14 DAY TRIAL // Two of Apple’s biggest product launches in 2013 could share the same stage, if recent rumors are to be taken into consideration. Sources in Asia say Apple is already gearing up to make the next iPhone for mid-2013 launch, and the next Mac OS update is also pretty much a given.
Around the time Apple shipped OS X 10.7 Lion, the Mac maker confirmed plans to speed up development to commence an annual upgrade cycle for Mac OS aficionados.
Delivering on its promise, the Cupertino giant shipped OS X Mountain Lion (version 10.8) one year later. If the pattern holds, OS X 10.9 – rumored as “Lynx” – should come out in June, or July the latest.
Also for WWDC 2013 analysts are now expecting a new iPhone. Although Apple has shifted this update cycle to fall, sources speaking to the company’s suppliers in Asia say we should expect an incremental iPhone 5S next summer.
In other words, both products might share the same stage as Tim Cook & Co. take turns to demo their cool features in front of journalism’s finest.
We know next to nothing about the iPhone 5S, or even if it will be dubbed like that (or if it's real, for that matter).
The same goes for OS X 10.9, which only seems to poke its head out from time to time in webserver log entries. Nonetheless, the evidence is there that Apple is working on both.
However, according to a sketchy rumor emerging this past weekend, the next Mac OS will feature a Maps implementation and Siri, the voice-powered assistant originally introduced by Apple in the iPhone 4S.
With Apple continuously attempting to unify its mobile and desktop OSes, it shouldn’t be too difficult to imagine this becoming a reality. But we’re holding off any speculation until more reliable whispers are heard.