It seems like everyone is writing a wish list which means I can too!
WWDC kicks off in 90 minutes at ApplePark in Cupertino California. A pre-recorded 90-120 minute ‘keynote’ will go live on Apple.com and YouTube where Developers, the press and people like me will tune in live or after the fact to watch a presentation that should be geared toward developers but usually contains other stuff. This is my personal wishlist as a project manager and creative who makes money doing both on Apple’s hardware & software and is in need of a few things in the very near term both.
- *iPad OS True Multitasking. I’m not buying an M1 iPad Pro until I see software improvements. It’s very good now and I can work on an iPad for up to 2 weeks and get by at about half speed to my Macintosh but it needs to be better
- M1 Powered MacBook Pro in a 14” form factory that is shipping in June (I don’t have a laptop right now and I’m returning to the office)
- A return of the 6% Apple.com card cash back that stays forever. Apple can afford to do this and should make it permanent. There are other cash back credit cards that offer better than AppleCard cash back and credit card warranties that are superior to Apple’s one year. There’s little incentive for me to purchase Apple Hardware with AppleCard at the moment
- *Add value to AppleOne Premiere…more storage, keep the $5 a month iTunes Store credit we’re getting currently
- *Give us a glimpse into Tim’s vision for AR. I’m not sold on it and I’d like a teaser even if the hardware isn’t ready
- Drop the price of AirPods Max to $499
- Give a glimpse on the M2 coming later this year to iMac and Mac mini Pro
- Release a 27” panel (baby XDR) with MiniLED for $2999
- Announce a no new features MacOS year. I have serious issues with Mail, Notifications, Spotlight, Finder, Photos and Contacts that need help. Even apps like CardHop that sit on top of Contacts database has a beach ball. Spotlight indexes every hour, Mail is losing data (I think). It’s very frustrating
- *Preview HomeOS so developers can be ready to build apps for an Amazon Show competitor that improves upon the now cancelled HomePod’s audio but adds a screen with Center-Stage for FaceTime and app support for kitchen use. I’d love to Handoff recipe links via Epicurious to a 15” HomePod box that sits in the kitchen that displays the menu, has a side-view for music controls and supports Siri with even better sound quality than the original HomePod for $299. Make it happen Apple!
- Open an online store for the shirts and apparel you sell at Apple Park’s visitor center. LONG SHOT but man, I was going to make a pilgrimage to the mothership last year and COVID cancelled that trip. I want to buy some new shirts. I’ll even pay $99 for a developer account
I have no idea what’s going to happen but this is personally what I’d like from Apple today. See you all in a bit!
UPDATE:
Today’s WWDC was purely a software and service presentation. I’m looking forward to the iPad Multitasking features but I don’t see any compelling re-think that brings it closer to a ‘real OS’ experience. iCloud+ with additional privacy features look great and I look forward to them and these do add value to AppleOne Premiere that I was asking for. I hope Monterey is an improvement to today’s MacOS experience in reliability and bugs. While not explicit, the entire keynote along with new Apple Maps features DID highlight more of Apple’s vision for AR. If you watch these keynotes, they’re slowly demoing AR functionality as it makes its way into every single product they release. I’ve put an asterisk above on the things that partially came true today.