Predictions for September 2009′s Apple Event
Hey, I don’t have to limit myself to netbooks and funny installation guides! I’ve been reading the rumors for a long time now, and I have a few predictions of what will–and won’t–be appearing this September from Apple. I have no inside sources, just gut feelings and logical assumptions. And I honestly don’t care if I’m wrong, I just want to get this off my chest. Here goes:
1. The event will be on September 8th, not the 9th: Come on, Apple’s very keen on Tuesdays. I don’t see why all of a sudden they’re going to change the day. Just a logical assumption. Update 2: Wrong again! It will be September 9th.
2. The will be no iTablet: Sorry to burst any bubbles, but the iTablet/iPad/HugePod/etc. is a dream that has been around way too long. Granted, the iPhone was rumored forever too, and eventually Apple fulfilled that dream, but I see no real good reason for an iTablet to exist at this time.
3. Big surprise, the iPods will receive updates: This is, after all, the iPod event that happens every year. iPhone in June, iPods in September. With a few exceptions, such as the Shuffle update a few months back, the iPod line is updated at this time of year. Since the Shuffle just got an overhaul, the only contenders left are the Classic, Touch, and nano. I think the rumors are accurate about the nano and Touch receiving cameras. I expect a storage increase and/or price drop for those two as well, with the iPod Classic dropping to $199. Since the Touch actually beat out the iPhone last year performance-wise, I would expect it to at least match, if not outperform, it’s cellular brother, including the graphics and processor speed. There’s no better way to trump Microsoft’s Zune HD than to come out with a new version the week before, and at a cheaper price to boot!
4. iPhone OS 3.1: It’s been in beta for a while, why not? Everyone knows about it, they just need to make it final. Get those kinks out before the competitors device is launched, right?
5. Mac OS X Snow Leopard released: It’s gone gold master already, and Google recently archived a Mac Box Set for the new OS, so why not use a big event to actually launch it? [Update: Apple announced already that Snow Leopard is coming out on August 28th. Guess I was predictiing too much for the even anyway.] And speaking of which…
6. Mac hardware updates: June may have seen a refresh of the MacBook Pro line, but September’s back-to-school focus also gives Apple a chance to push out updates. There are probably no big announcements for the Mac line, unless the regular MacBook suddenly gets black back or some other new trick. But there should be some tweaks in store for Snow Leopard.
7. Steve Jobs: …maybe in the flesh, but I’m guessing he won’t actually host the event. If he is there, he’ll most likely come out for a big product announcement and/or the “One More Thing” at the end. Then again he could just do another iChat appearance…
8. Other oddities: Beatles and iTunes? Maybe, sure, why not, but why all of a sudden now? And this whole Cocktail album goodies stuff… meh. I’m really not sure that extra pics and such are a high priority to most of the iTunes user base, so I can’t see Apple investing too much into it. But I could see an iTunes 9 release.
So there you have it! You can agree or disagree with me, but we’ll all know in less than three weeks!
