Chip Chick
Today at WWDC Apple revealed several new products and hardware updates, as well as unveiling lots of new software features. Specifically, on the software and app front, they spoke about upcoming new features in iOS 11 and WatchOS 4, a redesign of the App store, improvements to Apple Music, the addition of multi room speaker support to HomeKit with AirPlay 2, making Siri smarter, adding support for VR in macOS, making Safari faster, and introducing a new file system that will come in the upcoming macOS High Sierra. Needless to say, there was a lot to digest at WWDC. But we’re especially pumped about all the new hardware products that were announced. Read on for a quick break down of the new toys.
Siri gets her own speaker in HomePod
There’s no question that Apple is late to the game for this one. But Apple announced a speaker for Siri. The HomePod speaker packs in a four-inch woofer and seven tweeters, and it runs on an A8 processor, just like an iPhone. If you’re an Apple Music user, than this speaker could especially be the one for you. Apple’s HomePod will be available in December for $349.
New iPad Pro with a new size
There’s a new iPad Pro in town, and it’s got a new display size – 10.5” to be exact. This new iPad Pro will replace the 9.7” iPad Pro. Fortunately, it’s just a smidgen heavier than its predecessor (1.03 pounds vs 0.96 pounds). The new iPad Pro will be powered by Apple’s A10X CPU and pricing will start at $649, making its base model more expensive than the 9.7” iPad Pro. Is bigger better? We’re not sure yet, but we do like that the new iPad Pro has thinner bezels to take better advantage of its screen real estate.
The Most Powerful Mac Ever
If you’re a power hungry user that was upset that Apple ditched the Mac Pro, you’ll be happy to hear about the new iMac Pro. This all-in-one is quite frankly a beast. Starting at $4,999, the iMac Pro packs in a 27” 5K retina display, and it can be configured with up to a 4TB of SSD storage, up to 18-core Xeon processors, and a Radeon Pro Vega graphics card. Sheesh! But if you’re not into its all-in-one form-factor, Apple says that they are indeed working on an even more powerful new Mac Pro. So for those who demand the utmost in performance, you might want to hold out for that Mac Pro.
Updated iMac, MacBooks and MacBook Pros
Apple has upgraded their iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro lines with faster Intel Kaby Lake processors, and (hopefully) improved battery life. For anyone who bought themselves one of the new MacBook Pros that were announced just 7 months ago, they are probably pretty peeved with this news.
