It was rumored by several mainstream media outlets that Facebook would be making an appearance at Apple’s iPhone event today to unveil integration with iOS 5.
That obviously didn’t happen. Why? It appears that Apple pulled Facebook from the presentation at the last minute.
“We’ve heard from a source that sometime late last night, Facebook was told that they would not be a part of Apple’s event today. This is nothing new. Companies are told to prepare to go on stage at these events all the time, only to get pulled at the last second. It’s just odd that a company as large as Facebook was passed over.”
TechCrunch originally reported that Facebook would make an appearance today. Apple had allegedly partnered with the social giant on an iPad app.
Because Apple gave Facebook the boot today, Zuckerberg and co. are set to hold another event for Facebook “very soon.” The HTML5-based “Project Spartan” web app platform and Facebook for iPad are reportedly “ready to go.”
The real question is this: Why did Apple pull Facebook from today’s event? Logistics? Unforeseen conflicts? Let us know what your hunch is in the comments below.
Alex Heath is a journalist who works for Tech Insider. He’s the former co-host of The CultCast. He has been quoted by the likes of the BBC, KRON 4 News, and books like “ICONIC: A Photographic Tribute to Apple Innovation.” He lives in Lexington, Kentucky. If you want to pitch a story, share a tip, or just get in touch, additional contact information is available on his personal site. Follow him on Twitter.
35 responses to “Why Was Facebook a No-Show at Today’s iPhone Event?”
Why let Facebook take Tim Cook’s thunder? I doubt they were even asked, to be honest
iTunes Ping problem mabye
It was a deliberate sucker punch :)
New CEO …..new way to deal with things! …… 8)
Because Facebook announcements would be more interesting and exciting that Apple’s iPhone 4S. The only cool thing about it was Siri! Sucks that they don’t have that on the iPhone 4 :(
If Apple announced it, it would be lame if they did not follow through and actually deliver. Â And since the delivering part is only in Facebook’s hands, Apple would not want to promise something they do not have control over.
This was the whole reason I followed this and was anticipating this event, only to find out that the facebook iPad app didn’t get released. This would’ve helped the Phone4s but instead, we got the event today that turned out to be a flaming disaster!
I wish my iPhone 4 had Siri…then again..if processor is the one thing stopping them…maybe the iPad 2 will support siri? That’d be good enough to keep me happy until my 2year contract expires mid-2012 :)
I guess in the end Apple probably felt that they needed to draw attention to the fact that without Steve, they’re a strong team. Perhaps they felt that having partners on stage would dilute that. I’d like to see Apple partner up a lot more, though.
There’s no real proof they were ever going to be a part of the presentation. Maybe the truth is that the rumors were wrong.Â
Or maybe Facebook was one of several companies that was perhaps going to have 30 seconds to talk and all of them were nixed because of time constraints. They kept Epic because they wanted to herald the whole graphics thing with the magical A5 and that was the best app to do it
Hmm…could be due to the fact that Twitter’s CEO was going to attend the unveiling…
Because Steve Jobs is still breathing.
Haha, Facebook is a joke! Their iPad app is finished yet they won’t release it, they’ve officially jumped the shark by not releasing this! http://i56.tinypic.com/qzesll…. #ReleaseTheApp
i need (want) that iPad Facebook app c’mon mark! Â maybe we DO need andy samberg to take over as CEO
I don’t just want a FaceBook app, I want facebook integration, but whatever…..just think telling Siri “update facebook status: I love my new iPhone – exclamation point”and then have it be sent away……. man, that’d really sell the 4S, huh? Damn, Apple, just damn……
Because todays event was all about the iPahone – not the iPad. And the fact that Timeline has yet to be officially released played a part for Facebook backing out. Yes i do think Facebook may have backed out.
Sorry, that wasn’t a joke. That’s iPhone not iPahone hehe
Facebook on iPad -either with a upgraded web page or an App- definitely needs more, its getting old with the current climate of change in user interface experiences