 |
| WWDC 2017 |
WWDC or worldwide developers conference is a yearly event hosted by Apple which mainly focusses on software related developments. They also announce updates related to iOS and Mac OS. This year, Apple went slightly ahead and apart from software, they also announced some hardware upgrades as well as a new iPad with a new iMac Pro.
1: iMac Pro:
The iMac pro is a new device or rather machine from Apple apart from the regular MacBook or iMac. The iMac pro is mainly focussed on professionals who need a lot of computing resources and power.
 |
| 27 inch 5K retina display |
- It comes with 27inch 5K retina display with 5120×2880 resolution and 500 nits brightness
- 8, 10, 18 core Intel Xeon CPU
- 32, 64, 128 GB DDR4 ECC RAM upto 2666Mhz frequency
- 1TB, 2TB or 4TB SSD for storage
- Radeon Pro vega 56 GPU (8GB memory) or Radeon Pro vega 64 GPU (16GB memory)
- 1080p FaceTime camera
- Can support upto 4 displays for more productivity
- 3.5mm Headphone Jack, stereo speakers
- Ports: 10GB Ethernet, 4 USB 3 , 4 type C , SDXC card slot
- Bluetooth 4.2, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- Weighs 9.7Kg and has a height of 20.3 inch and width 25.6 inch
- OS: Mac OS High Sierra
 |
| iMac Pro with accessories |
The iMac Pro will be available from December 2017 starting from $4999 for the base variant. The base variant will have 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD and will come with Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics. More details will be available later once the iMac pro becomes available.
2: iPad Pro 10.5 and 12.9 inch:
 |
| iPad Pro |
- The iPad Pro is available in 10.5 inch (2224 × 1668 i.e 264ppi ) and 12.9 inch (2732 × 2048 i.e 264ppi).
- It comes with oleophobic and antireflective coating
- Both iPads are powered by Apple's own A10X chipset and M10 coprocessor handling graphics. The A10X has 3 high power and 3 low power cores.
- 12MP f/1.8 aperture with OIS and quad LED true tone flash. The camera is capable of 4K video recording upto 30FPS and 1080p at 30/60 FPS.
- The front facing camera is of 7MP f/2.2 and is capable of 1080p video recording
- Bluetooth 4.2 and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4 and 5Ghz band support and GPS
- Sensors: touch ID, gyroscope, ambient light, compass, accelerometer, barometer
- It comes with Apple pay and Siri
- The 10.5 inch iPad comes with 30.4 Whr battery and the 12.9 inch comes with 41 Whr battery
- They are available in 64, 256 and 512 GB storage variants
The iPads are available in both cellular and WiFi only variants. The cellular iPad supports LTE and comes with most band support and needs nano sim.
The 10.5 inch version starts from $649 and $799 for the 12.9 inch variant WiFi only variant. They are available in Gold, space grey and silver colour options.
For more details regarding pricing and buying info. refer the link below:
3: Updated MacBooks:
 |
| MacBook Pro 15 inch with touchbar |
Apple also updated the MacBook lineup with the newer kaby lake processors.
The 13.3 inch MacBook comes with either 2.3 gHz dual core i5 processor with turbo boost upto 3.6gHz or can be configured to dual core 2.5gHz i7 with turbo boost upto 4.0gHz.
The 13.3 inch MacBook with touchbar comes with 3.1 gHz intel dual core i5 with turbo boost upto 3.6gHz and also 3.3gHz with turbo boost upto 3.7gHz.
Another variant is the core i7 with 3.5gHz with turbo boost upto 4.0gHz.
Similarly the 15.4 inch variant comes with 2.8gHz intel quad core i7 and can be overclocked to 3.8gHz and 6MB L3 cache.
Another variant comes with quad core 2.9gHz, i7 with turbo boost upto 3.9gHz and 8MB L3 cache. There is also 3.1gHz core i7 with upto 4.1gHz turbo boost variant.
The 13.3 inch without touch bar variant comes with 8GB DDR3 clocked at 2133MHz and can be configured upto 16GB. It comes with intel iris plus 640 graphics.
The touchbar variant comes with same memory as above the only difference is in the graphics used i.e intel iris plus 650.
The 15.4 inch MacBook comes with 16GB DDR3 memory. It comes with either Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB memory or Radeon pro 560 4GB memory. Both have intel hd graphics 630 which can be automatically switched to during lighter tasks which do not require heavy resources.
The storage options remain similar to the 2016 MacBook with 128/256/512 GB or 1TB options.
The 13.3 inch MacBook without touchbar starts from $1299 and 15.4 inch MacBook starts from $2399.
For more details related to pricing and storage options refer : Official site
4: iOS 11:
Every year Apple has been giving insight into the newer version of iOS during the WWDC and same was the case this year. Apple announced the iOS 11 which did not have major changes in terms of looks but rather gave a more cleaner and better approach than the iOS 10.
The control panel is customizable and has just one screen unlike the iOS 10. You can select the toggles to be displayed and some also support 3D touch for more dynamic selection.
