Apple’s set to unveil new design for iOS

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook kicked off the company's annual confab for its developers yesterday, where the company is expected to unveil a new design and revamped features for its iOS mobile operating system along with a new streaming-music service.
Apple began its product showcase by announcing a new operating system for the Mac called "Mavericks," moving away from its penchant for naming its computer software after big cats. The new OS can now handle multiple display and "tagging" of documents, among other new features.
In an unusual move, the company also shared the stage with little-known startup Anki, which was given the opportunity to show off a game.
Cook has seen Apple's stock fall 37 percent after it touched a high of $ 705 in September as competition in the key smartphone market escalated.
He told the audience of developers at the Moscone Center in San Francisco that Apple's App Store now has 900,000 apps, which have been downloaded a total of 50 billion times.
The conference, tickets to which sold out in just over a minute when it opened up in April, comes as South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has solidified its lead in the smartphone market with a 33 percent share followed by Apple with 18 percent during the first quarter, according to market research firm IDC.
Cook is under pressure to show that the company that created the smartphone and tablet markets is not slowing down as deep-pocketed competitors such as Samsung and Google Inc. encroach on its share.
Investor concerns now center around whether Apple will be able to come up with more groundbreaking products as smartphone and tablet market gets more crowded.