Here is our live blog of all the pertinent information from the WWDC 2012 Keynote.
Refresh the page for updates.
- Tim Cook notes that over $5 billion has been paid to Developers, 400 million App Store accounts
- Apple announces new MacBook Air models with up to 3.2 GHz speed, 512 SSD storage, USB 3.0 and FaceTime HD camera. The new models will have a standard resolution (no Retina Display)
- Apple announces new MacBook Pro with ‘Killer’ Retina Display. The next generation MacBook Pro lacks an optical drive on the new model. The design is similar to the current MacBook Pro but is a quarter of an inch thinner. It is the lightest Pro notebook that Apple has ever made and the pixel density on the Retina Display screen is 220 pixels per inch which means that the resolution is 2880 x 1800 pixels in a 15 inch display. There is a large amount of internal volume devoted to batteries to power the new display, however the new models will allow up to 16GB of RAM and up to 2.7 GHz of quad core processor power.
- Apple is updating several apps to take advantage of the new Retina Display on the Macbook Pro, including Aperture, iMovie, iPhoto, Safari, Final Cut Pro. Adobe is also working on a Retina Display update for Photoshop.
- The new MacBook Pro has up to 7 hours of battery life, 2 Thunderbolt ports, a thinner MagSafe 2 adaptor, BlueTooth 4.0, stereo speakers, FaceTime HD camera, backlit keyboard and FireWire. It also allows for up to 768GB of SSD storage. There is also a brand new cooling system with an asymmetric fan to cope with all the heat the processor is going to give off.
- The starting price for the new MacBook Pro is a whopping $2199 and is available for order today.
- Apple is now talking about the Mac OS. Lion has shipped 26 million copies to date. However, Mountain Lion is the next generation of Mac OS and it has iCloud support built right into every part of it.
- iWork applications on the Mac are now going to receive an update that allows all iCloud documents to be viewed. It’s called Documents in the Cloud.
- The final version of Messages will allow users to send texts to other devices, not just iMessages to Apple devices.
- Notification Center in Mountain Lion will receive a few tweaks as well, such as the ability to slide in from the right. It will also work with third party services like the Facebook webpage.
- Mountain Lion will also have sharing functionality built right in, like the ability to ‘Share to Twitter’ from inside an app. Safari will have a unified search bar (like Chrome), but now also has iCloud tabs which means that you can see tabs open across other iOS devices. Voice dictation will also be available and additional support for Chinese language.
- Another new feature for Mac OS is called Power Nap, which keeps your Mac software and applications e.g. e-mail etc up to date when it is sleeping. It barely uses any power.
- AirPlay mirroring is coming to Mac, allowing users to stream 1080p content to their Apple TV.
- Game Center is also coming from iOS to the Mac, allowing for head to head, and cross platform i.e. Mac to iOS, matchups
- Mountain Lion will be available in July on the Mac App Store, priced at only $19.99.
- Now on to iOS devices, of which 365 million have been shipped through end of March this year.
- Apple announces iOS 6 with more than 200 new features including enhancements to Siri which means that it can now tell you about sports scores and rates nearby restaurants for you and allows booking through OpenTable. Siri now also has major new movie knowledge and can even launch apps on demand.
- There is also a new feature called Eyes Free in which Apple is working with car manufacturers to put a button on the steering wheel which brings up Siri. There’s also new language support for a large number of countries (British not Scottish). Siri is also coming to the new iPad.
- iOS 6 has full Facebook integration (in the manner in which Twitter was integrated into iOS 5). The integration is also to be found in the Mac, as well as being coupled with Siri.
- The ‘Phone’ app on the iPhone is also receiving enhancements, now giving the option to deliver a pre-recorded message if you get a call that you don’t want to answer. A Do Not Disturb function is also being added which screens calls and only allows calls from certain people through. FaceTime is now enabled over a 3G connection. Other new features include setting VIPs in Mail.
- Apple seems to be recognizing that we get a lot of crap to deal with on our iOS device, and has established a number of ways in which to prioritize the information in iOS 6. An excellent move.
- A new feature called Passbook allows personal information, like airline or movie tickets to be stored, and then brought up based on location.
- New accessibility features allow parents to restrict what their kids tap. Can allow disabling of the home button.
- iOS 6 has an entirely new maps feature with 100 million local business listings, as well as traffic and incident data that is updated using crowd sourced data in real time. The new maps app also gives Turn by Turn directions and is integrated with Siri, allowing for ETA. The app also has new vector based maps and 3D views with flyovers.
- iOS 6 beta is released to developers today and will be released to the public in the Fall.
- Tim Cook is back on stage to close the keynote.
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