Biggest Announcements From Apple’s WWDC 2017

Apple made quite a few software and hardware announcements at this year’s WWDC 2017, and although the majority were just incremental changes to already existing products, others gave us a glimpse into where Apple believes the future of tech is heading.

So what announcements did Apple make at their annual WWDC 2017? 

Here are the highlights from the WWDC keynote:

HomePod (Speaker)

Apple has unveiled HomePod, the speaker that will take on the likes of Amazon Echo and Sonos.

HomePod is powered by Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant and will be able to respond to questions and control other smart home gadgets such as lights. However HomePod has been pitched as a music player that uses spacial awareness to improve sound quality.

HomePod will be available in two colours (black and white), and has been priced at $349 (UK prices haven’t been announced yet).

It is set to be released in December to the UK, US and Australia.

iMac

Apple has introduced updated iMac desktops with a range of improvements. The new iMacs come with better Retina displays, a big graphics boost, Kaby Lake processors and USB-C.

They will also support graphics for virtual reality content, which Apple demoed at the event showing off a virtual reality game. Pricing will start at $1,099 for a 21.5 inch iMac

Apple also announced that they were releasing a new iMac Pro with 5K display, an 8-core Xeon processor, up to 4TB of SSD, a lot more memory and four Thunderbolt 3 ports as well as a long list of other upgrades. Prices start at a massive $4,999 and will start shipping in December.

10.5 Inch iPad Pro

Apple unveiled the new 10.5 inch iPad Pro, which comes with a 12MP camera and a 7MP front camera. It supports USB 3.0 and has a battery life of 10 hours.

The new iPad Pro is available to order now and starts at £619.

iOS 11

The most anticipated announcement of the event was the unveiling of iOS 11.

The new iOS has had a number of cool new updates which will surly please Apple users.

Siri:

Siri has had a major update which includes improved speech, on-device learning capabilities, and translation assistance.

iMessage:

iMessage has had an update which includes a redesigned app drawer and will now be synced to the iCloud to free up memory on your device.  

You can also now pay and receive payment via iMessage with Apple Pay, using TouchID to authenticate payments and money transfers.

Camera:

The camera has been given an upgrade too with the promise of better low-light photos and the ability to edit Live Photos.

Control Center:

You can expect to see some UI changes to the Control Center; instead of the three separate pages you have to currently swipe through, the Control Center is now just on one page. Nothing is missing from the Control Center but instead the layout has been improved to neatly fit all functions on one page without looking too cluttered.

Safety Feature:

A new safety feature has also been added to recognise when a user is driving and will automatically turn the device onto Do Not Disturb mode to prevent distractions.

iOS 11 will be released this autumn.