MG Siegler on March 25th – guesses, based on the GM rumors of OS 10.7 that it will be released at or around WWDC:
With OS X Snow Leopard, Apple released the GM version to developers just a few weeks before the actual software launched to the public. Presumably, if there were no bugs in this first GM candidate for Lion, they could stick to a similar timetable. But there probably will be, so instead I’d guess that a June timeframe will be more likely.
MG Siegler on March 26th – guesses, based on historical evidence and rumors that iPhone 5 be demoed at WWDC this year:
We haven’t heard anything specifically about the iPhone with this news, but I would guess that it’s still on track for a WWDC unveiling and release shortly thereafter. If that’s the case, it will just be released with a version of iOS 4.X.
So, which is it? Apple has sometimes previewed a new Mac OS update followed by a “one more thing” like a new hardware announcement or demo of Xcode. The past WWDC events have largely been all about iOS and I do feel confident that a fall event is what will happen given Lion nearing completion. However, I don’t feel the iPhone will receive a feature right after OS Lion is unveiled.
I believe we haven’t seen the GUI changes that Apple is planning on releasing at WWDC. We’ve seen the features (which also have their own GUI) but I’m talking about the fundamental way you interact with your Mac and utilize multi-touch will be showed off at WWDC and an iPhone 5 release would only overshadow how HUGE this is for Apple and their future. Lion will be the next huge evolution of the Mac OS since we all saw OS 10.0 demoed for the first time a decade ago.
That iMac rumor that we’ve been hearing will most likely be the hardware announcement at WWDC and not an iOS device. The iMac will ship with a magic trackpad and you can add a mouse as an optional purchase and it will utilize everything that we’ve seen and will see in OS X Lion. Remember, the iMac hasn’t been redesigned since 2005 other than going from a plastic to an aluminum body. The design has been unchanged. I think that will change this June.
iOS 5 and iPhone 5 and possibly (although very unlikely) iPad Pro announcement in August followed by an iPod event in September and new Mac event in October is what my money is on and I don’t think many would disagree with me.
The question is, how many more years will we have our August iPod event?