WWDC 2013: Why Apple Won't Live Stream The Keynote, Or Most Of Its Other Events For That Matter

Update -- 9:08 a.m. Apple posted a press release at 8:30 a.m. EDT stating various options to live stream today's keynote from WWDC 2013. We have full details for all of Apple's live stream options listed on a new page. We apologize for this bogus earlier report, which was written before Apple posted these various live stream options, and we thank you for your patience.

Update -- 7:03 a.m. Apple has just restored its Apple Events channel on the Apple TV, which now reads WWDC 2013. Apple TV users can click on this channel and live stream the Apple keynote for free, starting at 10 a.m. PDT, and they can also watch keynotes and sessions from past WWDC events. Despite this single-viewing option, however, Apple hasn't yet confirmed that it will live stream the keynote through its website. We will update you as soon as we learn more.

This might seem like just another Monday to most people, but for some Apple fans, it's Christmas. All eyes are on San Francisco as we rapidly approach the 10 a.m. PDT starting time for Apple's WWDC 2013 keynote, which should unveil, among other things, new software for iOS and Mac OS X, as well as some potentially exciting hardware announcements surrounding the Mac, as well as the company's long-awaited, music-streaming service iRadio. That said, if you're looking for a live stream from the Moscone West Convention Center, you might as well stop looking now.

Apple doesn't typically live stream its events -- save for October's iPad mini event, which was a company first -- and doesn't allow outsiders to live stream their events for them. Fans can certainly follow live blogs from today's WWDC event, as hundreds of media members will be tweeting and blogging new information and photos as soon as they're released from Apple, but that's the closest you're going to get to live WWDC coverage. Live streaming major events like this isn't really Apple's style.

But why not? Why wouldn't Apple want to live stream WWDC 2013? Apple doesn't need the money, of course, but an event of this magnitude could rake in plenty of extra traffic dollars if Apple hosted a live video stream directly on its Apple.com website. In this case, however, Apple clearly cares more about looks than it does money.

Apple's late founder Steve Jobs always sought to control every end of the Apple experience, from product conception, to design, to manufacturing, to delivery, to marketing, and even the packaging of each product. He also cared deeply about how programs and applications looked and worked on the inside and outside. He was an unapologetic perfectionist, but it was his ability to market and drum up hype for his "insanely great" products made him the ultimate salesman.

Jobs' ability to create hype was no more evident than at Apple's product launches, where his penchant for surprises and flair for the dramatic truly came out. Jobs loved showing energy for his company and passion for his products, but the presentations were always highly controlled and planned out, and Jobs would famously rehearse his keynote speeches dozens of times until it was perfect. That was the Apple way: Have fun, do great things, but make it great.

That's why Apple will almost never opt to live stream its events. Apple works hard to keep its products a secret until the official unveiling, and by choosing to live stream WWDC 2013, Apple would suddenly be sitting in front of an audience of millions of live viewers. If that's not intimidating enough, any problems or incidents that occur at the event would immediately be transmitted to millions -- Microsoft knows about this all too well from the live unveiling of its Surface RT tablet.

While prior Apple event videos show the company does little editing to the finished product besides choosing the right camera angles for the final product, Apple wants a chance to film the event to its liking and distribute it at its own pace. Though all Apple presentations are still well thought-out, there's little room for error with a live stream. If people knew Apple likes to live stream its events, some might want to break in and disrupt the event just to get attention (see: every sporting event known to man). Apple obviously loves attention, but it wants attention it can control.

So, unfortunately, that's why Apple won't live stream its WWDC 2013 event, and why it likely won't live stream most other events, with the exception of some product launches (again, the case with iPad mini). Those who want to watch the WWDC 2013 keynote can wait until later this afternoon when Apple posts the full video on its website -- always a nice gesture for die-hard fans who wished they could attend -- or you can follow one of the many live blogs for WWDC.

WWDC 2013: What To Expect From The Keynote

By the looks of the various colorful banners raised late last week, Apple will indeed be introducing the next-generation software for Macintosh computers -- OS X, likely 10.9, but possibly 11.0 -- and the iOS-enabled family of mobile devices, which includes iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. But Apple is also said to have several surprises waiting in the wings at the event, including new Mac desktops and laptops, a redesigned 9.7-inch iPad (“iPad 5”), its long-awaited music-streaming Pandora-killer iRadio, and even its highly rumored futuristic wristwatch, the iWatch.

First, let's start with iOS 7. Apple has released a new iOS mobile operating system each year since the first iPhone was introduced in 2007, and WWDC 2013 looks to be no different. But unlike past years, where iOS 5 and iOS 6 made minimal additions to the iPhone and iPad experience, iOS 7 is expected to introduce major visual and functional changes to the ecosystem for the very first time.

Since longtime iOS chief Scott Forstall got the boot from Apple in October, lead designer Jonathan "Jony" Ive has taken over “human interface” duties at the company. Ive has reportedly spent a great deal of time redesigning iOS for iOS 7, removing many of its skeuomorphic aspects -- those ornamental elements that serve only as decorating metaphors instead of functional features, like the lines on the yellow Notes app and the green felt texture on the Game Center app -- and replacing them with “flat,” simple features and textures. For more on iOS 7, check out some alleged screenshots of the new mobile OS in action, the 11 features we’re hoping to see in iOS 7, as well as the 9 improvements to Siri we’re hoping to see when Apple unveils iOS 7 at WWDC 2013.

