Cupertino (CA) – Apple today announced details about the keynote opening its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8. Phil Schiller, senior vice president of marketing will lead a lineup of executives, presenting the new iPhone OS and Apple’s upcoming GPU-accelerated desktop operating system. With Steve Superstar missing in the kick-off show, Schiller will be carrying tremendous weight on his shoulders, and will give us a first indication how Apple will look like and present itself without the charismatic face of Jobs.
At least we know that Apple’s press releases are still what they used to be. Here is a taste: “Apple will kick off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with a keynote address on Monday, June 8 at 10:00 am. A team of Apple executives, led by Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, will deliver the keynote. WWDC will offer in-depth sessions on both iPhone OS 3.0, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, an even more powerful and refined version of the world’s best desktop operating system and the foundation for future Mac innovation.”
No, Apple has not lost its superlatives yet.
The focus of WWDC was not terribly difficult to figure out. We knew both about the iPhone 3.0 OS and Snow Leopard before. And it is an open secret that there will be at least one new iPhone and we should expect a handheld device that fits somewhere between the iPhone and the cheapest Macbook. Since it is a developer conference, there are plenty of tracks and sessions, focusing on the iPhone and Mac OS.
Apple isn’t talking about any hardware that may be announced, and Schiller will need a 64-bit architecture, QuickTime X, multicore and GPU processor support, and “amazing” new accessibility technologies. There are more than 1000 APIs for the iPhone OS 3.0 and developers are promised to get first-hand insight.
Apple did not talk about the possible hardware that may be announced at the show, with good reason. Schiller will need every wow-factor he can get to deliver on the expectations of the Apple crowd.
Apple’s talent is to market and to sell so we here at TG Daily believe that he will do just fine and outshine the entertainment developers typically can expect during keynotes from other tech companies. But Schiller will not be compared to Steve Ballmer or Paul Otellini. He will be compared to Jobs. And this thought must be downright scary for Schiller.
