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Apple wants to prove that it has not lost the ability to innovate in a post-Steve Jobs world.
The company on Monday introduced a major redesign of iOS, its mobile software system, as well as upgrades for some of its Mac computers. It also unveiled a new online music service for its music player, iTunes. The company, under intense pressure from investors, introduced the new software and Macs on the first day of its annual conference for software developers.
Its stock has fallen to about $450 after peaking at about $700 in September. Some investors worry the company's growth is slowing as it has lost its way after the death of Jobs, its visionary leader. Apple's vexation showed at the conference. After unveiling a major upgrade for a Mac computer, Phil Schiller, the company's vice-president for global marketing, offered a sarcastic response to those who have suggested that Apple could no longer innovate.
Charles Golvin, a technology analyst at Forrester Research, said Schiller's remarks indicated that "they have a chip on their shoulder." But Golvin said that Apple was adding improvements to battery life and other enhancements to software that people would actually find useful. "What customers are getting here is tremendous innovation under the cover," he said.
Timothy D Cook, Apple's chief executive, called Apple's new mobile operating system, iOS 7, the "biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone."
The new mobile software system is the first made under the company's lead hardware designer, Jony Ive. He was put in charge of software interface design after the company fired Scott Forstall, the former head of mobile software development, during a flurry of negative news reports surrounding Apple's new mapping software.
The design in iOS 7 introduces thin typography, similar to Microsoft's Windows Phone software, and a new color palette. The keyboard looks simple, with gray letters on flat, white backgrounds. Apple also removed textures that made some apps mimic real-life objects. The Calendar app has shed its faux leather; the Game Center app no longer has green felt; and the shelves in the iBookstore app are no longer wood-grained. And the home screen has an effect called parallax to make the app icons look as if they are popping out in 3-D.
"We have always thought of design of being so much more than the way something looks," Ive said in a video demonstrating the operating system. "It's the whole thing, the way something actually works on so many different levels."
A new iOS feature, called Activation Lock, disables the iPhone even if a thief has turned it off or erased the data on the phone. Some police officers have called for a feature like this - a "remote kill switch" that renders the stolen phone useless and difficult to sell in the black market. The phone can be reactivated only after the user logs into it with the right Apple ID and password."We think this is going to be a great theft deterrent," said Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president for software engineering.
In iOS 7, Apple also made improvements to Siri, the voice-controlled assistant of the iPhone, which has been ridiculed for its spottiness and ineptitude. The feature has new male and female voices that sound more realistic, and it responds to more commands, like "Play my last voice mail" or "Increase my screen brightness." In 2014, iOS and Siri will be integrated into cars made by a dozen manufacturers, including Nissan, Kia, Honda and Toyota, said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president for Internet software and services.
Apple said iOS 7 would arrive in the fall. It will be a free update for iPhone and iPad owners.
The iPhone is driving Apple's business, but the company is not lifting the gas pedal on its Macs. The company unveiled a major upgrade for the Mac Pro, its desktop computer for professionals, which it said would be assembled in the United States. The computer, scheduled for release this year, looks like a metal cylinder - a big change from the original rectangular tower. This was the first big upgrade for the desktop in three years.
It also unveiled new MacBook Airs, which it said would have enough battery life to last all day. The 11-inch version has nine hours of battery life and the 13-inch version has 12 hours, according to Schiller.
Both versions start shipping immediately.
"You can watch the entire trilogy of 'Lord of the Rings,' " on a single charge, Schiller said.
Apple also previewed its next Mac operating system, called OS X Mavericks. (The name is the first in a new theme, California, for Apple's operating systems, after years of naming them for big cats. Mavericks is a reference to a major surf spot in California.) The new system includes some minor improvements, like the ability to tag documents to find them more easily. An urgent document can be tagged "Important," for example, and can be quickly found in the operating system's navigation window in a section labeled Important.
The hardware and software upgrades come at a crucial moment for in the competitive mobile market. One of Apple's chief rivals, Samsung Electronics, has released several compelling smartphones and tablets over the last two years. And Google has gradually bulked up the Android software that runs on Samsung's phones with powerful Internet services.
But Apple is, by some measures, still leading the mobile industry. The iPhone 5 is the best-selling smartphone in the world. Samsung Electronics sells the most phones over all because it sells multiple smartphones at different sizes and prices, whereas Apple has released one new iPhone a year.
©2013 The New York Times News Service
