Did Apple Reach An Evolutionary Dead-end?

About this time of year the Royal Society, the august scientific organisation created by Charles Babbage amongst others, hosts a series of lectures for the BBC. Ostensibly the lectures are pitched at bright, inquisitive kids, but most normal adults will find the subject matter interesting and perhaps a little challenging. One series a few years ago introduced me to the concept of the evolutionary tree. The idea behind this is that as all species evolve, they effectively choose branches that my lead to further branches or they may find themselves at the end of a branch going nowhere. Which is why some species have rudimentary eyes that cannot improve, no matter how many mutations their DNA goes through. I found this difficult to accept initially as the whole evolutionary idea suggests that ultimately all species should evolve to a sentient state. At least that was my uninformed perspective before watching the lectures that year. Now that the BBC pretty much gives its content away to every citizen on the planet except for those of us in the UK where we have to pay a national tax for the privilege I should commend any of my overseas readers to try and catch the Royal Society Christmas Lectures on the BBC iPlayer. Don't worry, I'll pay.

I mention this because a few days ago I read that 200,000,000 copies of iOS 7 had been downloaded since its release. Make that 200,000,001 now. We downloaded the new version after realising that Apple were preventing crucial access to the annual 12 days of Christmas promotion that it runs at this time of year. Clearly if the 12 days are going to be held to ransom, there is little hope for other applications.

So the iOS was downloaded and the skeumorphisms apparently hated by Jony Ives were banished to the virtual waste paper basket. The iPad works much as before, but is a lot less interesting visually. And because it is being used on an iPad 2 there isn't much in the way of compensating features. I am aware that newer variations of Apple's incredibly expensive hardware does get some benefit from the new iOS, but that doesn't apply to items almost two years old, apparently.

It got me to thinking - did Apple find themselves at the wrong end of an evolutionary branch? Did they realise that they couldn't move the iOS forward unless they backtracked to the joint in the tree where they had committed to the previous direction? Of course iOS6 probably helped with the decision. Microsoft have taken the nuclear option of creating a radically and polarised interface with Windows 8 but Apple have tried to cling to the shadow of their previous iOS. Perhaps the idea is that once everyone has gotten over the disappointment of iOS 7 they can move forward and develop the next generation of iPad and iPhone functionality without the baggage of the previous incarnation.

If that is the case, can they make it quick? And could they make it work with the older devices they happily took our hard earned money for. Evolution should be a gradual process, hence we have small irrelevant parts of our bodies no longer needed, but still there. OK, sometimes they go rogue and hurt us, but I'm personally quite fond of my appendix - if I ever have to have it removed I'll press it flat and stick it in the back of one of my books. Critical these body parts may have been redundant for generations but haven't been thrown completely on the scrap-heap by evolution. We should be able to use older iPads and iPhones while they still work, not until Apple decide we should but a new one. Because the buying decision might not include Apple next time around.

In the meantime, while Apple decide on the next step of their evolution, consider catching the Royal Society Christmas Lectures - perhaps they're discussing technology this year.

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Apple Gears Up the Lawyers

It's been a while since Apple launched a new iOS.  That in itself shouldn't be a headline, after all, most of us want some kind of stability with our new operating systems,  Unfortunately Apple recently went through a period of updating the iOS practically every other day.  To be fair, some of the updates were better called downdates as they reversed to some degree the changes the previous update had made.

It isn't a period when Apple was covered in glory.  What they were marginally better at during this period was taking on who they regarded as the bad guys in court, principally Samsung although Apple showed they were relatively prepared to take on anyone who they thought had infringed their ideas.  Mind you, recent news from the US puts their legal team into dispute, with early models of iPhone now likely to be prevented from being sold due to alleged patent infringements against Samsung.  Such is the see-saw world in Apple towers.

But Apple have moved on, they've sacked a few, let a few others leave of their own accord, and put hardware guru, Sir Jony Ives, in charge of the new iOS.  Now Sir Jony is famous for his minimalist approach to design and it seems that a lot of the Apple iOS was jarring him, particularly the cutesy detailed touches that have crept in over the last few years - you know, the grain on the bookshelves, the curl of the page when you turn one on an eBook.

I guess these things look great first time off, but to some the novelty wears off.  To be fair to Sir Jony, the simplicity of his iPod designs still keeps people coming back to pay a premium year after year so perhaps he knows a thing or two.

Mind you, some commentators aren't that interested in the sugar coating, or to be more precise, whether it survives or not.  Some think the problems that Apple have to address are deeper than that.  Part of the problem for Apple is that while iOS and the devices that run on it were ground-breaking when they arrived, the rest of the world hasn't stood still.  OK, Apple clearly know this to be true because they've spent a lot of money attempting to sue major manufacturers for what they believe is theft of their intellectual property, and I guess in many of the cases they have a point.  But I'll let the courts decide that bit, partly because it saves me running foul of Apple's lawyers but mainly because it's more fun to watch.  Like Apple ever read this blog!

However Android has improved by leaps and bounds in the last year or so and the tablet world has started to look a lot less than something Apple owns.  Even Microsoft have joined in the fun with their Windows 8 and Surface products.  It's fair to say Apple are relying more and more on their reputation.  After the Apple Maps debacle that's a tricky proposition.

But apart from some cryptic leaks and some strong denials, which of course mean they're not denials, from Apple over the last six months, they've been very quiet.  And that's what happens when clever people concentrate.  The word is that Apple are about to reveal information about iOS 7 and they're very excited.  Nobody is shouting about what the changes will be but rumour has it that the lawyers are lining up their cases ahead of the data release.  Apple want to make sure they keep the product launch information under wraps until they are ready, then they'll go for it.

The longer they leave it, though, the more likely that information will leak, and that will lead to ambiguity in the courts afterwards.  So for that reason and the fact that Apple have come up for air I think the announcement about iOS 7 will come within the next two weeks.  iPad owners and lawyers must be rubbing their hands together.

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