Today is the first day of the rest of Apple’s life.
The company that once owned the consumer smartphone market kicks off its annual developer conference in San Francisco on Monday. Normally, the WorldWide Developers Conference isn’t where Apple makes its major product announcements. However this year the iPhone-maker heads into WWDC at the tail end of several product cycles and facing stiff competition from the likes of Samsung and Google. As such, the pressure is on to give consumers and investors something to cheer about.
[h=4]More Related to this Story[/h]
Men are silhouetted against a video screen with an Apple logo as they pose with an Apple iPhone 4 smartphone in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, May 17, 2013. REUTERS [h=4]Video[/h] Video: Apple planning to hire 7,400 by 2016
Research In Motion's BlackBerry Q5 Handout courtesy of Research In Motion [h=4]Multimedia[/h] The strategies of smartphone companies in the low-cost market
A passerby photographs an Apple store logo with his Samsung Galaxy phone in central Sydney in this file photo. REUTERS [h=4]Market View[/h] Video: Market View: Samsung’s mini mobile turns up heat on iPhone
5. Wearable computers: Google isn’t just pushing mobile payments, it’s also a driving force in wearable computers through Glass, its “smart” glasses that will be available this year. In demos, Google’s glasses have enabled wearers to take pictures and videos, have video conferences with each other, map directions and navigate, and otherwise perform many smartphone functions. Yet, all of this will happen on a screen that is effectively worn in front of your eyes. Apple, Samsung and others are also reportedly working on “smart” watches, which will similarly bring many smartphone functions to a wrist-worn device. It may sound goofy or science-fictiony right now, but application developers will inevitably think up ways to use these new devices in ways that will probably make them indispensable. One use of smart glasses that is already on the horizon: instant translation of signs from foreign languages. Whether they’re on business or pleasure, travellers will eventually wonder how they ever lived without this particular technology. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS [h=4]PHOTO GALLERY[/h] 10 tech tools that business won’t be able to live without
The list of possible WWDC announcements is long and varied. Some analysts believe the company may use the conference to launch a new, low-cost iPhone targeted at the growing low-end smartphone market. Others say consumers may get an upgrade to the Mac computer lineup. In addition to hardware announcements, Apple may also announce a slew of programs and services, such as streaming radio and a trade-in promotion to encourage customers to upgrade to higher-end iPhones.
Even if the big announcements – a new iPhone and a new iPad – don’t come this week at WWDC, they are widely expected to arrive before the end of the year, and probably before the lucrative back-to-school shopping season.
Perhaps the most likely announcement at this year’s conference will be an overhaul of the popular iOS operating system that powers most of Apple’s mobile devices. The software recently came under the control of Jonathan Ive, the Apple executive responsible for the iconic design of the original iPod and iPhone.
“We look to see if Apple’s industrial design head Jony Ive can port the talent he and his team have in hardware design to software design,” said BGC technology analyst Colin Gillis. “The question we look to see answered is if the new iOS look is visually stunning enough to accelerate demand for the iPhone.”
WWDC marks the unofficial start of Apple’s newest product cycle. But unlike previous instances, Apple heads into this one facing more competition than it has had at any point since the launch of the original iPhone. Chiefly, that competition comes from Samsung, whose Galaxy smartphone line has leapfrogged the iPhone for market share supremacy in the United States, at least for now. But Apple is also dealing with a shifting smartphone industry in which low-cost phones are quickly improving in quality, and fewer and fewer consumers are willing to pay premium prices for high-end products. As such, Apple’s summer of product launches may well be focused, for the first time, on price-conscious rather than status-conscious buyers.
[TABLE="class: securities"]
[TR]
[TH="class: security"]Security[/TH]
[TH="class: price"]Price[/TH]
[TH="class: change"]Change[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]AAPL-Q Apple[/TD]
[TD="class: num"]441.811[/TD]
[TD="class: num up"]3.351
0.764%[/TD]
[TD="class: addup"]Add to watchlist [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Live Discussion of AAPL on StockTwits
More Discussion on AAPL-Q
[h=4]More Related to this Story[/h]
The company that once owned the consumer smartphone market kicks off its annual developer conference in San Francisco on Monday. Normally, the WorldWide Developers Conference isn’t where Apple makes its major product announcements. However this year the iPhone-maker heads into WWDC at the tail end of several product cycles and facing stiff competition from the likes of Samsung and Google. As such, the pressure is on to give consumers and investors something to cheer about.
