Analyst: iTunes.com, Mac Pro and MacBook Air Updates Slated for WWDC

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With the cover blown on a next-generation iPhone, how might we expect Apple to surprise Mac fans at the upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco? One analyst suggests the Cupertino, Calif. company may use the platform to introduce a cloud-based version of iTunes, as well as updates for the Mac Pro and MacBook Air.

“Other announcements we are picking up that could potentially be made are iTunes.com, a web-based version of [Apple’s] iTunes client, and new Mac refreshes with faster processors and graphics, namely the Mac Pro and MacBook Air,” Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors Friday. The Mac Pro and MacBook Air were last updated in March and June 2009.


That is intriguing, as far as it goes. But there are some nagging details. Apple has made a point that WWDC 2010 will focus on the iPhone and iPad. Indeed, the Mac was omitted from the Apple design awards.

Although talk of creating a cloud-based version of iTunes has existed for some time, it may be premature to expect any announcement during the conference, starting June 7. Apple has been in talks with publishers about its planned iTunes.com service, but such discussions are in their early stages. “So if you’re expecting to hear about an ‘iTunes.com’ offering in the near future — like during Apple’s June 7 developer conference — you’re likely to be disappointed,” All Things Digital reported in April.

What is certain is that Apple will have a packed house and CEO Steve Jobs wouldn’t appear at this year’s WWDC if he didn’t have some rabbit to pull out of his iconic jeans-pocket.

[via ATD, 9to5Mac]

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