Apple WWDC 2017 was jam packed with great stuff. Tim Cook boiled it down to 6 parts. Let’s dive in…
1. watchOS 4 – WWDC 2017
Apple uncovered watchOS 4, the most up to date operating system for the Apple Watch. It highlights two or three new watch faces (I absolutely loved the Toy Story ones), the most imperative of which puts Siri cards up front. They can disclose to you things like when to leave for work, the music you’re playing, how your exercise is going.
WatchOS 4 now has an updated user interface, and a new feature for two-way information transfer with your GYM equipment. Isn’t that fun, huh?
2. macOS High Sierra
Now how High are we talking about? My friends always have this joke that they had to be high in order to come up with this kind of crazy idea. Glad Apple finally confessed.
In my opinion, the biggest thing about the macOS High Sierra is the new Apple File System that was first introduced in iOS 10.3 (-ish), which added extra 2.5 Gb on my 16Gb iPhone 6 Plus. In short, it stores all files in a more efficient and secure way, which allows more free space and faster task execution, such as (as demonstrated during the keynote) duplicating large video files. I’ve been there, done that. So glad it’s going to perform faster now!
Among other small, but crucial features:
- Support for VR headsets
- Autoplay Block for Safari (thanks, Apple!)
- Security improvements for Safari
3. Refreshed iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro and Brand New iMac Pro
Finally, I’ve survived to see Apple refresh the iMac line with better everything, so that my new MacBook Pro isn’t entirely more powerful than the whole iMac product line. Everything you’d expect is there. The better display, faster, lighter, more secure, blah blah blah… Let me get onto the (black) star of the WWDC 2017: The Brand New iMac Pro! I guess it will replace the infamous Mac Pro.
Super powerful iMac Pro price tag starts at a humble $4999, but boy what a value you get for that stack of cash! Insane 18 cores, Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics, up to 128Gb memory, and a retina 5K display. More about “the most powerful Mac ever made” in a separate post here.
4. iOS 11
In short, updated Control Center, which looks so cute now.
Siri is closer to Jarvis kind of AI.
Turnkey topics of iOS 11 presentation are built-in Machine Learning and Augmented Reality engines.
A quick demonstration of an AR game by Wingnut company will sort of help you get what mobile gaming will be about from now on.
iOS 11 will be available in September, right after the Apple September Event, I guess.
More about iOS 11 in this post.
5. Much rumored 10.5 inch iPad Pro turned out to be true
The new 10.5’ iPad Pro is more of a refreshed version of the previous iPad Pro in a different size. Of course, it’s much more powerful now, and they said the new iPad Pro display has a 120Hz refresh rate. This crazy ass refresh rate guarantees a smoothest picture you’ve ever seen… on a tablet at least. Oh and for the first time the iPad comes with up to 512Gb storage amount. Whaaat? My previous laptop had half of that amount.
The main point here is how the iPad devices are now going to work with the iOS 11.
The most obvious thing about it is the Dock. It’s now levitating and can be dragged from underneath the screen inside an app.
One thing that’ll make a lot of difference is Multi-touch Drag and Drop.
And it now also has a folder for ALL YOUR STUFF. And I mean ALL OF IT. It gathers files from iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, Photos and many many more apps.
6. Apple HomePod speaker
I can’t tell much about the new speaker. This is something they’ve never done before. However, Apple tries to compete in the new market for home voice assistants. I’m sure they will do good. All I can say is that it will cost you $349 during Holiday Season launch.
To watch the full keynote, visit Apple’s official page for WWDC 2017.
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