The just concluded Apple Worldwide Developers Conference gave an exciting insight as to what is to come from the Cupertino-based company in the coming months.
Helmed by Apple stalwarts like Tim Cook (CEO), Craig Federighi (Senior Vice President, Software Engineering) and Phill Schiller (Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing), the event gave out a bevy of devices and software updates, that have made us privy to Apple’s plans for the future.
Also Read: Apple WWDC 2017: New, Improved iOS 11 Freshens Things Up
Here’s a quick look at Apple’s key announcements at the WWDC’17:
HomePod – Apple’s very own smart speaker to rival Google Home, Amazon Echo and Sonos
- It is controlled through natural voice interaction by in-built Siri
- It automatically analyzes the acoustics of the room and adjusts the sound based on the speaker’s location
- It has a built in ‘Musicologist’ feature that works with Apple Music to stream the music you ask the in-built Siri to play.
- It will also handle other Siri queries, such as weather, news, messages, podcasts, stocks, controlling smart home devices via HomeKit, etc.
iOS 11: Newer updates for the platform powering the iPhones and iPads
- iMessages will offload old images to cloud to free space.
- Apple Pay will support easy person-to-person payment.
- Siri will be able to apprehend speak more languages.
- New formats for saving both (HEIF) pictures and videos (HVEC).
- There will be an update merging the lock screen with the notification shade.
- A Smart DND mode to ensure your safety while driving.
- The Home-Kit supports multiple speaker output.
- The Apple music now gets to be more social, ie, it will now be easier to integrate apple music into other apps.
- The App Store will be redesigned completely for the first time.
- The iOS will have machine learning and natural language capabilities.
- Apple has also paved the way for AR Applications by introducing a new AR platform.
Watch OS 4.0: The new Watch OS 4.0 isn’t a radical upgrade but adds quite a few interesting features
- The new Siri Powered watch faces show customized content based on real time relevance
- You can use watch face as torch light
- Apple watch will be able to swap workout data directly from Gym equipment
- Smarter workout controls
- Apple watch will be able to connect with devices beyond your phone using Bluetooth(eg. Glucose monitors)
macOS High Sierra: This free update is aimed to improve Mac’s VR capabilities
- Improved Safari browser can block annoying auto-play videos and cut-back ad tracking.
- Apple has added a faster file system.
- The improved graphic engine makes it suitable for VR content creation.
iPad Pro 10.5-inch: This bigger version of the iPad has been made for the professional users
- It has a better display with richer colors
- New feature called ProMotion updates the content by up to 120 times per second
- It has thinner borders and supports a full-width keyboard
- Comes in with double the inbuilt memory (64GB)
- It has a 12MP rear camera and a 7MP front camera
- Supports USB 3.0 and has a battery life of up to 10 hours
New Macs: Apple Macs are now mightier and can handle a lot more
- Apple’s iMacs get better display and faster processors, again for enhanced VR performance
- Apple also showcased a $4999 high performance 27-inch iMac for pro user with up to 18 CPU cores Apple also adds more memory and a few more ports
- MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air get faster.
- The 13-inch MacBook Pro gets more affordable
Also Read: Phone Comparison: Sony Xperia XZ Premium vs HTC U11
TvOS: Apple didn’t have much to share
- Amazon Prime Videos coming to Apple TV
- More tvOS announcements coming up later this yea
