This week Apple introduced its "10-year plan for the future". If you do not remember that within a couple of hours of your presentation, held on Monday, the company announced something similar, do not worry. Many did not notice. Apple itself did not say it directly, but if we look more closely at the presentation itself and once again remember what it showed to us, then everything will become obvious.
Instead of another announcement of glittering new devices that "will be ready to change your life today", this time at the WWDC conference the company almost entirely devoted its attention to what will be expected at home in the next few years. Apple actually resorted to the "Trojan strategy", sowing seeds of new technologies in gadgets, but the gadgets that we use now. A new augmented reality platform, a set for developing virtual reality content, a smart HomePod column and even an iOS update for the iPad right now may not look revolutionary and to some extent even useful, but all of the above creates the ground for technologies that are betting on Apple is going to do already in the near future.
Let's take it all in order.
Augmented reality Ask any technology company about which product has the most chances to replace current smartphones, and almost all of them will say: portable electronics with integrated technology of augmented reality - technology that allows you to superimpose digital data on the surrounding real-world space.
Microsoft has a HoloLens headset. Google is actively developing and promoting its Project Tango platform for Android-devices, and before that, it was actively developing such projects as Google Glass. Facebook several months ago told of the great interest in the AR (Augmented Reality - augmented reality), and its head Mark Zuckerberg even said that AR-headsets in the near future will be able to replace most devices with screens that we use today. However, Apple, as it turned out, a different approach.
Instead of announcing new toys and talking about the fact that a pair of digital glasses will be the only gadget you'll need in the future, Apple decided to bet on something that we already know very well - on the iPhone and iPad, at the same time offering tools for developers, Which will create unique and high-quality AR-applications for these platforms. When the update in the form of iOS 11 will officially become available for tens of millions of Apple devices this fall, the company will immediately receive the world's largest database of users of the AR platform. And the most beautiful thing is that access to the new technology will be available on those devices that people are using now, rather than on futuristic glasses and headsets. Just imagine: Apple will get a lightning-fast advantage over competitors in the realm of augmented reality thanks to one regular software upgrade.
Of course, immediately it will not become a factor that radically changes the rules of the game and offers a truly unique user experience of the same level of Magic Leap. This whole idea with iPhone smartphones with the integrated function of augmented reality is most likely to be centered around new and cool games, as well as entertainment applications. Now in Pokemon Go Pikachu will become even more realistic, the LEGO designer can be assembled right behind the table in the cafeteria, and the rainbow vomit, painted in the Snapchat application filter, will become even brighter on your self-photo.
Of course, at first it may seem that all these are just toys and fun. But in that case, you simply underestimate Apple. Introducing augmented reality in the iPhone, Apple is thus looking far into the future and is aiming to assemble a developer base that is already very loyal to the platform that opens the possibility for them to sell their applications to a huge number of users. If (or when) Apple still decides to move to a new level of augmented reality and presents a pair of smart points or something else, by that time it will already be in a more advantageous position, compared to those companies that Moment try to entice developers to their platform.
A virtual reality.
Apple for a long time did not dare to enter the field of virtual reality, considering the whole HYIP that we could observe around this technology in recent years, somewhat premature. Apparently, the company from Cupertino, finally, matured and realized that it was time to offer people something new. And this new will be the tools that will appear in the update of macOS Sierra and will allow developers to use the virtual reality headset system to create 3D and VR content.
No, with the help of this step, Apple is not going to lure gamers and virtual reality enthusiasts to the Mac platform. The main idea is to provide a separate class of users with a set of tools needed to create the content of the future. Apple historically is considered a platform for digital artists, filmmakers and people of other creative professions. And adding support for virtual reality, as well as creating separate tools for its development, only once again proves that Apple cares about its main audience - the people of creative.
HomePod and background computerization HomPod is the direct competitor of Echo's smart column from Amazon and, perhaps, the biggest "Trojan horse" of Apple.
Even though Apple's main focus is on the musical capabilities of the "smart" column, the new gadget hides a lot of even more interesting features. HomePod allows you to re-discover the capabilities of the digital assistant Siri, which in the future can be used to manage your entire digital home and which can play a key role in the development of the concept of so-called background computerization, where all your devices will be combined and controlled by artificial intelligence.
HomePod is an attempt by Apple to make Siri a truly versatile digital assistant and take it far beyond the ordinary application that allows you to control your iPhone, helping you with your Mac, as well as controlling the headphones AirPods and Apple Watch. HomePod is Apple's direct desire to penetrate all other aspects of your life under the guise of a pretty Wi-Fi stereo speaker. Maybe Apple is now focusing its customers' attention around the musical possibilities of HomePod, but the device already has a number of similar features peculiar to the same Amazon Echo. It's about working with applications that are managed using Siri.
It is quite obvious why Apple is trying not to go into the details of the HomePod's AI functions. Positioning this device as a platform for a digital assistant, rather than a music player, would only cause a new wave of criticism to the company about the fact that it clearly lags behind in developing AI from the same Google and Amazon. The Siri digital assistant really has much less capabilities than similar applications from Google or Amazon, and Apple needs time to catch up with them. However, it is already clear that AI is one of the key areas of development for Apple, and HomePod's "smart" column will have to play a very important role in the development strategy of this direction.
IOS 11 for iPad.
The most interesting about the upcoming update iOS 11 is not so much with the iPhone, how many with the iPad. Apple has finally begun to improve its software in a way that will help turn the iPad into a full-fledged replacement for the laptop, as Apple has promised for many years. Firstly, there is a new file system, an application dock similar to the one in the Mac. Now you can drag content between applications, and the applications themselves are now opened in separate windows. The iPad is no longer felt by the giant iPhone and begins to feel more like a touchscreen MAS.
Work, however, still a lot more. The keyboard for the iPad Pro is still not as good as on conventional laptops, but now everything will depend on application developers who can take advantage of the new features of iOS 11 and give people another good reason for abandoning their laptops and making a choice In favor of the iPad. And the new 10.5-inch iPad will just have to warm up this desire, since a larger device will allow a more convenient and full-size keyboard.
Apple is slowly but surely moving towards its key goal - the creation of an ultra-thin and portable laptop replacement. And iOS 11 in this respect looks like a big step forward.
What's next?.
Many of the things described above may ultimately fail. Now in the industry in general there is a period when the ideas given out for innovation actually turn out to be very flat and monotonous, when the main features of new gadgets each year are for the most part ordinary cosmetic alterations. Now it is very difficult to say which idea can shoot and become mainstream, and which one, even without being born, to sink into oblivion. Only two years ago, everyone around said that "smart" watches will make a real revolution in the technology industry. And now what?
And now we seldom mention them even casually.
Yes, it seemed to many that the announcements of Apple on the last WWDC were not really impressive. The company seems to be trying to grab hold of everything at once and is afraid to take a big and bold step in one of these directions. However, it is important to understand one thing: Apple has already laid the vision of its future in its products. You just need to look closely, and you will realize that it is right in front of your eyes.