[tweetmeme]The iPhone 4 has got almost everyone foaming at the mouth. Obviously, I haven’t used one, but I can imagine holding it my hand, staring blankly into its gorgeous display. I’ve watched that promo video more than 10 times already, the Stevenote was one of his best yet, and I’m surely going to get my hands on an iPhone 4 as soon as I can. But WWDC was not about the new iPhone, with its printed-paper like retina display, nor about the faster A4 chip, nor about the fact that the iPhone does full 720p HD video now. We’ll always get new features as technology Apple progresses. To me, WWDC was about what those announcements didn’t make the cut; those features that people cry out for but aren’t getting, features that Android evangelists hold up in high regard, that feel so obvious to you and me, that still aren’t present in Apple’s product lineup.

Let’s look back for a bit. The new iPhone 4 may be hallmark of mobile phone design in 2010, but there’s no doubt it still bases its roots firmly in the original iPhone. It is a testament to Apple’s design and vision, about how much the iPhone has not changed. It is still the same 3.5 inch screen, the same home button, and apart from the wallpaper and 3D Dock, the same user interface. Across every iteration, you didn’t have to learn something different. Most importantly, there is no a single feature in the iPhone, that was present before, that isn’t there now. Mobile Safari is practically the same as it was back in 2007, yet it offers the best mobile browsing experience. They are the same great features they were back then. Yet it’s almost unthinkable a proposition to use an iPhone with OS 1.0 on it [1. Chairman Gruber's "This is how Apple rolls" article for Macworld is all about Apple's iterative workings.]. With every feature addition, Apple has taken time to ensure that it’s the perfect way they can implement a feature—Copy&Paste and multi-tasking being two prime examples—which have a profound impact in the way they improve functionality.

The iPhone in its glass enclosure. Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid.

That’s how a software upgrades should be—meaningful, gradual, and not jarring changes from your daily workflow for the sake of demonstrating technology. So many people I know are terrified of software updates because they change things. That’s why most people stick with the software their computers ship with, and hate it when you, the super awesome geek, tries to ‘fix’ things. That’s why IE6 still has a significant market share. Now take a look at the other non-announcement at WWDC. Safari 5. You install it, and it’s hardly different from the previous one. There is no new skin, no fancy buttons, no splash screen. If you did happen to upgrade a Safari 4 user to the new version, they wouldn’t know you did so. Upon using it in the way you normally do, can you see the new Reader button, or the History tab alongside Top Sites, or the vastly improved address bar.

In the 48 hours that I’ve had Safari 5 installed, I’ve used the Reader mode at least 20 times already. It’s so easy, you don’t even have to think about it. Which is an important aspect of Apple design. People hate functions that dramatically alter the screen. Press the Reader button, and it’s instantly clear as to what it does. Unlike Readability, there is absolutely no friction. Moreover, it kills the evil multi-page articles, producing a single flow of text and images, just the way you would want to consume it. It’s literally going to change the way we browse the web, but more importantly, how websites present themselves. This is a usable feature, that makes absolute sense in today’s cluttered internet. It’s not a cool demonstration of technology that’s trying to play catch-up with the competition, it actually improves our daily browsing experience.

TechCrunch has an article on iPhone 4, from an Android user’s perspective [2. They did then go on to publish another article titled "iPhone 4 from an iPhone lover's perspective". I'm no one to judge.]. The author raves about the iPhone 4, but still concludes that Android is better. His argument is that the Android platform will get better. I’m not against Android. I think it’s a much better phone OS than something based on Symbian, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile, and if you think you want it, go out and get it. But people who bought the iPhone never bought it because of features XYZ; they bought it because of the experience (and sometimes for the flaunt value, I’ll admit). Android may be way up there in terms of features, but it has a lot of catching up to do, both in software and hardware usability, and I don’t see that happening any time soon. They will command a higher market share because it’s cheap, and it’s powerful and ‘open’, for geeks. That’s fine, because a world where everyone uses iPhones would be a boring world indeed. Besides, imagine what the iPhone would be like, if Apple had hastily—as Google does—implemented every software and hardware feature that came to mind. They’d probably end up with the HTC Evo. So why wait for Apple to introduce the Evo? Go out and buy it already! Just don’t try and force your crude droidian opinions on the obviously more refined and elegant platform that is the iOS.

iPhone 4 pic via Ars Infinite Loop

At every Apple event, people expect Apple to announce everything that anyone has ever thought would be a cool Apple product. It’s never going to happen. We would all liked Apple to announce new AppleTVs, Magic Trackpads, an updated (free) MobileMe, iTunes.com, new Mac Pros, OS 10.7, Steve Ballmer is actually a stooge for Apple, cloud syncing, Apple branded sanitary napkins, but it’s not going to happen overnight. And I’m okay with that. People say the Mac is dead. But I use my Mac every day! It’s the most powerful piece of technology I own, and does everything I need. The only reason Apple is able to overshadow the Mac with its iPhone announcements, is because the Mac is a matured platform that works just fine as it is. I like that they’re concentrating on improving the iOS platform. But what’s good today, won’t be good tomorrow. I have full faith that Apple will improve[3. Unlike uncle Walt Mosspuppet here who thinks the Mac is dead as in gone.] the Mac as a platform for professionals—trucks, as Jobs calls them. Which is why I’m happy to report that we’ve been seeing 10.7 in our visitor stats these past few days.

A few weeks before WWDC, Steve Jobs reassured the entire tech community via a single email; “You won’t be disappointed”, he said. Call me a fanboy, but I certainly wasn’t.