Random Thoughts Before Apple WWDC 2025

I don’t have a typical article to share this year before the WWDC conference, but I do have many thoughts lingering in my head that I want to share with you. Here they are, in no particular order.

• I think it’s time for Tim Cook to step down. There are many reasons behind this thought. He is way too focused on everything except the products. He’s not a product guy but an operations guy. I don’t listen to him when he is presenting during a keynote. Those words aren’t his words. It's fake and redundant. I have so many grievances about Tim that it would merit its own article. Maybe later.
• This is a conference for developers and yet I feel Apple doesn’t really care about them or they care about the wrong things. They fake openness and attention. The one thing they pay attention to is their bottom line, which is money. I hope developers won’t feel too much abandoned after this year’s conference. They probably will because the hill is steep and Apple is not moving in the right direction to fix the many issues.
• Apple is sending the wrong message. I don’t care if Apple execs are not attending Gruber’s show. Past years shows were merely entertaining and a rewording of things we already knew. Gruber fails to ask the hard questions because if he does, Apple will push back. This year they did, probably because of his article about Apple Intelligence fiasco. So Apple is backing off. This add credence to my theory that The Talk Show is a show, not a real conversation. What is real is the message that Apple is sending: they are afraid to face the tough questions. Apple lacks confidence. They made a big mistake last year at the WWDC24 keynote and they don’t want to admit it.
• The rumour is that Apple will show us some visual unification between all of their platforms, and they will change the numbering scheme. Will it be enough to forget about the lingering problems Apple has on its plate? Certainly not. I view this redesign as one of the most significant undertakings by Apple since the introduction of iOS 7 in 2013. We will live with this for the next ten years. It better be good.
• If Apple is poised to unify the user interface of its operating systems, which one will lose the most of its unique personality? Which one will gain the most?
• On the AI front, Apple appears stagnant, stuck in its past successes. Even if you don’t use AI or trust AI or expect to use AI in the future, perception by the tech pundits is that Apple is losing, and at the speed things are going, it will be hard to fight back and make a place under the sun. It’s Apple, they have the money, they have the people, but they have principles that hinder their advances. Something has to give if we want to see Apple truly move forward. Meanwhile, I hope Apple will stay mum about its Apple Intelligence journey. Let them do their magic. I'm patient because I have alternatives like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Kagi. One question: Is Apple using Private Cloud Compute in any way, or was it tied to an unfinished Apple Intelligence feature?
• I don’t expect any hardware announcement. In fact, I don't want to see new hardware. Anyway, I’m not buying anything Apple this year, it’s a way for me to manifest my disdain for Apple’s support of the orange clown at the Office since January 20th.
• Is the perception of falling behind in the AI field so widespread among the general public, beyond just tech pundits? I don’t think so. That narrative belongs to the tech press and pundits. Personally, I’m not particularly concerned about Apple’s advancements in AI, but I do care that Image Playground is one of the worst designs Apple has created.
• I don’t have a wish list for iOS or iPadOS. These are mature and a commodity now. Anything more powerful than what they currently provide is intended for the Mac. I stopped complaining about Stage Manager. Apple will figure that one out eventually. I stopped using Shortcuts because of its multi-platform nature; it's not my thing and is utterly buggy, and I'm not good at using it. Eventually, Apple will integrate AI into the mix, and I’ll likely ask anything via a prompt. In a few years from now, I guess.
• With all these thoughts, I would summarize my interests in this year WWDC to be limited to: the UI redesign across platforms, how much they remove or add to each of them and developers reactions to what Apple won’t do or announce.

Anyhow, we will see soon enough if I’m being realistic or cynical, or both. I might update this article if other thoughts come to my mind before WWDC.