Apple WWDC Keynote: New iPhone and MacBook Pros plus Snow Leopard Release Date

July 11, 2009 · Posted in Apple

As seems to happen with big Apple events, I found myself cut off from the digital world on a familial excursion (exploring the Portand, OR zoo with my toddler and his Grandmother) while the WWDC keynote played out. (At least I wasn’t on a secluded island as I was when the original iPhone launched.) I’m playing catch-up after getting my over-exhausted child off to a nap, and it’s looking like the goods delivered by Phil Schiller and company at the keynote were hardly humdrum. True, there was no Steve Jobs emerging from frozen carbonite as a “one more thing…” (in fact, no sighting of the man at all, as was pretty much promised) and no front-facing camera on the new iPhone hardware as had been making the rounds in supposed “leaks” over the weekend. But this was far from the underwhelming keynote that some stock analysts had been predicting.

iPhone 3GS
As highlighted in its introductory ad for the iPhone 3GS, the case hasn’t changed, and thusly it’s all about what’s under the hood. First off, John Gruber’s prognostication over the weekend that the new iPhone would be dubbed the iPhone 3GS was spot on, and now we know what the S is for: speed. Apple is being coy about exactly what processor is powering the new model, but Apple claims its performance is up to twice as fast as the iPhone 3G and it’s compatible with AT&T’s faster 3G network (7.2 Mbps HSDPA), which will start rolling out at the end of the year.

The iPhone 3G lives on, however, and it will sell for $99 with 8 GB of storage for bargain hunters. While that model is still pretty sweet, you’ll miss out on the increased speeds as well as some new features found in the iPhone 3GS (Gizmodo and Engadget provide some a handy comparison tables), including:

3-megapixel autofocus camera (up from 2 MP) with video recording (up to 640 x 480 pixels at 30 fps)
Digital compass that automatically orients any map to the direction you are facing
Voice commands for dialing as well as controlling music playback
Built-in hardware encryption
3D graphics support for improved gaming
Improved battery life (though the rating for talk time on 3G networks hasn’t changed, there’s a slight boost for using on 2G networks as well as audio playback and data usage via Wi-Fi)

The iPhone 3GS comes in either black or white in two storage sizes–16 GB ($199) and 32 GB ($299)–and they’ll be released starting on June 19. I’ve been using a 4 GB original (OG) iPhone and I’m ready for an upgrade–the dial-up speed of EDGE has become more and more frustrating and I’m finally coming around to wanting real GPS. I think I’ll be going with the new 16 GB model.

iPhone 3.0 Software
The next version of the iPhone/iPod touch operating system gets released two days earlier on June 17, and it will incorporate MMS (i.e., picture messaging) and tethering (i.e., using your phone as a 3G modem for your laptop)… although they won’t be supported initially by AT&T. The Boy Genius Report believes that the former is due to some opt-out codes for MMS that were built in during iPhone 3.0 beta testing while the latter is due to AT&T not having their tethering plan ready (a $70 per month unlimited data plan is thought to be in the works). The other big reveal of iPhone 3.0 is the new Find My iPhone feature, which works in conjunction with a MobileMe subscription to map out where your iPhone is as well as play an alert sound (perfect for those with an iPhone-crazed toddler who likes to hide said iPhone under pillows). And if your iPhone is stolen, you can wipe its contents remotely.

Other features of the iPhone 3.0 update include copy and paste, Bluetooth stereo music streaming, better JavaScript performance in the Safari browser, download video (movies, TV shows) from the iTunes store, shake to shuffle music playback, and synchronization of notes (still missing is the ability to sync to-dos… sigh). It’s a free upgrade for current iPhone owners, but of course iPod touch owners get the shaft and have to pay $10 for the update.

MacBooks
Slightly surprising, but very welcome, was an update to the MacBook Pro family of laptops, which now brings the 13-inch unibody MacBook into the Pro family to join its new 15- and 17-inch siblings. And both the 13- and 15-inch models feature a new non-removable battery (like that of the unibody 17-inch model that was released in January), which is rated up to 7 hours of battery life and should last up to 5 years. The 15-inch model sheds the ExpressCard slot, while the 13-inch model gains a FireWire 800 port. Additionally, both the 17-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Airs dropped a bit in price with some performance enhancements.

The new lineup is as follows:

13-inch MacBook Pro (MB990LL/A): 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 160 GB hard drive, 2 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M shared graphics, 8x SuperDrive
13-inch MacBook Pro (MB991LL/A): 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 250 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M shared graphics, 8x SuperDrive
15-inch MacBook Pro (MC118LL/A): 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (3 MB L2 cache), 250 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M shared graphics, 8x SuperDrive
15-inch MacBook Pro (MB985LL/A): 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (3 MB L2 cache), 320 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, dual graphics processing with 9600M GT (256 MB GDDR3 discrete) and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 8x SuperDrive
15-inch MacBook Pro (MB986LL/A): 2.80 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (6 MB L2 cache), 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, dual graphics processing with 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3 discrete) and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 8x SuperDrive
17-inch MacBook Pro (MC226LL/A): 2.80 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor (6 MB L2 cache), 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM, dual graphics processing with 9600M GT (512 MB GDDR3 discrete) and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, 8x SuperDrive
MacBook Air (MC233LL/A): 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 120 GB hard disk drive, 2 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M shared graphics
MacBook Air (MC234LL/A): 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 128 GB solid-state drive, 2 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M shared graphics

My only question is, do I buy the middle 15-inch MacBook Pro or spend an extra $500 for more screen and better processing with the 17-inch? (Looks like I’m offering my own stimulus package to Apple with this and a new iPhone… and potentially a new iPhone for my wife, if I can convince her to ditch her 6-year-old Motorola clamshell phone.) If you’ve got any thoughts to help sway me to either side, leave them in the comments.

Snow Leopard
And finally, the release of the Mac OS X 10.6 operating system (aka, Snow Leopard) was firmed up with a release date of September 29 with a price tag of just $29 if upgrading from 10.5 Leopard (if upgrading from 10.4 Tiger, it’ll cost you $169 for a single license, but you also get the updated iLife ‘09 suite of applications). If you do happen to purchase one of the new MacBooks (which include the 10.5 Leopard operating system) before Snow Leopard is released, you’ll be able to request an upgrade package for just $10.