Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the latest WWDC Developers conference with the latest announcement including news about some upgrades to the notebook lineup and major new releases of OSX and IOS 6.

Some highlights.

Newer components in the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro. Starting with the Macbook AIr

  • 3rd-gen Intel Processors called Ivy Bridge
  • Up to 2.0GHz dual-core I7
  • Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
  • Up to 8 GB of faster ram
  • Up to 60% faster graphics
  • Up to 512 GB flash storage
  • 500MBps read speed for flash storage.
  • USB 3 and USB 2 support on the same port
  • FaceTime 720p camera
  • Price Points $100 less then before.
  • Battery life is the same as before
  • Shipping today
Macbook Pro updates
  • 3rd-gen Intel Processors called Ivy Bridge
  • Up to 2.7GHz quad-core I7
  • Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
  • Up to 8 GB of faster ram
  • Nvidia GeForce GT 650m graphics card up to 1GB of video ram, up to 60% faster
  • USB 3 and USB 2 support on the same port
  • Price Points same as before.
  • Battery life is the same as before
  • Shipping today

A new Macbook Pro with a retina display.  The is definitely a “Pro” laptop had jaws dropping during the keynote. Some highlights.

  • Retina Display 2880 x 1800 resolution
  • Quad core I7 Processor
  • 8 GB of fast ram and configurable to 16gb
  • All flash storage from 256 GB to 768 GB
  • Very thin .71 inches and 4,46 pounds.
  • 2 Thunderbolt ports, 2 USB-3 ports and 1 HDMI support
  • 7 hours of battery life.
  • Design innovations include very quiet fans
  • Photoshop and Autocad have already announced support for the the Retina display
  • Final cut pro 10 will allow 9 camera view streams and full 1080p streaming

I can see some video pro’s giving up the desktop systems for this laptop.

 

The new version of OS X will be called Mountain Lion

  • New apps, Reminders, Notes and Messages, these integrate with the IOS apps of the same name.
  • Better document integration with iCloud
  • Voice Dictation
  • Sharing within apps to all the major online services such as Twitter, Facebook etc.
  • New Version of Safari
  • Gamecenter comes to OSX including cross platform support between OSX and IOS
  • Improved Airplay
  • New titles on Gamecenter
  • Upgrade price will be $19.99. Single purchase will upgrade all of your Macs
  • Free upgrade if you buy a Mac starting today.
  • Shipping next month.

IOS 6 coming in the fall.

  • More then 200 new features.
  • Siri location support to more countries including Canada
  • Siri improvements including things like sports support. movie theatre support etc.
  • Tweet by talking to your phone.
  • Siri can launch apps now.
  • Eyesfree, integration with car manufactures including turn by turn navigation.
  • Facebook integration
  • Improvements in Notification centre.  API will be available for apps to integrate
  • Improvements to allow sharing of info from Facebook. For example Facebook events will show up in your calendar.
  • If you can’t answer a call, a option to send a custom text message to the caller or remind you later.
  • Geofence options
  • Do Not Disturb to turn off push notifications etc. Allow calls from certain people etc.
  • FaceTime support across cell networks.
  • Unifying phone number and Apple ID
  • Safari improvements including offline reading list.
  • Multiple photo upload support in email.
  • Passbook, an app to combine things like boarding passes, movie tickets and store cards into one app.
  • Map application including 3d and turn by turn navigation

 

As you can see quite a few new features. I’m looking forward to trying some of these.

Question: What are you most looking forward to from the items announced in the Apple keynote?