Thoughts on WWDC 2013
Polarising
…is the word that Gruber has been using to describe the new iOS 7 design, even before WWDC began, to an extent that I wonder if Apple PR discreetly suggested it to him as means of damage control. As if to say: ‘If you hate it, that’s OK. A lot of people will hate it, but a lot of people will love it, too. That being the case, it must have some merit, right?’
I was wowed at first by its first appearance in the video introduction at the keynote, but my opinion of it has steadily fallen since then. I would describe my overall feeling on it as ‘sinking’. I don’t hate it; it hasn’t polarised me. But it makes me worry.
Since Tim Cook took over, I haven’t doubted that he’s the person for the job or that Apple would continue being Apple. I found people’s claims of lack of innovation to be ridiculous–nothing more than trying to scare up some controversy for the sake of page views and drama. But this is the first thing that’s starting to chip away at my confidence.
I’ve seen so many quick mockups on Twitter in the past week that look so much better than what Apple is actually putting out. And that shouldn’t happen. Just add a little more depth, some better colour choices, some shadows, and it makes a huge difference. Why are some random people on the internet able to do this, when Apple apparently can’t? This is not supposed to happen. I don’t understand why it’s happening.
Yes, it’s a beta, but more than that, it’s also a huge marketing push–much more than it is a beta, considering most people hearing about this aren’t developers. Just go look at apple.com right now if you don’t think Apple is 100% committed to this design at this point.
In a word: it looks unfinished. It looks like not enough time was spent thinking this through, and looking at it every day. Maybe I’ll get used to it, and change my mind after I stare at it long enough. Maybe not.
My hope is that this isn’t anywhere near the final design, and that it will get a lot better before the final release this fall. My fear is that it won’t change much between now and then.
Automatic photo organisation
Yes. I need this.
Siri
From what they’ve shown, it seems barely improved at all. Not good. Siri is so far behind what Google provides. Apple isn’t taking this seriously. Very frustrating.
Game Center
No more green felt. I’ll take it.
Made-For-iOS Game Controllers
Barely mentioned, but I’m excited about this. It could totally change gaming on iOS and bring console-style games to the platform. A lot of games simply do not work without physical buttons, and I like to play those types of games. I’d love to play them on my iDevices.
And it’s only one logical step away from playing games directly on Apple TV: If you can play a game with a separate bluetooth controller on your iPhone, which is sending the picture (16:9) and sound to your Apple TV via AirPlay–why even involve the iPhone in this at all?
Of course, the App Store Games section is currently dominated by cheap, exploitative in-app-purchase junk. This precludes the type of games I’m hoping for just as much as the current lack of physical buttons. We’ll see, I guess.
iOS In The Car
I use my iPhone in the car. Can I use this car-optimised UI without buying a new car?
…Well, why the hell not?
iTunes Radio
Pandora’s algorithm is really good. Rdio and Spotify don’t come close. I’ll give this a try–why not?–I’m already paying for iTunes Match.
It has Song History, a feature Pandora has desperately needed since forever. Pandora doesn’t seem interested in improving their product lately.
iCloud Keychain
Could Apple really have just solved The Password Problem? It’s too early to say for sure, but… it seems like they might have.
Even if I somehow lose access to iCloud or the Keychain breaks in some way, as long as I still have access to my email (which isn’t iCloud, for me), I’m never more than a password reset away from access to most sites, so there seems to be no real risk, and everything to gain. Never having to think about passwords again… that’s quite the dream.
OS X McCain
I was expecting less than what we got, so I was happy.
I’m most excited about the improved dictation, which works offline and shows words as you speak them (doesn’t iOS need this, too?). I have Dragon Dictate, but I never use it because the UI is so horrible. The dictation built-in to Mountain Lion is pretty good and works everywhere, with the exception of these two issues.
I have never been comfortable using multiple monitors–on any operating system, and I’ve tried them all–but the new support for it in this looks good enough that I may actually give it another try.
The name certainly isn’t as fun as the cats. I don’t hate it; it just doesn’t really do anything for me.
iWork for the web
During the presentation, I kept waiting for them to acknowledge that the possibility exists that someone, somewhere, might actually want to work on a document IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. …It didn’t happen. Nope, we’ll all continue to be stuck emailing files back and forth forever, apparently!
It seems like such a frustratingly obvious step away from being a viable Google Docs competitor.
But after thinking about it for a few minutes, what it’s really designed to compete with is Microsoft Office. Yes, iWork for iOS reads Office formats, but nobody really wants to switch back and forth between it and Office all day. iWork for the web is for people who own a Windows PC and an iPhone, but no Mac. These people might only be willing to buy iWork on iOS if they can also use it on their computer. Smart.
Did you happen to notice that the long-rumoured Office for iPhone was suddenly released mere days after this announcement, on a Friday? Huh.
Craig Federighi
This guy was awesome. I would call him equal to Steve Jobs in presenting ability. Just thought that bore mentioning.
Designed by Apple Ad Campaign
I was hoping this would just be a one-off video for the keynote, but it appears not. They’re really going to be pushing this hard. I don’t like it.
I always thought of ‘Designed by Apple in California’ as a nuance, a finishing touch, a small delight for you to find, hidden away where you least expected it; in the same way as the not-quite-circular rounded corners, or the feel of the metal and glass against your fingertips, or the solidity, balance and perfect distribution of weight, or any other of a thousand tiny details that most people would never notice but were just waiting there for you to discover over the time you spend with the product. In a word, it was: subtle.
An ad campaign–any ad campaign, no matter how tastefully executed–is not.