Michael Pino: Photography & Design

Apple Announcements: Low-ball your Expectations

I’m going to take a quick break from my photo/design centric posts to discuss some technology world things.

On 27 January 2010, Apple, Inc. is holding a press conference to announce their latest creation. Many people are speculating new iPhones or the announcement of an Apple tablet/slate/Kindle killer. If there is anything that I have learned from the past few years as an Apple fanboy – yes, I drank the Kool-aid – is that in preparation of the yearly Apple January Announcement is to low-ball the guessing.

I would rather go into an event such as the 27th’s with low expectations. But why? Why not? If Apple does not announce the end-all gadget that you want to buy three of as soon as it is announced, you and a few hundred thousand other people should prepare to be disappointed. As per Apple’s typical January/February press conference, there is a showing of the yearly iLife revision and a release date of said software package. Also during this announcement, Apple will show off its holiday sales numbers and how well iTunes and the iTunes store is doing compared to all of the other music/movie stores out there; also be prepared for some figures about thousands of apps in the App Store and how Steve Jobs loves to roll around in the money pit created from App Store sales. This can begin a segue into a new hardware announcement. When I say new hardware I mean that Apple can go one of two ways, a revision of current hardware (updated iPods or computers) or a new hardware line (the disappointing MacBook Air).

Does Apple announce brand new hardware lines during its new year announcement? Of course they do, as a matter of fact a January announcement brought the world news of the iPhone (though not delivered for another six months after its announcement). But other products have been introduced as well, ones that people were not expecting, nor even asked for. Once such product was the iPod Hi-Fi. What is the iPod Hi-Fi? Why it was a speaker/iPod dock. You know what else people were expecting at that announcement in 2006?  An Apple tablet (as well as other iPod related devices).

Or go back another year: 2005. During the Macworld keynote, Mr. Jobs introduces the Mac Mini. Which sold like pancakes, and continues to sell well today. In 2007, the populous gets the Macbook Air and people ask “Why?” There isn’t a real need for the Macbook Air. Cheaper netbooks doesn’t help one to swallow its current $1500 base price.

I don’t want to ruin anyone hope for an Apple tablet. I would probably love to have one once I know what function that it is going to serve. Will it compete with the oft fabled Courier from longtime competitor Microsoft? Who know if Ballmer will ever let Courier see the light of day. All that I am saying is that people should go into this announcement like they went into the first Transformers movive from Michael Bay, and keep their expectations low. If Apple does not announce the product that you want, then someone else might do so in the near future.