This years WWDC keynote, was all about the upgrades.
With VR and immersive experiences proving that the future of computers means more power,
processing, and speed, Apple updated both hardware and software to make room for a very
visual, content-heavy future.
The event was broken down by device category into ‘6 major announcements’.
But let’s talk hardware first.
Apple’s long-rumored Amazon Echo competitor is real and it’s called the HomePod.
The device is a pill-shaped circular speaker.
The HomePod costs $349 and is focused on music first, rather than Siri, but of course it
does that too.
Macs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pros all got a performance boost.
The machines are getting new Kaby Lake processors and faster solid-state drives.
Then there’s the new iMac Pro.
It’s an all-in-one workstation that has more or less the same look and feel as the
27-inch iMac but you get an Intel Xeon processor and, depending on how much you love cores,
you get 8, 10, or 18 of them.
Before you get to excited about the pure power of this machine, you should know that it has
a $4999 price tag.
That said, it does look pretty epic.
And it has ports...so many ports!
Ignored on stage today, the MacBook Air is still alive but the is the only machine to
not get an update.
With the cost of the 13” MacBook Pro dropping to $1299, it’ll be interesting to see if
the Air sticks around.
The other affordable option, the iPad mini, also didn’t get any updates meaning the
iPad mini 4 is probably going to be the last iPad mini ever.
Instead, Apple is running full steam ahead with the iPad Pro line, announcing a new 10.5in
model that weighs in a 1 lb.
Upgrades to the new iPad Pro include a Tru Tone display is now 50% brighter, a 120 hertz
refresh rate dubbed ‘ProMotion’ that makes interacting with content on the tablet more
responsive, and support for a full on-screen keyboard.
Starting at 64G of memory, the new iPad Pro costs $649 for the 10.5” or $799 for the
13”.
Moving on to the Watch, there was no hardware news but watchOS 4 is available for a developer
preview now and will roll out this fall.
Updates mostly focus on surfacing the information you need in a more organized and intelligent
way, making the most of the Watches small screen.
On the topic of OS, Sierra is being replaced by ‘High Sierra.’
In the new OS, the built-in Mail app now uses less space for storing your mail, Photos received
a major update that uses machine-learning to better recognize faces and improve sorting.
Upgrades to Safari will make surfing the web faster, cool features like blocking autoplay
on videos, and intelligent tracking prevention will make using the browser a lot more secure.
Other new OS features included the ability for apps to open new windows as tabs, support
for Apple Pay on the desktop, hands-free unlock with the help of a nearby Apple Watch, as
well as updates to virtually all the default apps.
Apple also announced iOS 11.
With iOS 11, Siri is getting better at understanding context, your interests and more.
You can now ask for translations using Siri — starting with Chinese, French, German,
Italian and Spanish.
Also new, the Control Center looks completely different and features a ton of buttons reducing
the need to swap between multiple tabs.
Apple’s Live Photos is becoming more powerful in iOS 11 with the introduction of a series
of editing tools and effects.
The updated camera app will also support h.265 which lets you shoot better quality video
with a smaller file size.
The App Store is getting a brand new design.
Based on the demo, there will be a ton of text, images and content in general.
It looks cleaner with a better layout and less taps.
In an interesting twist, Apple announced some iPad-specific iOS 11 features that focus on
productivity — and further blur the difference between iOS and macOS.
Specifically, iOS 11 brings drag-and-drop, windows and a file system to iPad
On to music, Apple Music hits 27M paid subs, added the MusicKit API, and social listening.
This will really shine with the new Airplay 2 will allow for multi-room synchronized streaming
support and integration with HomeKit.
Amazon prime video is coming to Apple TV.
tvOS launched with handful of partners, which has since expanded to roughly 50.
AND that about covers it.
There are a ton of specs and new upgrades to both the hardware and software side.
But honestly, even Apple realized there was just too many numbers to rattle off and opted
for more visual demos instead.
For full coverage of Apple’s WWDC keynote visit TechCrunch.com