‘Did not hold back’: Apple news sends crowds wild as new products launched
Apple has revealed a string of crazy new products and features – and one major iPhone change sent crowds into a frenzy.
Apple just announced an abundance of new software features and products at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
Excitingly, this announcement included the recently rumoured VR/AR headset – now officially known as the Vision Pro – along with a new 15” MacBook Air, Mac Studio and Mac Pro.
15” MacBook Air
I was in attendance at the event, which started with CEO Tim Cook welcoming the crowd and then quickly launching into an announcement of a new 15.3 inch MacBook Air.
As one of my favourite products that Apple makes, due to its lightweight yet powerful form factor, I was excited to see it appear on screen in the colours midnight, starlight, silver and space grey.
I got to inspect the laptop briefly after its announcement and it has the same beautiful design we know and love now, but while still remaining light and slim.
It will be available for $2199 and cheaper at $1999, with an education discount.
Mac Studio
The Mac Studio desktop computer was the next piece of hardware to be refreshed and seemingly supercharged.
Apple states that the Mac Studio with the M2 Max chip is up to 50 per cent faster than the previous-generation Mac Studio and four times faster than the most powerful Intel-based 27-inch iMac.
The baseline Mac Studio houses a 12-core CPU, up to a 38-core GPU, and up to 96GB of unified memory.
Even more impressive is the newly announced M2 Ultra chip, also available to the Mac Studio.
With this upgrade, it essentially makes the Mac Studio unparalleled with its performance, featuring a 24-core CPU, up to a 76-core GPU and up to 192GB of memory.
Mac Pro
Additionally, Apple also announced a new Mac Pro tower-style computer, which is their top of the line Mac computer.
It’s aimed at professionals, likely creatives who work in industries where the ultimate computer power is required, such as rendering and working on a feature film.
iOS 17
The announcement of iOS 17 came with many surprising feature upgrades.
Year to year there are always software updates for the iPhone, iPad and Watch, but this year Apple did not hold back.
A multitude of awesome features were pitched to a crowd of excited onlookers – most notably, the new feature called ‘NameDrop’ wowed the crowd, showcasing the ability for iPhone users to share their own contact details just by hovering their iPhone over another iPhone.
Apple also announced the ability to add visual effects to video meetings through apps such as FaceTime and Zoom and the option to leave a video voicemail via FaceTime.
Anther feature is the launch of personalised “Contact Posters”, providing a new way for users to express themselves. You can now customise the images of contacts, making incoming calls look a lot cooler.
The iOS 17 also now has Live Voicemail, which means you can see a real-time transcript as someone leaves a voicemail - and even pick up the call while they are midway through leaving a message.
Messages have also been updated, with all-new stickers experience with new emoji stickers — as well as new Live Stickers which can be created from photos.
The autocorrect and dictation functions have also been given a refresh. Apple is now using a state-of-the-art on-device machine learning language model for word prediction. A new speech recognition model means dictation is even more accurate.
Charging your phone has also changed. The new StandBy feature means you can glance at information on your phone from a distance while the phone is charging. You can display different clock styles, photos or widgets.
A long list of additional features will be available when iOS 17 launches, along with software updates to Mac, iPad, Watch and AirPods.
Apple VR, the Vision Pro
And finally, Apple announced the biggest news of the entire conference – they have in fact developed an augmented reality/virtual reality headset which they’ve dubbed the Vision Pro spatial computer.
The mind-boggling device, although not an entirely new product concept, definitely roused an audible reaction of awe.
Essentially, it’s a wearable device that allows you to work, watch content, take 3D photos and play games. And unlike most VR headsets, it doesn’t have physical controllers – it only requires the user’s eyes, hands and voice to intuitively navigate the device.
Apple pitched this new product as a device you can take anywhere for work or entertainment, even on a plane.
It offers the ability to be completely immersed in content, use it in its space-aged mixed reality mode where you could be navigating apps on a virtual heads up display in the lounge room (wearing the goggles), while still being able to see and interact with family members. And, when in this mode, family members will also be able to see your eyes through the headset.
The device will be sold for $US3499 on apple.com and will only be available in the US early next year, with more countries yet to be announced.
You can visit Apple’s website to find more information about all the new releases.
Apple paid for Elly Awesome’s travel and accommodation to attend this event.
Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger | @ellyawesometech | YouTube
Aus Post worker’s alleged $6k theft
An Australia Post employee has been charged with allegedly stealing more than $6000 worth of phones from his own employer.
My wife’s fallen in love with the new bot
It didn’t take long. Within hours my wife was infatuated with our new bot. It wasn’t its new shape, fast learning capabilities, or even voice-assisted AI. But our dog is not so sure.
Cops storm home of ‘computer geek’
The alleged mastermind behind an encrypted messaging platform allegedly used by the mafia is a 32-year-old “computer geek” who lives with his parents, police say.