Were these features necessary?
Many of the features that were announced today seem to tackle some of the things that have caused even the staunched Apple fan to complain. Just last week, for example, ReadWriteWeb editor Richard MacManus took a look at the problem of “sync” and asked why it isn’t solved. Apple plans to address sync in two ways: utilizing WiFi capabilities (rather than the annoying tangle of white USB cords) and by investing heavily into its new iCloud, encouraging users to store their photos, music and documents in the cloud so it can be readily accessible across devices.
And ReadWriteWeb’s Mike Melanson had a lament about iOS notifications earlier this spring — certainly one of the most annoying aspects of iPhone and iPad ownership. While the new notification system isn’t entirely what he asked for in that story, Apple has hopefully put an end to one of the most frustrating things about notifications up til now: the fact that they bring to a crashing halt what you’re actually doing, interrupting movies and games and reading.
Do these updates make Apple more competitive against Android?
It’s interesting to note that in the case of notifications in particular, that Apple has borrowed heavily from the Android operating system, something that many people were quick to point out during today’s announcements. It’s not just Android features that are showing up in iOS 5, however. No doubt the newly announced iMessage looks an awfully lot like the very popular Blackberry Messenger app.
But will these new features help put Apple ahead of the competition in the mobile space? The company touted figures on stage today to stake its claim as the number one mobile operating system, despite recent figures to the contrary.
What are the implications for third party developers?
Some of the most lively post-WWDC-keynote discussions today involve how Apple’s announcements may or may not impact the third party developer ecosystem. Despite touting the $2.5 billion it has paid out to software developers over the course of the operating system’s history, it seemed today that Apple was taking many of the features and ideas from some of the most popular apps and incorporating it directly into its own offerings.
AllThingsD’s Liz Gannes asks, “What did Apple just kill?” She notes that apps like DropBox may be less useful for iOS users as Apple unveils its own easy syncing and storage capabilities. Similarly photo sharing and storage apps like Flickr and camera apps like Camera + may become unnecessary.
There’s nothing like a good expletive, of course, to get people riled up, and the one uttered by Instapaper developer Marco Arment perhaps best summarized the feelings of many when watching the announcements on stage today. “Shit.” Indeed, the new Reading List feature in iOS 5 is awfully similar to Instapaper, letting users flag posts to read later.
But Arment has since expounded his thoughts on what the new feature will mean for Instapaper, and like many developers who’ve since commented — including folks from Boxcar (who does notifications) and GroupMe (who does group messaging) — Arment seems positive that, in the end, Apple’s new features won’t spell the death of third party developers. Instead, Apple sanctioning these offerings by making them a core part of the operating system may actually open more customers’ eyes to their availability.
And there are, of course, always other mobile operating system for which people can develop, right?
When will we get it?
Although the seed is available for developers now, customers won’t see the new operating system until the Fall. There’s no specific date at this time.
One more thing. So, iOS 5. Does it come with an updated iPhone?
There were no hardware announcements on stage today at WWDC. No new iPhones, no new iPads, no new iPod Touches. But rest assured, the Apple rumor mill rarely sleeps. I’m sure there will be plenty of leaked photos to keep us all busy speculating until the next Apple keynote.
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