“Back in the day, Apple would preview the next iteration of the iPhone or other new gadgets at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC),” Eric Johnson writes for Recode. “But at this year’s event, as has been the case for most of the past decade, the company was only talking about software.”
“Last year was the exception that proved the rule: Apple gave WWDC attendees a preview of the HomePod, its smart speaker aimed at competing with Amazon’s Echo product line and the Google Home speakers. The speaker’s release was eventually delayed into 2018, but even before that setback, the HomePod was slated for a far-off date,” Johnson writes. “‘It’s always great when Apple says, ‘Here’s something you didn’t know you needed, and we’ve made it, and it’s awesome, and you can use it today,” [Recode’s editor in chief Dan] Frommer said. ‘Or, ‘You can go out and buy it right now.’ It’s harder to do now, especially with phones, where they have to get FCC approval. The HomePod last year was super disappointing because [they said] ‘Here it is! Oh, and you can buy it in … six months.””
“On the new podcast, Frommer also talked about the two products at WWDC 2018 that most interested him: Apple’s virtual assistant Siri and its augmented reality platform ARKit,” Johnson writes. “‘I think they’re the clear leader in AR, among the major platforms, and I think it would be foolish to count Siri out,’ he said, referring to Amazon’s assistant Alexa and the Google Assistant. ‘I don’t think there’s a 90 percent market-share winner here.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Because WWDC is a software developers’ conference.