The iPhone 3.0 operating system is tantalizingly close to completion — but don’t plan on lining up at the Apple Store for a new phone just yet. That’s because it’s unlikely the OS will be ready for consumers to download by next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference, which Apple is hosting. And without the promised software, Apple is unlikely to release new phone hardware to go with it.
Based on conversations with developers and Apple’s past product launches, Wired.com expects Apple to announce the final iPhone 3.0 roadmap to developers at WWDC, and the software and next-gen handset will likely follow within three to four weeks, or by early July.
Although developers contacted by Wired.com agreed that many features of the iPhone 3.0 OS are almost fully-baked, Apple still has not distributed a crucial piece of the software to developers for beta testing: in-app commerce. The feature, demonstrated at Apple’s iPhone 3.0 SDK event in March, will create a new revenue stream for developers wishing to sell additional items and features (such as song titles, or even weapons in shooter games) within their iPhone applications. But the feature isn’t actually working yet, a major iPhone developer told Wired.com.
“They’re building the catalog system for selling within your app,” said the developer, who chose to remain anonymous because of Apple’s non-disclosure agreement. “Based on that fact they haven’t announced the final roadmap … we’re guessing end of June to early July is the soonest [iPhone 3.0] will become available.”
That would also suggest Apple’s next-generation iPhone will not be landing in stores next week, either, since the new handset will probably ship with the 3.0 operating system — similar to the way Apple announced the current iPhone 3G in June 2008 and officially released the iPhone 3G concurrently with the iPhone 2.0 software a month later. Therefore, at WWDC, Apple will most likely announce the release dates of the new handset and 3.0 OS, requiring consumers to wait a few weeks to get their hands on them.
Although Apple has shared plenty of details about its iPhone 3.0 software, the company has not made any official announcements about a hardware upgrade for the popular iPhone. However, evidence including screenshots, leaked photos and even a sentence in tech columnist Walt Mossberg’s review of the Palm Pre suggests a hardware upgrade is imminent. Mossberg’s review hints that the hardware upgrade may be revealed at WWDC next week.
There is a small possibility that Apple will release iPhone 3.0 at WWDC without in-app commerce capability and add that feature later. Some developers polled by Wired.com said they expected Apple to release the OS next week. Kai Yu has been developing his instant-messaging app BeeJive to work with iPhone 3.0’s new push-notification feature, and he strongly believes the OS will be ready for download by WWDC.
“3.0 is pretty stable at this point, so I would be surprised if it didn’t come out next week, especially since WWDC is becoming Apple’s big event, like Macworld of the past,” Yu said.
However, it would be uncharacteristic for Apple to release iPhone 3.0 until it’s been fully tested, and in-app downloads is a key addition. Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous, who develops Tap Tap Revenge, said he is doubtful Apple will release the OS next week.
“This is a big launch, and in the iPhone context typically [Apple has] given developers a final-stretch timeline of three or four weeks to prepare,” Decrem said.
The good news is, not much later. Apple did, after all, recently release iTunes 8.2, which includes compatibility with iPhone 3.0, indicating that the OS is close to completion.
WWDC kicks off Monday, and Wired.com will be reporting live from the event. Keep up with our WWDC coverage right here on Gadget Lab.
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Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
