I think a lot of sites are burying the lede here – the fact that Mac OS X is going to a new annual refresh cycle is a massive shift in the way things work. The iPhone-ization of the Mac ecosphere continues apace, not least with the release of a beta of Messages to replace your iChat. (Significantly, the Messages beta did not come through the Mac App Store…which is as effective a way of saying THIS IS NOT YET OFFICIAL as I can think of, bar shouting or flying a banner over the Rose Bowl.)
I don’t know quite what I think of this. It really does look like the 11″ MacBook Air is going to become the keyboard-equipped non-touch iPad Pro, and more than ever, the iPad 3 (notional as it may be) looks like a viable option if I need a personal portable device with more oomph than an iPhone. More to the point, the iCloud-centric nature of Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8) means that an iPhone, an iPad and a Mac mini at home will make for a perfectly viable peer computing experience.
Which makes sense. After all, according to a report today, Apple sold more iOS devices in 2011 than they’ve sold Macs…ever. Combined. At this point, it’s pretty obvious which way the future lies for Cupertino.