While iOS 7 may be the most popular part of the keynote, many longtime users are looking forward to the latest build of Mac OS X, either 10.9 or 11.0. We don't know the name of this year's build -- whether it's a big cat for OS X, or a new ocean-centric naming scheme based on those OS X wave banners erected late last week -- but we do know that Apple's been working on this build for awhile. According to 9to5Mac, Apple began developing Mac OS X 10.9 simultaneously with last year’s OS X Mountain Lion, which similarly sought to integrate more iOS features into the Mac experience, such as the Notification Center, Notes, Reminders and Dictation, as well as document syncing in iCloud.

As Apple continues to tie iOS and OS X closer together, we are largely expecting Apple to release Siri and Apple Maps -- its two most-used applications on iOS -- in Mac OS X 10.9, as well as to introduce iBooks and Newsstand to the Mac, while ensuring the new Mac design mirrors the new simplified experience in iOS 7. We’re also expecting Apple to gift some of its power users with some added functionality in the Finder, as well as with the ability to port full-screen applications to multiple displays.

In other software news, we believe WWDC 2013 will be Apple's chance to finally introduce its iRadio music streaming service. In 2012, iRadio rumors heated up and suddenly dissipated as deals with the major record companies reportedly stagnated. Then, in January, BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield said the iRadio was back on, and that Apple was close to finishing its Spotifylike music-streaming service, which is said to communicate with a user’s iTunes Store account and Genius software to suggest music for listening or purchasing.

While it’s unclear whether the iRadio service will be free or require a subscription, Apple is said to have incorporated its iAd advertising platform to then share part of the ad revenue with the record labels. With the last of the major record companies signing on a few days ago, it looks like Apple is finally clear to introduce the iRadio at the WWDC 2013 keynote, according to AllThingsD. Not-so-coincidentally, the Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) was also the final holdout when Jobs originally tried to seal the deal with the iTunes Store.

Moving from software to hardware, we've heard Apple will introduce a handful of new Macs at WWDC 2013, including upgrades to its MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro lines, as well as a completely redesigned Mac Pro, as described by last week's MacRumors report. We’re frankly surprised Apple hasn’t released the new Mac Pro even sooner, considering how Apple can no longer sell the computer in Europe, given a new regulatory guideline that went into effect on March 1. Regarding specs of these computers, we're not sure what to expect regarding Apple's only tower desktop, but we have heard Apple will endow its newest MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro with the new fourth-generation Haswell processors from the Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), while making the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro a bit thinner, too.

We don't honestly believe we'll see more hardware at WWDC 2013 besides the new MacBooks and Mac Pro, but there is a chance Apple will announce its fifth-generation iPad at Monday’s event. That said, rumors of the tablet have been floating around for months, and one case maker -- citing “inside sources” -- has gone all in on iPad 5 rumors by launching new iPad 5 cases based on rumored specifications long before the tablet is even announced. The iPad 5 is said to be a bit shorter and narrower than the iPad 4, and to be built similar to the iPad mini with a dark aluminum finish, tapered edges and extremely thin side bezels, which reduce the overall size of the tablet without affecting the 9.7-inch Retina display. We’ve been hearing about this iPad for months, so it’s possible Apple will simply release this redesigned tablet to accompany the release of iOS 7.

But if you thought seeing a new iPad at WWDC 2013 was an outside shot, there's a chance, albeit minuscule, that we'll finally get a first peek at the iWatch, which is Apple’s take on the superspy wristwatch has been rumored for some time now. By choosing to unveil the iWatch at WWDC, Apple would once again be a major attention stealer for the next six months until its alleged release date in late 2013 -- just in time for the holidays.

The Apple iWatch is presumed to work with iPhone or Android smartphones via Bluetooth to essentially track user’s general exercise, while also controlling music and notifications from the phone's various apps, such as its calendar, Facebook or Twitter, directly on the watch’s tiny display. But, with Bluetooth leveraging most of the functionality to user's smartphone, plus the ability to store data in the cloud with iCloud, an iWatch wouldn’t need massive storage to use Siri, Apple Maps or even FaceTime. Ever since the Kickstarter-funded Pebble E-Paper Watch proved in April there's a huge market -- to the tune of $10 million -- for wearable devices that sync with one's smartphone, everyone and their cousin is working on a smartwatch. Now, it's all about who unveils it first and who unveils it best. With rivals Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (KRX:005935) allegedly beginning work on their own smartwatches, Apple has reportedly begun the process of producing 1.5-inch organic light-emitting diode (OLED) touch-sensitive displays to build roughly 1,000 units of the iWatch, which isn’t nearly enough for mass production but is enough for a small-scale trial, or possibly even an unveiling. With its release date expected this year, Apple could drop many jaws by unveiling this enticing wearable device at WWDC 2013 in advance of a full iWatch announcement just before its alleged November release date.

Are you looking forward to the WWDC 2013 keynote? Are you more interested in updates to the iOS or OS X lineup? What products are you hoping Apple unveils? Let us know in the comments section below.

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