You know the drill by now. Predictions, rumours, and updated with results after the event itself.

New Apple TV

Yes.

There are a number of interesting questions about the device, though.

The most interesting thing to ponder is the design of the device and its controllers. My favourite prediction, unlikely though it seems, is the idea that it will be a touch sensor about the size of an iPod, with maybe one or two buttons on the side to turn it on and pair it with the TV. Other suggestions, such as a games-console—-esque controller or a wireless keyboard and mouse, seem unwieldy or just plain un-Apple-like to me.

The other talking point is the ‘TV’ itself. Will it be an actual TV, with an actual screen? Or, as the current Apple TV, a box that connects to such a picture-viewing device? If they’re hitting the rumoured $99 price, the former seems unlikely, but there’s no doubting that the TV’s available today are a pain in the ass. If you’re just going to stick to channel-hopping using the built-in tuner, you’re usually good—but hook up an external box (like an Apple TV) and you’re in a world of shit; a hell of selecting the right input using tiny buttons on a remote or the TV itself. Once you’re done using the box, getting it back into the channel-viewing mode again is a similar hell, barely made easier by the experience of turning on the box in the first place.

If Apple did a TV, there would be no hell of input selection. I picture a main menu with the usual ‘Music,’ ‘Movies,’ (etc., maybe ‘Applications’), followed by an item at the bottom called ‘Other.’ Choosing that, you see an Exposé-like selection of the available digital inputs, showing only the ones that are actually receiving a signal. Each shows a live preview of what is actually being sent to that input right now, and selecting one activates it with little zoom animation. Once you’ve finished with the external device, tell the Apple TV somehow using the remote and you’re back at the menu.

I really hope they do an actual TV some day, but I don’t think this is it. I think it’s more likely another hook-up box, about the size of the Mac Mini, which does the same as the old Apple TV but better, possibly with iOS.

What We Got

The same Apple TV as before, smaller and cheaper. Shame.

iTunes

Yes. As I see it, There are three possible future directions for iTunes.

The first is that we get an iTunes 10—a revised version of the same Carbon code-base from SoundJam MP circa 1999. It keeps evolving, adding more features, getting more bloated.

The second is an ‘iTunes X.’ Rewritten with Cocoa: faster, slimmer, less bloat, totally different app from the ground up. Still about managing a music library, probably with the same UI, but underneath a totally different experience.

The third is not mutually exclusive with the first two. iTunes will work more with the Internet: streaming music, sharing your tastes with your friends, using other services to communicate information about music you enjoy. Spotify is in a strong position here with its spotify:// URL’s, and how easy it is to create them from within Spotify itself. iTunes has the potential to catch up with this if it makes it easier to get an iTunes Preview link for music you’ve already downloaded.

My hope is that we get the second (iTunes X with Cocoa) and the third (streaming and sharing) together—that it becomes a slimmer app with better Internet capabilities. iTunes’ relation with the Internet in this regard hasn’t changed much since iTunes 4.0.1, when personal Internet music sharing was promptly taken away not a month after it introduced, but then abused by music thieves. Hell, you can still listen to the current iTunes ‘Internet Radio’ streams in iTunes 2.0 on MacOS 9.

What We Got

The same iTunes as before, with more unnecessary features. Shame.

iPod Touch

New one will have Retina display and camera. Not so sure about FaceTime—though I haven’t read the FT spec, it seems like it requires a phone number to operate and that means a SIM card, by which point why not just get an iPhone anyway.

What We Got

Retina display, two cameras. Impressive.

iPod Classic

Probably stays around unchanged (but possibly with a larger hard-drive) but is relegated to a secondary product, much like the current Apple TV—not even ‘above the fold’ on the Apple Online Store, but still available to buy.

The iPod Classic is not a mainstream product any more, but I think it’s vital for those people who do need them—who genuinely rely on their huge music libraries.

What We Got

All correct; nothing changed, still for sale.

iPod Shuffle

I love the current iPod Shuffle, unlike most people, and were it not for my iPhone ownership, I’d probably have one. But as I say, ‘most people’ do not like it, so I’m expecting a major revision of this—certainly not a total abandonment.

What We Got

All correct. Buttons are back.

iPod Nano

Revised, likely majorly, perhaps minorly. Touch-screen I’m-not-sure.

What We Got

Major revision.

7-Inch iPad

Fuck orff.

What We Got

Correct.

27-Inch Cinema Display Ship Date

They certainly won’t mention it in the keynote, but don’t be surprised if we do get one tomorrow.

What We Got

Not announced yet.