We now know there will be a true iPhone SDK available in February 2008. Of course, this means the details will be announced (and maybe a preview of some sort) at MacWorld 2008 during Steve’s Keynote (Jan 14, 2008?).
Today’s announcement provided a few clues as to what to expect. Most importantly we learned that these will be installable applications, not web applications. The whole “web-apps are good enough” thing bought them some time, but that was never going to last.
Apple is worried about security, and having the most powerful and most popular smart phone on the planet will make the iPhone a huge target. iPhone applications will be authenticated somehow. This means that to publish iPhone applications you will most certainly need to be a member of the Apple Developer Connection. This actually reminds me of the whole MCSE religion program.
Now, for the real speculation…
There will most definitely be more Multi-touch devices from Apple. There will be some sort of subcompact laptop / tablet released within the next 12 months. My bet is that we will hear about it at MWSF. I am convinced that there is no way Apple would release such a device without a mobile broadband card in it, but the rumors I have heard before didn’t mention it. There is just no way that they are developing Multi-touch, and an SDK without making it available to more devices. Think of the Apple TV and how the same stuff is integrated into all Macs now, think of CoverFlow and how it is integrated into Finder now (or when Leopard comes out next week). There will be more devices.
So, if you want to develop Multi-touch applications for the iPhone and more, you might want to ask Santa for an ADC membership.
P.S. Steve, your announcements need permalinks. What, are you blogging with iWeb?
