Rumor Roundup: Summer child

Another WWDC has come and gone, which inevitably means many stupid Apple rumors got proven wrong. We've looked at a couple of them for this roundup, and we'll see what we can dig up from the archives next time.

Alleged OS X 10.10 with Control Center, Visual Tweaks, and More Shown in Blurry Photos [Updated] (MacRumors)

These screenshots, blurry as they are, appear to be legitimate. They must have also had something in them that would allow the poster to be identified, because he asked MacRumors to take them down. Unfortunately, The Internet Is Forever, and the photos are still up on a variety of other rumor sites.

I wonder if Apple gave him time to clean out his desk before ejecting him from the building. I hope not.

Last minute leaks suggest Apple will discuss CarPlay, WebKit at WWDC keynote (AppleInsider)

Swing and a miss. Apple didn't talk about either of these things.

Another piece of the WWDC 2014 puzzle has been revealed (BGR)

So ends the "Wall Street Journal's last-minute leaks are always right" meme: the Journal said Apple would reveal more plans for iBeacons at WWDC, but nothing was announced at all. I guess it's still possible something will come out from one of the developer sessions, but for now we haven't heard anything particularly groundbreaking about iBeacons.

Apple Solves Battery Issues with 5.5-Inch iPhone 6, Looks to Ship 20 Million Units in 2014 (MacRumors)

Stop me if you've heard this one before: some Chinese website makes unsubstantiated and unverifiable claims about unannounced, unreleased Apple products, complete with projections for how many units will be built. And the rumor blogs spread it like smallpox.

Oh, you have heard this one before? Hundreds of times? You were supposed to stop me.

Accessory Makers Ramping Up for 5.5-Inch iPhone 6, Sparking Speculation of September Launch (MacRumors)

From the article: "Based on his previous reports, [the source] does not have a particularly solid track record in predicting Apple's plans."

Mysteriously left out of the article: "But we chose to pass on the baseless musings of some chronically incorrect analyst anyway, because 'iPhone 6' = 'pageview gold'."

One more thing

Following WWDC's announcement of the Health app and HealthKit, a certain tech blogger (who shall remain nameless) made the following claim:

"I am convinced Apple completely redesigned Healthbook and dropped the 'book' because of the leak."

You honestly said that? What's more, you honestly believed that? Oh, my sweet summer child.

Context: some rumor blog (who shall also remain nameless) has Apple employees feeding them information about unreleased software, almost certainly without the company's consent. Screenshots of "Healthbook" and details on the app and platform leaked to this blog months ago... and then not only was the app not named Healthbook, it didn't look like the leaked screenshots.

We're supposed to buy that Apple renamed and redesigned this app simply because the information leaked to some rumor blog? How about a nice, hot cup of nooooooope.

Alternate, non-egotistical explanation number 1: Your source was simply wrong. It happens.

Alternate, non-egotistical explanation number 2: Your source was only privy to an early build of the app/platform, and Apple changed the name and design later on for reasons completely unrelated to the leak. You know, like improving the UI and simplifying the brand... things Apple tends to do before putting things in front of the public on its own accord.

Alternate, non-egotistical explanation number 3: Your source was flagged as a possible source of software leaks and was assigned to a dummy project to confirm this. Once information related to his project leaked, Apple successfully identified the source and unceremoniously showed him the door.

Any of those three explanations makes a whole lot more sense than Apple saying, "Dang, some rumor site leaked our stuff. CHANGE EVERYTHING." (I really, really hope it was the third one.)

There is no such thing as batting 1000 in the world of Apple rumors. You play the game long enough, eventually you're going to be as wrong as the day is long. Get over it.