There has been a lot of speculation about Apple replacing Mac OSX in the not so distant future with iOS either making a version for computers or just phasing out the computers and only making iOS devices. I really think although these iOS devices, although they have become popular, are not going to be able to replace a personal computer. I think Apple has been focusing on iOS in the past year to get the iPad and iOS4 out but, I think they will come back to the Mac and great new stuff for the Mac OS and great new innovation. The Macintosh hardware has really not had any major change for a long time and I think this is for two reasons, first, because they have been focusing on iOS in recent months and secondly because they are very advanced, refined devices and they really just have to bump the tech specs every now and then.
As I wrote to Steve Jobs, I love using my iPod Touch but there are many times and tasks that I need to use my much more powerful Macbook Pro and use the hardware to get things done more efficiently. Plus for things like video editing and other high-intensity tasks, sure you can do them on the touch-based iOS devices, but it is still much more efficient to do that on a computer. Yes touch controls adds functionality, and I can see people who are used to using a trackpad wanting to buy a device like the Magic Trackpad to be able to use them on desktop computers.
I believe that Apple will continue the Mac OSX franchise for at least one more iteration and will later create there next generation operating system. Sure, they may add more multi-touch features and other features to enhance the Mac environment, but at least for the foreseeable future Mac OS will remain similar to how it has been. The OS is very refined already so the new versions may not have a ton of new features, and hopefully will not be expensive to upgrade. Either way Mac OS X isn’t going any where any time soon, it is a powerful operating system and would be foolish for Apple to phase out.