Edible Apple

It’s no secret that the iOS was the focal point of this year’s WWDC. Not only did Jobs’ keynote focus exclusively on the iPhone and the iPad, but Apple also did away with the Apple Design Awards for Mac software. Toss in a relatively few number of Mac-centric developer sessions and it’s abundantly clear that the Mac simply wasn’t on Apple’s radar during this year’s WWDC.

Still, the scarcity of OS X related news did nothing to dampen excitement about this year’s conference, which sold out in a record time of just 8 days. Apple’s 2009’s WWDC, in contrast, sold out in a little over a month. Clearly, developer interest in the iPhone and iPad is at an all-time high.

But what does this mean for the Mac development community?

Well, in an interesting rumor, Hardmac is reporting that Apple is toying with the idea of offering two separate WWDC events, with one focused on iOS and the other on OS X.

One of our most reliable sources at Apple told us that the company could decide to organize two different WWDC every year, one dedicated to the iOS, iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc… and the other one to Mac OS X and the Mac. If this is currently only a project, there is plenty of reasons for making it happen, it would be a strong sign of support from Apple towards Mac users, especially when Mac and Mac OS X market shares keep increasing.

While some pundits are curiously declaring the Mac dead, there’s no way that Apple would suddenly choose to ignore a product line that accounts for a hefty chunk of its profits. As the number of Mac users continues to rise, perhaps in part due to a halo effect from the iPhone, it would be foolish for Apple to jump ship, so to speak, as the Mac continues to pick up momentum and infiltrate the mainstream.

Back in May, Steve Jobs assured an emailer that Apple was not losing sight of Mac developers.

“We are focusing primarily (though not exclusively) on iPhone OS this year,” Jobs wrote, “Maybe next year we will focus primarily on the Mac. Just the normal cycle of things…”