A Borrowed Idea

Now that the dust has settled it makes sense to take a look back and see what Apple did actually announce at this year’s WWDC.

Here are the rumors that Justin (CarpeAqua) identified along with my predictions.

1. A completely refreshed design language for iOS 7 that sheds the Forstall and oozes Ive.
• What I guessed: Partially going to happen.
• What actually happened: This one did happen. iOS7 is a radical redesign from iOS6. Some might say it’s too radical of a redesign. Only time will tell.
2. Modernized and updated system apps for iOS that match the new Ivey design language.
• What I guessed: Partially going to happen.
• What actually happened: This one also happened. This goes hand in hand with the previous one.The complete redesign of the OS also meant that the green felt, leather stitching and photo realistic icons are a thing of the past.
3. A services/sharing architecture on par with what is offered by Windows Phone and Android.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen (yet… maybe next year).
• What actually happened: I was right. We’re still going to have to wait a while longer for our apps to be able to talk to each other. With the improved multitasking it makes sense that this will be added sooner rather than later.
4. An update to iMessage that makes it reliable.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: I think its too soon to tell on this one.
5. An update to iMessage that allows people to leave group chats.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)Also too soon to tell.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
6. Multiple people on FaceTime calls.
• What I guessed: Might happen as well.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
7. Xcode 5 with better refactoring tools, smarter smart sense and less crashes.
• What I guessed: I don’t use XCode, so I can’t comment on this.
• What actually happened: As far as I can tell, this did not happen.
8. A separate documentation viewer from Xcode itself so that command-tabbing between code and documents is possible and I can remove that weird purple icon DashCode uses from my Dock.
• What I guessed: See previous comment.
• What actually happened: As far as I can tell, this did not happen.
9. Transitioning the beta testing process from device limits and towards Apple ID’s so anyone with a targeted ID can install a beta product on any device they own.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
10. The ability to distribute betas over the App Store.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
11. Analytics tools for App Store developers so we can see where referrals and sales funnel in from.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
12. Real-time sales analytics. It’s 2013. Next day sales charts just won’t do.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
13. The ability to finally, once and for all delete old app IDs from the portal.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
14. The death of the provisioning profile to make deploying to devices less of a headache.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
15. The removal of the 100 device limit for iOS beta testing, or at a minimum deleting a device gives the slot back to you before your iOS developer program renewal date.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
16. A faster, more reliable iCloud.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen. (As far as I can tell.)
17. An updated iCloud that obviates the need for services like Dropbox.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: This sort of happened. Apple added AirDrop support for iOS devices. For some reason though you cannot AirDrop from your Mac to your iOS devices. Additionally you cannot use AirDrop with non-Apple products.
18. Syncing with Core Data and iCloud to actually work so that we can stop writing blog posts about it.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: Wishful thinking on this one….
19. A backend service that ties to iCloud that enables Apple platform developers to deploy a web service to tie their apps together. Think Google App Engine, but with a flat UI designed by Jony Ive.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
20. The ability to customize the lock screen on iOS.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This sort of happened. At least now we have notifications and live wallpapers for the lock screen.
21. The ability to organize your springboard free-form.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
22. The ability to add widgets to your home screen.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
23. Quick access to key service toggles like Airplane Mode and Bluetooth.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This DID happen!
24. A more reliable Game Center so Loren doesn’t break it again.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen. In fact Game Center may go away.
• What actually happened: No clue if it’s more reliable. At least they got rid of the green felt.
25. The ability to Find My Friends without having to open up an app covered in leather. This will allow vegetarians to finally use the product.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: This DID happen!
26. Updates to iTunes Match make it more like Rdio and less like an unreliable mess.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: They introduced iTunes radio. iTunes match is still a mess.
27. An updated notification center that supports swiping away notifications.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
28. An updated notification center that supports quick actions from a notification.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This sort of happened. There are more actions available from the notifications center.
29. An updated notification center that offers Game Center achievements for successfully tapping the tiny “X” on the first try.
• What I guessedL Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
30. The ability to download Mac apps from your iPhone or iPad and have them show up on your Mac when you get home.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen. But it needs to!
31. The ability to download iPad apps from your iPhone and have them show up on supported devices automatically.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
32. A web-based front-end to iTunes that doesn’t involve ever launching iTunes again.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen. I still hope it does. The new iWork beta gives me hope that Apple will put more products on the web….
33. Selective backup restoration from an iCloud backup.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: I was right.
34. Read and write access to Photo Streams.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This sort of happened. Now others can add to a shared photo stream.
35. The ability to set new default apps for things like the camera, calendar and browser.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
36. Deeper integration for third-party services beyond just Twitter and Facebook.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not really happen, although there is now some LinkedIN integration.
37. The return of Google Maps.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: They are sticking with their own maps. (and they need to work faster at this. It’s bad.)
38. A Q&A session with Tim Cook at the conclusion of the Keynote where he answers questions from anyone not named Robert Scoble.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: Nope.
39. The ability to update apps in the background without weird geofencing hacks to accomplish it.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
40. A new App Store app that isn’t a complete turd.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: Still the same old app store. (I don’t really have a problem with it. Other than the fact I can’t access it from the web.)
41. An update to OS X that is not only stable and fast, but incorporates new features both pulled back from iOS and to further push it ahead of Windows 8.
• What I guessed: Going to happen.
• What actually happened: This DID happen.
42. The ability to disable that god damned Mac App Store updates notification without having to actually update or open the Mac App Store.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: They introduced automatic updates.
43. Port UIKit back to OS X so that I can stop reading tweets from people bitching about how old and dated AppKit is.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen.
44. Retina screens for every Mac.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: This did not happen. We didn’t even get Retina on the Macbook Airs.
45. A new Mac Pro. Finally.
• What I guessed: Going to happen
• What actually happened: It’s almost here….
46. Air Drop support across the Internet and not just your local network.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: As I mentioned earlier…. this isn’t fully baked. AirDrop between iOS devices, but that’s it.
47. Pull all the Google-centric code from WebKit 2 and make the next version of Safari suck less. No more reloading all my tabs please.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: Safari now has a unified address bar (welcome to 2009), but I don’t know what WebKit changes were made.
48. The ability to read your iBooks on your Mac.
• What I guessed: Might happen. (I give it a 50/50 chance.)
• What actually happened: I really should have said 60/40 against on this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Too bad it doesn’t work on a PC yet.
49. MapKit for OS X.
• What I guessed: Not going to happen.
• What actually happened: I can admit when I’m wrong….
50. Siri support for the Mac.
• What I guessed: Going to happen
• What actually happened: This sort of happened. There is improved dication for the Mac.

Overall Apple made some much needed improvements, but as you can tell there are still many things they need to address.