Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 06-06-2017
Apple has made a number of announcements regarding its product line up at the World Wide Developers Conference 2017 (WWDC17) at the San Jose Convention Centre.
Over 5,000 developers packed the auditorium to listen to CEO Tim Cook and other executives share the latest innovations out of Cupertino.
The company unveiled its most powerful Mac yet, some of which will support virtual reality, a new iPad, tons of new software upgrades across all Apple platforms from the iPhone to Apple Watch and also a new speaker called the HomePod that offers Siri integration.
watchOS 4
watchOS 4 the newest version of the operating system for the Apple Watch featuring a couple of new watch faces like characters from the Disney classic Toy Story.
The most important feature puts Siri cards front and center which can tell you things like when to leave for work, the music you’re playing, how your workout is going and more.
macOS High Sierra
macOS High Sierra is the successor to Sierra, announced last year. It supports virtual reality headsets, something Apple hasn’t ever offered before, security improvements to Safari that help further protect your privacy, new photo search features and a new Apple File System by default, which should mean more secure storage.
High Sierra will be available in the coming months.
New iMacs and MacBook Air / MacBook Pro
After more than 600 days Apple finally refreshed the iMac adding a sharper and brighter display and new Kaby Lake processors.
It also brought Kaby Lake processors to the MacBook Pro, which is otherwise unchanged, and boosted the speed of the chip in the MacBook Air.
The biggest announcement was the iMac Pro, however, which will start at $4,999 and includes beefy new processors, a 5K display and a sharp design.
Apple says it’s “the most powerful Mac we have ever made.”
iOS 11
Apple’s iOS 11 will launch in September and includes new features for the iPhone and iPad.
The biggest improvement is to Siri, which Apple says will make it easier to synchronize various iOS devices, like iPhones and iPads. It also says it’ll keep messages in the cloud, helping to save valuable hard drive storage space.
Another big feature is peer-to-peer payments, which will allow Apple to compete with Paypal, Square Cash, Venmo and others by allowing iOS users to easily send money to one another.
On the iPad, users will find drag and drop, more room for icons in the bottom dock of the screen and more.
Apple also unveiled ARKit, which will allow developers to easily create augmented reality apps for iOS devices.
iPad Pro 10.5
Apple showcased a new iPad Pro 10.5 during the event which features a brighter display with a faster refresh rate, which is important which watching things like movies or playing games.
It also sports a new A10X processor that should improve gaming and overall app performance.
That chip and the new screen were also added to Apple’s iPad Pro 12.9. Apple did not refresh the 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
Apple HomePod Speaker
The new product introduced by Apple is the HomePod, a voice-controlled speaker that can make music suggestions and adjust home temperatures, taking aim at Amazon.com Inc’s Alexa feature and Echo devices.
Apple’s Siri assistant will be integrated into the $349 speaker, and can make music recommendations that pair with the company’s Apple Music service, send text messages, check news and sports scores and control compatible home gadgets like lightbulbs and thermostats.
The HomePod speaker stands just under seven inches tall and is covered in fabric mesh that will come in white or gray. A computer processor will tune sound to the room and beam specific parts of music, like a singer’s voice, toward the listener.
Apple will begin shipping the HomePod in December.
– Radio Islam/CNBC/Reuters
0 Comments