The Apple Team Did Not Mention the New iPhone

Most of the rumors circulating on the internet ahead of Apple’s WWDC conference turned out to be true – Tim Cook and the Apple team presented new versions of software for mobile devices and Macs, as well as new MacBook Air and Mac Pro computers, while the new iPhone that fans of the company were hoping for was not even mentioned.

For the new version of the mobile operating system for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Tim Cook stated that it is the biggest change since the introduction of the iPhone, and iOS 7 brings numerous new options, as well as a new design. Regarding the new design of iOS, Apple’s chief designer Jony Ive said it represents a completely new direction and a new beginning, noting that ‘its beauty lies in simplicity’.

As always, when it comes to significant changes in the appearance of some products, the new version of iOS disappointed some users, while others were satisfied with the new and simpler interface and the new design of applications.

In addition to the new design, the conference focused heavily on the new options brought by iOS 7 – one of them is the control center through which important options such as activating airplane mode, connecting to Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth, music management, and more can be easily and quickly controlled. Multitasking has also been improved; Apple’s software now tracks the applications that users use most frequently, and content from those frequently used applications (e.g., Facebook) is refreshed in the background. Safari has been enhanced with some new features, and support for AirDrop has been added, allowing wireless content sharing with iOS device users (this option is available only to owners of the latest models such as iPhone 5, the latest iPad, iPad mini).

Apple has also improved the camera, which now displays live filters, and the photo application has been upgraded to allow better organization and sharing of photos. The iOS option for cars, which will be available next year, seems particularly interesting. The App Store will automatically update applications in this version of iOS, the music application now includes the iTunes Radio option for easier music discovery (this option will initially be available only to users in the U.S.), and the FaceTime Audio option has also been added.

The new version of iOS will be available to users of iPhone 4 and later versions, iPad 2 and later versions, and the latest generation of iPod Touch starting this fall, although the exact date is not yet known.

In addition to the new OS for mobile devices, Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks was also introduced, an operating system for Macs that will also be available in the fall, coming with numerous interesting options that will simplify and improve work on Macs. This operating system is particularly tailored for laptop owners because, thanks to options like reduced processor activity, App Nap, and others, it significantly improves battery life.
Mavericks brings tabs to Finder for better viewing of open windows, support for tags so that all files can be tagged, making it easier to search on the computer, advanced support for using multiple screens, improved notifications, calendar, and an even better web browser, Safari. New versions of MacBook Air laptops were also presented at this conference, which are already available in the U.S. starting today.

These laptops are based on the new generation of Intel’s Haswell processors, which are extremely energy-efficient and have up to 40 percent faster graphics. Apple particularly highlighted the extended battery life – up to nine hours for the 11-inch model and even twelve hours for the 13-inch model. The starting price for the 11-inch model with 128GB SSD is $999, while the starting price for the 13-inch model is $1,099.
Perhaps the most excitement was generated by the Mac Pro – the new generation of desktop computers that is expected to hit the market by the end of the year, which Apple described as ‘revolutionary and radical’ and representing the future of professional desktop computers, featuring advanced hardware (Intel’s 12-core processor that is twice as fast and much faster memory compared to the previous model) and which, besides being much smaller than the current Mac Pro model, boasts a fantastic design.

Apple presented exactly what most analysts expected, and Tim Cook had previously announced that ‘the real things’ that will ‘change the market’ will be presented in the fall of this year and throughout next year – in addition to new models of iPhone and iPad, analysts expect the much-discussed iWatch and possibly Apple’s television.