Will we see any surprises at Macworld 2009?

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October 30, 2008
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9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 8:26am

lack of audio signal in Mini DisplaPort

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 8:28am

None of those options are very likely. New iMac, maybe? Snow Leopard preview?

Blobfish (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 11:14am

Those wouldn't be surprises.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 6:41pm

you're right, and "no surprises" should be an answer. the polls here always seem to lack the obvious negative choice, i've noticed.

joecartoon22 (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 8:38am

another iphone of course...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 8:52am

Too early for another iPhone. The 3G didn't get announced until WWDC in June, remember?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 8:53am

I'm hoping that the Verizon iPhone you guys mentioned awhile back will be included.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 1:49pm

they better announce a verizon iphone, im not gettin a christmas gift solely cuz of that rumor

just a Noob (not verified) | January 03, 2009 - 11:17pm

It's gonna happen sooner or later. I'd rather sooner...since a weird fact stands traditional mac users lean toward Verizon since they want the best in networks. (which is why they got a mac)!

2. Verizon knows this as well.

I.A.N. (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 9:21am

I think that the iPhone will get more efficient internals which would improve battery life and an external redesign that utilizes apple's new manufacturing process. This external redesign would basically combine the front bezel and the rear cover, I would imagine that to allow for better signal strength Apple would include a nice plastic antenna cover like that of the new iPod Touch. I anticipate a Q2/Q3 delivery date.

I hope that apple will update the MacBook Air's (and the 17" MBP's) screen surround and track pad to bring it fully in-line with the rest of the MacBook family. Apple will also refresh their cinema displays. Q1 delivery.

I think that Snow Leopard will be demoed and released at Macworld 09 to compliment the new Nvidia chips in the recently updated MacBooks (late 2008).

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 31, 2008 - 11:04am

redesign of the iphone using the unibody structure? it's extremely unlikely since iphone is a radio communications device. remember what apple got by putting anodised aluminium on the back of the 1st gen iphone? having to put an ugly plastic bit at the bottom and the signal reception being appalling. iphone probably will have its plastic back for as long as its product cycle, unless something revolutionary in science has been discovered that allows the signal to go through a sheet of aluminium, but so fat it's still "scientifically impossible". apple may be able to drill the holes that's small enough to prevent dirt and water molecules to go thorough by laser, and that technology already exists, but the diameter of the hole would be insignificant enough compared to the radio frequency gsm/3g/wimax/4g/5g, basically all telecom frequencies, that no diffraction would occur and signals won't have a chance to get through.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 9:24am

Everything but not the stupid iPhone please.

w00master (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 9:38am

Considering that the iPhone now accounts for (approx) 40% of Apple's revenues. You're gonna have to live with that fact. The iPhone is now the biggest arm of Apple.

As for the topic at hand? I think Apple will go in one of two routes:

1. Reveal something completely new (e.g. HDTV rumor? Tablet? Netbook?)

*or*

2. Nothing new except for firming up existing product lines and showcasing Snow Leopard.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 9:36am

the PA Semi Netbook surprise and iPad surprise should be merged.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 9:43am

no tablet macs...something will happen to apple tv. either they nix it or beef it up. iMacs are due for a refresh, and the 17" mb pro needs a family look.

karlito (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 9:58am

Too much invested in Apple TV to nix it. And it Rocks.

European content for the Apple TV (still no rentals over here) would be a definite. But not enough to announce on it's own.

Apple TV with Mac Mini - possibly with Blueray player.

JasonQG (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 10:07am

I'll go with Woz's prediction.

powers (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 12:13pm

Which was?

JasonQG (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 12:21pm

Some sort of Apple iWatch...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 10:28am

I see a few things.

1. New Mac Pros with 9800GTs, Top model with 2 8-core processors, hardware H.264 encoding-decoding, specialized hardware for off-loading audio and video tasks (and making clones neary impossible). Blu-Ray optional

2. A new 'keyboard' that is essentially a flat piece of glass. This glass will be similar to the iphone in that what you see changes based on the needs of the software. Normally a keyboard, but with a gesture area. The interface will be a set of faders in audio apps, a jog/shuttle in FCP, etc., etc.

3. A new app called Web Studio Pro. This will essentially be iweb on steroids. It will allow you to still create from a design-perspective, but will give you many more tools and flexibility.

9to5Mac Lurker (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 12:58pm

The MBP 17 part would be amazing...

crtaylor (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 10:41am

If we see anything out there that is really "i-popping", it will probably be blown out of proportion by all of the Mac media out there.

HOWEVER... (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 10:50am

Apple like to revisit their weakest products. Of all of them it must be Apple TV.
Steve Jobs keeps calling it a hobby. This is odd since he normally talks his products up relentlessly. So maybe this is misdirection.

I wonder what the real hold-up is with putting DVR in there?
I get the argument that Apple want you to buy their content, but I would guess that most Apple TV owners are the types that would already have a DVR box. So, i think there's no loss to include it and it makes Apple TV a compact way to get this feature. Add features to archive older content onto Time Capsule, and schedule recordings with your Mac or iPhone over the net.

true... (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 1:44pm

true the weakest is appletv. Putting a dvr makes no sense for apple, it's added service and licensing to do it. Plus they notice almost all cable companies offer a DVR box and a small price, no need to compete in there. Now adding more of the mini components in there to beef it up, true web browsing and all, just maybe, blu-ray. and you can compete against LG,samsung,xbox,tivo, and all those other devices that stream netflix and have the option of playing a disc.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 11:47am

*crosses fingers. PowerMac G6, PowerMac G6, PowerMac G6!!!

No, but all new MacPros is my guess.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 12:04pm

World peace

Steve Jobs (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 12:17pm

We will see a redesigned 17" macbook pro, a preview of snow leopard, possibly revamped cinema displays, and an apple tablet.

badburro (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 12:18pm

Macbook with FW800

Rolf Schewe (not verified) | October 30, 2008 - 1:07pm

Boy were those choices lame. And can I start by saying?

No. One. Cares. About. A. Mac. Tablet.

(Unless it was like a big iPhone for your home. But can't you already consider the iPhone a Mac Tablet? It does have OS X in it.)

Is that all anyone can come up with?

How about a 64 bit chipset for the MacBook line?

Full HD resolution in the MacBooks?

Digital tuners TV and Radio in the iPod/Phones.

Car navigation capability?

Wider screen iPhones?

Decent camera quality and camera on the front for video conferencing on the iPhone?

Page up/down on the iPhone?

Steal the digital compass idea from the Google phone. =P

Apple TV with Blu-Ray and Mini DisplayPort.

Multitouch trackpad on desktop keyboard and dump the mouse?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 31, 2008 - 7:43am

A multitouch trackpad for the desktop would be a cool little product!
This replacement for the mouse (an mousepads) with extra functionality would give the benefits of multitouch to all OS X-users!

Do it aluminium and glas, give it the heigth and depth of the keyboard and a reasonable price.

Heiko