Apple CEO, Tim Cook, on stage at WWDC17
WWDC17 ran from 5 to 9 June and Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered an inspiring opening keynote address at the San Jose Convention Center in which he outlined the company’s plans for the rest of the year.
Here are the top 16 announcements from the Apple developers conference that you need to know about:
- Apple Watch OS 4 support for two-way data exchange with workout machines and allows users to link their watch via Bluetooth to a glucose sensor from Dexcom for real-time diabetes and pre-diabetes management.
- The iPhone’s camera app will allow users to take portrait mode images.
- iPhone internal storage increased in iOS2.
- Apple Maps will now include indoor maps.
- The Apple Control Center got a more user-friendly redesign.
- iOS2 will support peer-to-peer payments through PayCash – making it a direct competitor to PayPal, SquareCash, Venmo and Facebook.
- iMac Pro is the most powerful ever, with up-powered processors, a high-clarity 5k display and a super-slim design and is coming just in time for Christmas.
- New MacOS High Sierra supports virtual reality headsets, has a new photo search features and a new Apple File System for more secure storage.
- iOS 11 will launch in September and has plenty of new features for iPhones and iPads.
- iPad Pro 10.5 features a brighter display with a faster refresh rate, and has a new A10X processor that supports HDR video and should improve gaming and overall app performance.
- Arkit will be launched very soon – a set of tools for developers to create augmented reality apps like Pokemon Go is coming to iOS11 in September.
- Apple Music will soon allow users to see what their friends are listening to (subject to privacy settings).
- Amazon and Apple will team up to bring Prime Video to Apple TV.
- Siri will get some new voices including Abraham Linbcoln’s children and iconic Scottish warrior, William Wallace.
- The only totally new product announced was the HomePod speaker. It's a Siri-powered smart speaker that allows you to play music, check the traffic, control your smart lights, query sports scores and more. It targets the same market as Google Home and Amazon Echo and will launch in December.
- CEO Tim Cook says that Augmented Reality is a big part of Apple’s future - so stand by for a lot more AR innovation from them very soon.
For more commentary check out CNBC’s online summary of the WWDC17 conference.
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