Real Kato Blog: Apple Watch: WWDC Rumors

The rumor mill is heating up in advance of Apple's world-wide developer conference in August.

So Think Secret came out with a few "insider" details today on Apple's announcements at the WWDC on August 7th.

The first rumor is that Apple will make movie rentals available from the iTunes store. There's no word on what the quality of the movies will be, how long they would take to download, or what device these things might play on. (I'm still holding out hope for a living room device that allows video streaming from a computer.) But the word is that rentals, not purchases, will be the business model. I think that makes sense: unlike with music, most movies are something you only watch once. If it's something you really like, you'd probably buy the DVD instead of downloading it.

The second rumor is that Apple will indeed announce updated iPod nanos. (Or is that iPods nano?) Some tech analysts had predicted a delay in new nanos coming out, based largely on financial projections from component suppliers like Samsung. Oh, there's also talk of a new iPod video with a larger touch screen... but it's hard to say whether that's based on previous rumors that turned out to be false.

A third widely circulated rumor, at sites like Apple Insider, is that Apple will announce Intel-based pro-level desktops to replace the PowerMac G5 and complete the PPC-to-Intel transition.

These things are certainly possible, though I suspect one of the first two announcements might not make the cut. The WWDC is a Mac-oriented conference, and a software-oriented conference at that... so it's much more likely that Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" will dominate the scene. One surprise announcement is possible, and maybe two, but three? I kinda doubt it.

Permalink