Apple Exec: iLife ‘07? Stay Tuned

January 16th, 2007 at 2:00 PM - Apple Stock Watch by Bryan Chaffin

Apple does not discuss unannounced products as a matter of policy, but Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told analysts Wednesday to "stay tuned" for more information about the software suite. The comments came during the companyis Q1 conference call with analysts in response to a question about whether or not Apple would update iLife in January of 2007.

Many, including The Mac Observer, expected Apple to announce an update to iLife at this yearis Macworld Expo, the venue for most iLife announcements. Said announcement did not, however, take place. While iLife doesnit have a major impact on Appleis sales throughout the year, it does have a positive impact on the companyis gross margins, and is thus of interest to analysts.

Towards the end of the conference call, Jonathan Hoopes of ThinkEquity Partners asked Mr. Oppenheimer if Apple anticipated updating iLife in January. Mr. Oppenheimer replied with, "We donit announce future products, but stay tuned," which is as close to commenting on future or unannounced products as Apple ever comes.

A reasonable translation of such a comment is that we should expect an announcement very soon, likely even in the January time frame in which the question was framed.