Mr. Hesse was also optimistic about the addition of a touch-screen device from Palm, called the Pre, which he said was still scheduled for release during the first half of the year.
In terms of new Mac or iOS announcements, Apple could show off a new 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, likely with the addition of a Force Touch trackpad and latest generation Broadwell processors, and we might also get our first look at the native SDK for building Apple Watch apps, which Apple has said will come sometime later this year.
The addition of an intuitive touch panel to our energy-efficient model makes it ideal for lobbies, libraries and schools where ease of use and value is paramount".
Unlike its soon-to-be-released sibling, the N900, the rumored N920 will supposedly be keyboard-less, but will make up for its loss with the addition of a 4.13″ capacitive touch screen display.
But despite being more of an incremental release in terms of Apple's upgrade cycle, the new devices have packed a number of notable features under the hood, including the anticipated addition of 3D Touch, an entirely new way to interact with the device that involves pressing lightly or with more force on a new pressure-sensitive screen in order to unlock gestures like "peek" and "pop".
But, despite the welcome addition of a few populist touches, such as pledging to euthanize the carried-interest deduction, Bush is writing the same old tired script.
The YotaPhone 2 is a surprisingly capable, well-equipped Android smartphone – which happens to also have the clever addition of a second, fully touch-sensitive e-ink display, all wrapped up in a very smartly-designed package.
The addition of Force Touch might provide a compelling additional boost to sales of the MacBook lineup, since it could potentially open up a lot of new functionality for users, especially when developers start more fully incorporating it into their own apps.
In addition to evoking a touch of nostalgia, "Artists in the Archives" underscores the importance of curiosity and serendipity.
In addition to adding a touch of much-appreciated comedy value to proceedings, Michael Birch picked up on this theme in his own talk, noting that despite Facebook and Twitter not being ideal tools for activists and revolutionaries, they'd done pretty well at using them.
