[antiRepublicrat]

In this case Jobs has been grooming people for takeover who can continue — and maybe even improve — the winning formula. Last time he was just kicked out.

[af_vet_rr]

I think the biggest reason is that tradeshows have not been working well for Apple in the past few years. Intel opened up the doors for them to be more aggressive in their product launches and updates, and trying to dovetail product launches/announcements with one or two key tradeshows left Apple vulnerable to either having to rush products out the door or having details leaked while they sat on products waiting for the tradeshows.

Apple is in a position now where even minor updates will have the media flying out to Cupertino, so it makes sense for Apple to announce on their own schedule.