gdgt

I was at the WWDC yesterday, and for the first time in the last 4-5 year there was not any hardware announcements (i'm personally shocked), and Apple made clear before the event that it was just software. Apple focused on more on software in regards to iCloud, iOS5, and lastly Mac OS X Lion, which looks very promising with more than 220+ new features.

I personally was hoping Apple would announce the new iPhone by surprise, and catch us all my surprise right at the end of the keynote. But we just got software that seems to be looking solid, and MobileMe is gone with its core feature before modified, polished, and baked into iCloud for Free (Yes, you read correctly.. Free! versus $99/per year for MobileMe).

According to source we should see the 5th generation iPhone in the fall, and all detail point towards that since iOS5 and iCloud launch in the fall as well. Guess we will have to wait a few months to see what Apple has created for their new iPhone, but overall what was announced yesterday is great stuff.

— Angel

I think that ever since divorcing themselves from MacWorld, Apple has decided to dictate how and when they will release messages regarding their products. It's all going to come down to their product cycle and to when they believe introducing new hardware or software will have the greatest impact.

Apple introduces hardware when it suits their WWDC goals. After all, the WWDC is to entice developers to produce killer software so Apple's hardware potential can be realized. Which is was needed when they were still iterating the iPhone to a point where it needed a reason for developers to rally behind it. Now? The platform is mature enough that its ok not to introduce hardware. Apple knows that if it shows up killer software features and APIs is enough since they have a huge developer community that will develop software since they know there will be another killer iPhone coming up soon.

Besides, most of the hardware these days isn't "big" enough to announce at a keynote anymore. It usually is just announced after a random Tuesday when the Apple store goes down for a reason.

they did announce iPhones at WWDC, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4, for example.

I think its refreshing that they are "taking their time". Last year, when they announced the iPhone 4, I heard a lot of complaints about how people were just getting used to the iPhone 3GS. The i4 is 90% perfect as it is for most people. There really is no reason to constantly generate a new version of the same thing year after year. Think about all the complaints about the iPad 2? "more of the same, just with a camera". My hope is that when they do announce the i5, it will again be revolutionary.

aside from the iPhone refreshes that occurred in 2008, 2009, and 2010, the only other times that I can think of Apple having a hardware introduction at a WWDC would be the rebranding of the Aluminum Macbook in 2009, which is kinda hardware and the introduction of the Mac Pro and Intel Xserve at WWDC 2006, though those are still on target because both products are mainly targeted at developers. Though it seems that Apple has introduced a lot of hardware at WWDC's they have kept it mainly developers except for the iPhone announcements the past few years. Apple probally could have released the next iPhone yesterday, but i feel that they made a conscious decision to keep WWDC strictly developer focused and less consumer focused as it was in years past.

I think this is the message Apple tried to send at WWDC and they have been sending since iOS 2.

When they release a major new iOS update it's like everyone, with qualifying devices, is getting a new phone. My iPhone 4 will fee like a new device with iOS 5. Just like my original iPhone completed transformed into a new device with iOS 2 with the app store was released.

They didn't need to talk about hardware to sell hardware. it's all about software.