[h=4]More Related to this Story[/h]
- Samsung stung, loses $12-billion market value on smartphone worries
- U.S. secretly gathering data on foreigners abroad from Google, Facebook, Apple
- For Apple, a bruising week in smartphone wars
Men are silhouetted against a video screen with an Apple logo as they pose with an Apple iPhone 4 smartphone in this photo illustration taken in the central Bosnian town of Zenica, May 17, 2013. REUTERS [h=4]Video[/h] Video: Apple planning to hire 7,400 by 2016 Research In Motion's BlackBerry Q5 Handout courtesy of Research In Motion [h=4]Multimedia[/h] The strategies of smartphone companies in the low-cost market A passerby photographs an Apple store logo with his Samsung Galaxy phone in central Sydney in this file photo. REUTERS [h=4]Market View[/h] Video: Market View: Samsung’s mini mobile turns up heat on iPhone 5. Wearable computers: Google isn’t just pushing mobile payments, it’s also a driving force in wearable computers through Glass, its “smart” glasses that will be available this year. In demos, Google’s glasses have enabled wearers to take pictures and videos, have video conferences with each other, map directions and navigate, and otherwise perform many smartphone functions. Yet, all of this will happen on a screen that is effectively worn in front of your eyes. Apple, Samsung and others are also reportedly working on “smart” watches, which will similarly bring many smartphone functions to a wrist-worn device. It may sound goofy or science-fictiony right now, but application developers will inevitably think up ways to use these new devices in ways that will probably make them indispensable. One use of smart glasses that is already on the horizon: instant translation of signs from foreign languages. Whether they’re on business or pleasure, travellers will eventually wonder how they ever lived without this particular technology. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS [h=4]PHOTO GALLERY[/h] 10 tech tools that business won’t be able to live withoutThe list of possible WWDC announcements is long and varied. Some analysts believe the company may use the conference to launch a new, low-cost iPhone targeted at the growing low-end smartphone market. Others say consumers may get an upgrade to the Mac computer lineup. In addition to hardware announcements, Apple may also announce a slew of programs and services, such as streaming radio and a trade-in promotion to encourage customers to upgrade to higher-end iPhones.
Even if the big announcements – a new iPhone and a new iPad – don’t come this week at WWDC, they are widely expected to arrive before the end of the year, and probably before the lucrative back-to-school shopping season.
Perhaps the most likely announcement at this year’s conference will be an overhaul of the popular iOS operating system that powers most of Apple’s mobile devices. The software recently came under the control of Jonathan Ive, the Apple executive responsible for the iconic design of the original iPod and iPhone.
“We look to see if Apple’s industrial design head Jony Ive can port the talent he and his team have in hardware design to software design,” said BGC technology analyst Colin Gillis. “The question we look to see answered is if the new iOS look is visually stunning enough to accelerate demand for the iPhone.”
WWDC marks the unofficial start of Apple’s newest product cycle. But unlike previous instances, Apple heads into this one facing more competition than it has had at any point since the launch of the original iPhone. Chiefly, that competition comes from Samsung, whose Galaxy smartphone line has leapfrogged the iPhone for market share supremacy in the United States, at least for now. But Apple is also dealing with a shifting smartphone industry in which low-cost phones are quickly improving in quality, and fewer and fewer consumers are willing to pay premium prices for high-end products. As such, Apple’s summer of product launches may well be focused, for the first time, on price-conscious rather than status-conscious buyers.
[TABLE="class: securities"]
[TR]
[TH="class: security"]Security[/TH]
[TH="class: price"]Price[/TH]
[TH="class: change"]Change[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR="class: odd"]
[TD]AAPL-Q Apple[/TD]
[TD="class: num"]441.811[/TD]
[TD="class: num up"]3.351
0.764%[/TD]
[TD="class: addup"]Add to watchlist [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Live Discussion of AAPL on StockTwits
More Discussion on AAPL-Q
[h=4]More Related to this Story[/h]
- Apple faces limited ban as U.S. trade panel backs Samsung on patents
- Apple hikes prices in Japan as yen flags
- Financial Times Apple vs. Google: battle for domination
- Apple CEO hints at 'game changer' devices, pans Google Glass
- EU quizzes telcos on Apple sales tactics
- Apple paid zero tax in Ireland for 10 years: reports
- Software How Google intends to dominate with its Android plan