The Apple Beat: A week away from WWDC 2014, let the games begin

Image from MacRumors.comBy Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla 

Apple's yearly World Wide Developer's Conference (WWDC) is taking place next week in in San Francisco. Over 5,000 developers and partners are expected to come to the Moscone West conference centre to learn more about Apple's plans and products for the coming year and you can believe that the rest of the world will be watching.

Mostly focused on upcoming software builds, namely the next version of iOS and its desktop counterpart OS X, Apple's used WWDC as a launching pad for notable hardware products, some of which are available for purchase right after the keynote and others are offered as a sneak peek, just like the redesigned Mac Pro was last year.

Big Moves

It's an interesting time for Apple. You can say they're way, Tim Cook has been CEO for around three years, the company has flourished despite analysts and critics' 'sky is falling' scenarios and the baseless drivel that Apple has lost its innovation mojo has been silenced time and again by both the company's performance and the success of its products.

Apple even broke through the $600/ a share stock price recently, proving that despite not pushing anticipated product categories (the new AppleTV, iWatch, wearables, 12-inch iPad Pro....), the company's iPhone, iPad and Mac products continue to defy the slumping trends in PC sales.

Still, the reality is that the markets are changing and user preferences are changing as well. Apple seems to be changing along with what works for them. While there have been high-profile departures in Apple's management, most notably stalwart CFO Peter Oppenheimer and more recently, PR maven and VP of worldwide corporate communications Katie Cotton, who is retiring after 18 years, but there have also been some welcome additions.

Angela Ahrendts, who recently took over as senior VP for retail and online stores is expected to make big waves in reinventing the way Apple sells its products. Apple currently has 424 retail stores in 15 countries, including 255 in the U.S. We will have to wait and see if Ahrendts will be formally introduced at WWDC 2014.

Write the Code, Change the World

The above catchphrase is this year's WWDC motto. As we expect iOS 8 and OS X 10.10 to be unveiled, there's a definite expectation that the announcements will encompass more than just mobile and desktop features and functionality. New product and possibly new categories of products are expected. Murmurings include refreshed iMacs, Mac Minis, CarPlay integration and possibly a home automation and wearable computing angle. Seeing as any new product or categories will likely require apps, the developer conference is as good an opportunity as any to unveil future devices and services. 

I will be attending WWDC next week to cover the event for Canadian Reviewer and hope to have an opportunity to bring the latest from the Keynote, any product announcements as well as get a chance to go one on one with developers to see what cool applications are coming. WWDC is always a fun event to cover, but I think this year is going to be a bit special because we're laying the groundwork for a completely redesigned iPhone (or family of iPhones). We should also see how far the 64 Bit architecture in iPhones and iPads has gone and where OS X is headed. Stay tuned for exclusive stories, photos and videos right here.