Today was a big day in the world of Apple fans, iPhone and iPad developers and users, and just computing in general. A slew of exciting announcements from Apple came today at their WWDC conference. A line of new MacBook Air and Pro models, including one completely new design for the MacBook Pro which includes a Retina Display. Pretty fascinating stuff – as always, Apple is the first to blow away legacy technology like optical drives and mini-DVI in lieu of more forward-looking items like Thunderbolt connectivity and large capacity SSD drives.
But the most intriguing announcement for me was the introduction of iOS 6 and the features it will bring when it is released later this year. New Maps app with 3D rendering, turn-by-turn directions and Siri integration. Facebook integration across the OS. Twitter and Facebook posting from the Notification Center (just another reason you don’t need to jailbreak any more). Reply to a phone call with a message – I love this idea. I am often in a meeting or on a conference call and I love the idea of just tapping a few buttons and having my phone alert the other person I’m not available, but I’ll call them back later.
There’s also a slew of design changes to the native apps and the iTunes store and App Store. I can’t say I understand the reason behind some interfaces going white (Music) and some going black (App Store) but I am sure Apple did its homework. Ultimately, iOS 6 is shaping up to be a great upgrade for an already great platform. Is there hope of my aging iPhone 3GS being able to run iOS 6? I have my doubts – but then again, my contract is up in October, which happens to be right around the time the new iPhone will be popping into existence. That’s a happy coincidence.