Visual changes have been Incorporated in the iPad as the apps at the bottom have a new background and also new transitions. Multitasking has been much more better especially in split screen mode. Another new feature is related to multitasking itself by which one can select a text or image , drag it and place it directly in another app.
With iOS 11 Apple has also open its doors for developers related to AR which seems Apple's approach like Google's Tango project. However nothing much is known although it's a welcome move to develop apps related to AR.
Siri has been more faster and better with machine learning depending on user's search results on Safari browser. It can also translate text from some selected languages.
Apple pay has become much more easier as users can pay directly via iMessage and also via Siri based on the cards in the wallet. This ensures more secure transaction and the money received goes directly into Apple cash account from where one can make purchases in the app store or transfer it to bank.
Speaking of app store, there are considerable design changes with the store making it more better and easier to browse apps.
With iOS 11 Apple also introduced the do not disturb while driving mode. It basically silents all notifications while driving and probably that's something basic but it has been included.
Also with iOS 11, the file size of photos captured are reduced thereby making more space available for additional photos.
Apart from iOS 11 , Apple also made some changes with Mac OS Sierra which they have renamed as High Sierra.
They also announced a speaker known as the Home Pod. It is mainly focussed on providing cleaner bass and also has Apple's own A8 chipset. The Home Pod is 7 inch tall and has upward facing woofer. It can be controlled with Siri and can sense its position in the room thus providing better sound output based on position.
It will be available for $349 in white and space grey variant will be available later in December.
The 13.3 inch MacBook comes with either 2.3 gHz dual core i5 processor with turbo boost upto 3.6gHz or can be configured to dual core 2.5gHz i7 with turbo boost upto 4.0gHz.
The 13.3 inch MacBook with touchbar comes with 3.1 gHz intel dual core i5 with turbo boost upto 3.6gHz and also 3.3gHz with turbo boost upto 3.7gHz.
Another variant is the core i7 with 3.5gHz with turbo boost upto 4.0gHz.
Similarly the 15.4 inch variant comes with 2.8gHz intel quad core i7 and can be overclocked to 3.8gHz and 6MB L3 cache.
Another variant comes with quad core 2.9gHz, i7 with turbo boost upto 3.9gHz and 8MB L3 cache. There is also 3.1gHz core i7 with upto 4.1gHz turbo boost variant.
The 13.3 inch without touch bar variant comes with 8GB DDR3 clocked at 2133MHz and can be configured upto 16GB. It comes with intel iris plus 640 graphics.
The touchbar variant comes with same memory as above the only difference is in the graphics used i.e intel iris plus 650.
The 15.4 inch MacBook comes with 16GB DDR3 memory. It comes with either Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB memory or Radeon pro 560 4GB memory. Both have intel hd graphics 630 which can be automatically switched to during lighter tasks which do not require heavy resources.
The storage options remain similar to the 2016 MacBook with 128/256/512 GB or 1TB options.
The 13.3 inch MacBook without touchbar starts from $1299 and 15.4 inch MacBook starts from $2399.
For more details related to pricing and storage options refer : Official site
4: iOS 11:
Every year Apple has been giving insight into the newer version of iOS during the WWDC and same was the case this year. Apple announced the iOS 11 which did not have major changes in terms of looks but rather gave a more cleaner and better approach than the iOS 10.
 |
| iPad and iPhone 7 running iOS 11 |
 |
| iPad Pro displaying the split screen multitasking |
Visual changes have been Incorporated in the iPad as the apps at the bottom have a new background and also new transitions. Multitasking has been much more better especially in split screen mode. Another new feature is related to multitasking itself by which one can select a text or image , drag it and place it directly in another app.
 |
| Control Panel |
With iOS 11 Apple has also open its doors for developers related to AR which seems Apple's approach like Google's Tango project. However nothing much is known although it's a welcome move to develop apps related to AR.
Siri has been more faster and better with machine learning depending on user's search results on Safari browser. It can also translate text from some selected languages.
Apple pay has become much more easier as users can pay directly via iMessage and also via Siri based on the cards in the wallet. This ensures more secure transaction and the money received goes directly into Apple cash account from where one can make purchases in the app store or transfer it to bank.
Speaking of app store, there are considerable design changes with the store making it more better and easier to browse apps.
 |
| Do not disturb mode |
With iOS 11 Apple also introduced the do not disturb while driving mode. It basically silents all notifications while driving and probably that's something basic but it has been included.
Also with iOS 11, the file size of photos captured are reduced thereby making more space available for additional photos.
Apart from iOS 11 , Apple also made some changes with Mac OS Sierra which they have renamed as High Sierra.
 |
| Home Pod |
They also announced a speaker known as the Home Pod. It is mainly focussed on providing cleaner bass and also has Apple's own A8 chipset. The Home Pod is 7 inch tall and has upward facing woofer. It can be controlled with Siri and can sense its position in the room thus providing better sound output based on position.
It will be available for $349 in white and space grey variant will be available later in December.