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June 17, 2013

Apple Strikes Back against Charges it Can't Innovate with iPhone, iTunes Announcements

By Tracey E. Schelmetic, TMCnet Contributor

If you’re waiting for Apple to utterly stun you with its upcoming iPhone (News - Alert) announcement, you may be a little let down, or pleasantly surprised, depending on your take on Apple. The company recently announced it plans for changes for its wildly popular iPhone. On the first day of its annual conference for developers, which was held on June 10, the company said it plans to offer a new iTunes Radio service to expand its widely used music app, and the new and upcoming iPhone will feature a revamped iOS7 with updated design elements and a simpler user interface.



The company would appear to be striking back against charges that it can no longer innovate. To be sure, its stock, which reached a high of over $700 last summer but has fallen to less than $450 currently, is evidence that the company needs to reassure investors and customers that it’s the company it once was. Apple's (News - Alert) senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, was fairly blunt on the topic during his speech at the World Wide Developer Conference in San Francisco.

“Can’t innovate, my ass,” said Schiller, to the laughter of the audience.

Apple demonstrated the new “look” of the iOS7 iPhone, which features more colorful and easier-to-read icons and an edge-to-edge screen design. The phone will offer a new swipe-left gesture allowing users to move more easily between applications. A double-tap of the home button displays cards of all the apps currently running. There is a new Control Center that will allow users adjust settings or play music.

As for music, the new iTunes radio service will be free to users if they’re willing to watch a few ads, while subscribers who don’t wish to watch ads can pay $25 a year to avoid them.

Users will also have a new voice option for Siri, if they so desire changing it. Siri, the voice-activated personal digital assistant, will now be available in its usual female voice and a new male voice. Siri will also be integrated with Microsoft's (News - Alert) search engine Bing, and Apple says it has made design updates to the interface of the Safari browser.

“It is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone," Apple execs said to a standing ovation from a crowd of Apple (News - Alert) fans and developers, reported CNN. We’ll see if stockholders agree. The new iPhone is expected to become available next month.




Edited by Alisen Downey
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