Brian's Brain

Next Monday morning at 10AM PT, Steve Jobs will again take the stage to keynote and kick off the annual Apple WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference). I'm unable to attend this year's soirée in person; like many of you, I'll be monitoring Ars Technica, Engadget, Gizmodo, Macworld and other websites for the as-it-happens play-by-play. However, in advance I thought I'd take a crack at forecasting what I think Apple will announce this time. I'm basing my prognostications on several key factors:

1. My published teardowns and hands-on analyses of the company's current products' strengths and shortcomings
2. The competitive landscape
3. The product status of Apple's various suppliers, such as Intel, and
4. Past history of other Apple product lines as a suggestion of big-picture corporate strategy and, therefore, future product-specific actions

iPhone-related sessions comprise roughly 1/3 of the published conference content, so the iPhone will undoubtedly have a showcase role in Jobs' latest 'reality distortion field' attempt. I'll begin, though, with possible unveilings in other Apple product areas. To clarify up front, my confidence in any of these particular guesses isn't stellar, although I think some are more likely than others (I haven't prioritized them in any particular order, though).

• A second-generation Apple TV with multiple video inputs, perhaps even an ATSC tuner (and other geography-specific equivalents, such as DVB-T in Europe), and PVR support.
• A redesigned Mac mini
• A desktop system in-between today's iMac and Mac Pro
• A next-generation MacBook with LED backlight-inclusive LCD
• I'm very curious to see what Apple's plans for Intel's Atom processor are. While (per a point I made earlier today) I don't envision the CPU making it into a next-generation iPhone (yet), a cost- and performance-reduced MacBook Air reminiscent of ASUS' Eee PC series is more likely; it'll probably incorporate a small SSD, although (like MSI's Wind) it may use a 1.8" HDD (although in doing so it'd blur the distinction from the MacBook Air). A tablet is also a possibility.
• A subscription music augmentation of the iTunes Store, perhaps in conjunction with new iPod models (and a service lockout on existing iPods that compels new hardware purchases...it wouldn't be the first time Apple's done such a thing).
• A developer preview of OS 10.6, and
• A re-naming and much-needed functional enhancement of today's .Mac service, including robust wireless synchronization and 'cloud' storage support for iPhones.

And what about the iPhone (whose current-model inventory is conveniently depleted)?

• I suspect Apple will launch two different models (with purchase availability within a week or so of the keynote). The 'nano' version will be a cost-, size- and weight-reduced version of today's product, taking advantage of higher flash memory component capacities and lower prices (among other things). It'll retain the 2.5G (EDGE) cellular data capabilities of today's iPhone. It'll probably also come in multiple colors.
• Judging from the fact that AT&T is nearly finished with its UMTS network upgrade, along with the tantalizing hints found embedded in SDK beta releases, the replacement for today's iPhone will be 3G-capable (and software-switcheable between UMTS and EDGE as a bandwidth-vs-battery life tradeoff...I'm less sure about whether or not Apple will make this a user-selectable global option). It'll be slightly smaller than today's iPhone, in spite of its added features, which will also include A2DP Bluetooth support (cognizance of Bluetooth keyboards, etc would also be nice), a dual-lens-and-sensor front-and-back camera setup (enabling both traditional camera phone functions and real-time videoconferencing, the latter being mobile phones' next 'killer app' IMHO...the fact that AT&T's network is HSUPA, not just HSDPA, supports my prediction here), and a GPS receiver. It'll probably be price-identical to today's iPhones of equivalent flash memory capacities.

Neither model will incorporate an OLED display, though cynically speaking, Apple might welcome OLEDs' limited lifetimes as a built-in obsolescence insurance policy.

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