOS which supports cross-platform gaming over Macs and iOS devices (which I think is cool), and AirPlay Mirroring, where with the help of an Apple TV, you can stream whatever's on the screen of your Mac to your TV.


To me, this feels like Lion with a few good updates and improvements that people will enjoy and I'm sure that $19.99 price would convince all the current Mac users to upgrade. Moreso, the new buyers of Macs will get this for FREE. It's coming this July.



iOS 6

This may be considered the highlight for users of Apple's famous iPhone and iPad, and the iPod touch. iOS 6 brings more to the table as they bring another package of features which help boost their usability and benefits the user. Here are some of the highlight features of the new major software update:


Maps - The most-rumored new feature of iOS 6, the Maps application has now been revamped and gone are any references of Google Maps. Everything in the new Maps is now made by Apple (since they bought a lot of mapping technology companies) and has now new features. The iPhone can now do turn-by-turn navigation, a feature that has long been in the Android ecosystem for a long time. Another feature is Flyover, where it displays 3D satellite images of major cities, which looks amazing. Other features include Traffic, which notifies users of realtime traffic.


Siri - Siri is now smarter in iOS 6. It can now show you sports scores and info, movie times, restaurant reservations, powers the turn-by-turn navigation in Maps, can accept Tweet requests and Facebook posts, and launch apps. It's becoming a more useful personal assistant.


Facebook - Speaking of Facebook posts, Facebook is now integrated into iOS. You can now post Photos, web pages, and more to Facebook using the same functionality done with Twitter. You can now also "Like" apps and more.


Passbook - Passbook is where you can store your virtual gift cards, membership cards, airline and movie tickets, and even sports games tickets in one single place. It even notifies you if you're nearby the certain place where that pass is needed.

Other features include Phone improvements with Remind Me Later or Reply With Message, Safari enhancements with Offline Reading List and Full Screen Landscape mode, Shared Photo Streams where you can share certain photos with friends including comments and likes, FaceTime over Cellular, Pull to Refresh and VIP Inbox in Mail, and Guided Access for easy use of the iPhone and iPad with Single App mode.


Software enhancements are great but I wish there was even more. A UI redesign would be nice, but I think they're either holding it off for the next iPhone or not doing it at all, which is sad. I still like the enhancements they bring to the 4th generation iPod touch, iPhone 3GS and later, and iPad 2 & iPad 3rd Gen. Sad to see the original iPad go as well. Times have changed though.




Overall, Apple's WWDC 2012 stayed in the tradition of new things. The new hardware was a surprise, but the software improvements fell a little bit flat for me. I hope that we will see a shocking Fall as Apple strikes back against the Android army. Best wishes, Apple.