Gray iTunes 10

Looks like Apple UI team wants the user to focus on new content more than ever. Apple made all elements that are less important in gray theme thus making the user look at the content rather than controls and buttons around it. It might be a good change from user experience point of view, but did the setting buttons had to be gray too?

 New iTunes UI focuses on the main panel of content. Here, it is iTunes Store

Even the settings are in gray theme.

Original iTunes UI only focused on what user already had.

It also appears that iTunes is morphing into a touch-friendly interface. This is the earliest hint, I think. Just like the new iPhoto '11, iTunes gained something from iPad user interface. And it makes a lot of sense if you read my post about "Future of iOS."

iTunes on iPad volumeiTunes 10 Volume

Future of Apple's iOS (Part 2)

In the first part of this blog post I've talked about how apple's future of iOS might unfold. In the second part I will cover few details about the future of Apple's hardware and some of their existing plans.

It is silly trying to predict something 10, 20 or 30 years into the future, but looking at the past and knowing the current possibilities one can clearly see few different paths for future of computing. Apple is always patenting different ideas and technologies. And thank to those documents which are made available to US public it is easy to see what Apple is thinking about. Back way before iPhone in 2005, Apple already had plans for tablet computer. Of course there were numerous other patents that might have been never granted or just didn't work out for the company, but those patents are still in the archives of US Patent Office. The point I am trying to make is that Apple thinks of an idea before they know if it's even possible. They might not know what kind of technology will be inside the product, but they know what they want that product to do. And most of the time Apple wins these patents. One of the craziest one is the shape shifting device interface with screen raising buttons and control elements.

One of the clear future features that computers will have is the infinite amount of brain power that runs somewhere far away. It is what's called "cloud computing," where things are not happening on your computer but somewhere else, yet giving you a feeling that it's all done right in front of you. If the whole world was wired with WIFI and there was a solution for infinite amount of electricity in the smallest package possible, all of mobile device would be is just a touch-screen with a wifi chip. Things would just stream from far away and half of the current hardware would not be needed anymore. But unfortunately things might not run this way at soon enough. A lot of things might have to get adjusted to the "cloud." Different companies, different devices, and the competition to the market share has always slowed down the rate of technology.

That's why before technology can really be wired to the world and integrate, it needs to have a little bit more of intelligence, where it will sense and know of its surroundings. For example future iMac might fully switch to a touch mode if an iPad or something similar is docket to it. This can enable both iMac and iPad to become one machine where both would gain capabilities and power. This idea was first mentioned in a patent back in 2008, a year after iPhone debuted. With future iOS, iPad can stream full user interface along with all the user's content to a different, bigger screen. This is where Apple TV and iPad can also become one computer as well. Internet will drive the 21st century and will become something as ordinary as a fork. It already does great things for developing economies, just think what it will do in the coming years.

Next generation of WIFI chips will be so powerful and small that that will be no need for Bluetooth or any other short distance radio chips. Since most of the computers and mobile devices will already have the WIFI chips it will be much easier to wire large amount of land with WIFI (if not the whole planet). Cities will have long range radio WIFIs where there will be no need to find a local coffee shop public library. Information will be available at every corner straight from one WIFI device to another.

The most obvious thing I would mention is there will be no more mouse or keyboard in the future. It is something that will take few generations to adjust to, for example generation that was born in 2000's will have no problem of forgetting what a computer mouse is. Generation from 1980's might. But that's only 20 years difference, which makes me think that in 20+ years computer system will start to think of a next way of user interface control. Body movements, eye tracking and more complex artificial intelligence integration into everyday mobile devices.
Apple already started in this direction. Future iMac will gain a lot of touch control, and it will transform into a tablet like device that will stay at the house. This is still years of development and it's fine because general public is not yet ready for true multi-touch iMac at the moment. And right at that time the iMac will be just as powerful as a modern Mac Pro and just as compact as modern Mac Mini. There would be no need for both of these Macs, and I wouldn't be surprised if they slowly die out.

So to complete this two part post, I will outline it this way:

• iOS is the future operating system for all Apple devices
• by 2020 expect all devices to be touch controlled
• future technology will take a full advantage of the internet and the "cloud"
• all of Apple's devices will integrate, even closer, together

Future of Apple's iOS (Part 1)

With the announcement of the next major release of Mac operating system, many have been wondering: "why not touch screens," "why not gesture-reading programs and minimalistic user interfaces?" Well, it is all coming...one day. But following apple for more than 10 years now, I think, I can try to predict my own version of its future. And it's not what everybody think.

Everybody wants everything right now. Everything at once. And quite frankly, people don't know what they want. Most listen to others to what they "should" want and unfortunately, there are limits to technology, bandwidth and amount of features one can handle at once.

I think Apple is one of those companies that truly thinks about the future and what their goals should be. Most other computer and mobile companies are thinking of what's important "now," and most of the time the "now" looses its meaning in the "future." Apple makes sure that all of its efforts will connect to something in the future. One of the most important links in apple's family is their content on iTunes.

Apple understood that there's really no easy way to get music, videos, games and applications into the Mac, unless there was a central hub for it. They also understood that people don't just buy a simple computer, mp3 player and a game console, they buy products for what kind of content is available to them. Aplpe's iTunes connects every Apple product together. Without, that product looses its meaning. Some people have an extreme opinion on this subject and often call Apple an evil empire just because of this. I, honestly, don't think there's anything wrong with it. What Apple has done so well though out the years is getting the entertainment so easy to get. And this content is what people truly care about. People come home from work to do fun things and not think about work again. What's happening and will happen in the years to come is the content will follow you wherever you are. You don't have to get home to work on the photo album or vacation video. And just like iTunes connects every Apple product, iOS will connect all people's activities together.

For years people dreamed of iWatch, iPicture Frame, iCamera etc. Well Apple already has all these products. New iPod Nano can be worn as a watch now, new iPad has a mode of a digital picture frame. Apple's solution to these products is in their iOS. iOS has single thing that can make the creation of such products a much simpler task: multi-touch controls. In the coming years iOS will need to work on iPad, iPhone and Apple TV much closer, where it can simply know what product it's running on and adapt to it. For example, if there's no touch surface available it can be controlled by external track pad or remote or if there is a limited amount of processing power it can control the rendering speed of games so the device doesn't overheat or run sluggish.

It is much easier to create a single operating system that can run on all different kind of products and adapt to the size factor of the screen. It is also easier to manufacture one product that can function as 10 other desired products. If you have an Apple TV you have much more control with the multi-touch screen of an iPad or an iPhone. They bring gesture control to Apple TV. That's why iOS is the smart solution for Apple's future. One operating system that can adapt to what hardware it is running on, thus bringing multi-touch control to all future products.

Far future or Apple product consists of single iOS system with touch interface. This makes using all products that run on iOS much easier. All will have same gestures, all will have similar user interface that any one can pick up on. If you used iPhone in the past, you can start using iMac and iPad with no problem. Far future also does not have an iPod. There will be a solution that will allow people to buy iPhone and use it just as a music player or just as a game console controller. Things will change to the point where iPod is not needed anymore and will be a product of the past. And in order to be even more flexible Apple needs a single iOS device that can become any other iDevice before it. That's why in 25+ years, there has to be a revolutionary product that in another 25+ years will outgrow Mac, iPhone and iPad ecosystem. This iProduct can become part of your home, your car and your work environment. That's where iCar and Apple House will become a reality. Future iProduct will have the control and ability to connect everything to iOS.

(continue to part 2)