WWDC 2012: The News
The Hardware
MacBook Air:
- New Ivy Bridge Intel-based CPUs up to 2Ghz, dual-core i5. Turbo boosts to 3.2Ghz
- Up to 8GB RAM
- 60% faster graphics
- Up to 512GB SSDs
- USB 3.0
- Factime Camera now 720p
Prices have decreased - 11" $999 & $1099, 13" $1199 & $1499
MacBook Pros:
New Ivy Bridge Intel-based CPUs up to 2,7Ghz quad-core i7. Turbo boost to 3.7Ghz
- Up to 8GB RAM
- 60% faster graphics - GeForce GT 650M, Kepler architecture. Up to 1GB video RAM.
- USB 3.0
Prices the same - 13" is $1199 & $1499, 15" is 1799 & $2199
Next Generation MacBook Pro:
Ridiculously thin (.71 inches thin) - 25% thinner.
- Retina display - 2880 x 1800, 220 ppi. 15.4 inches. (5,184,000 pixels)
- 4.46 pounds - lightest MBP ever - lighter than a 13" MBP
- Glare/reflection reduced by 75%
- Battery life - up to 7 hours, 30 days of standby.
- HDMI port
- Up to 768GB SSD flash storage
- Up to 16GB RAM
- Using the new nVidia Keplet GPUs
- Quad-core i7 Ivy Bridge Intel CPUs
- Ports - SD Card, HDMI, two USB3, Magsafe 2, two Thunderbolt ports, headphone jack.
- Backlit Keyboard
- BlueTooth 4.0
- FaceTime HD Camera
- 802.11 N
- Dual microphones (uses beam-forming to enable a new generation of voice applications)
- No built-in Ethernet (see adapters below)
- No built-in optical drive (why need it?)
- Price is $2199 for the base model. Two new Thunderbolt Adapters:
- Thunderbolt to FireWire 800
Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet
Mountain Lion
Over 200 new feartures
- Highlighted in the keynote: iCloud, Messages, Reminders, Notes, Documents in the Cloud, Dictation, Notifcation Center, Sharing Services, new Safari (synced tabs, unified address/search bar, tab view gestures, fastest javascript engine, share sheets), Power Nap (fetches email, reminders, calendar updates, photostream...in the background while asleep, Time Machine backups, auto Software Update), AirPlay, and Game Center.
- Ships in July for $19.99
Developers get the Gold Master release today (Apple called it "near final" on stage).
iOS 6
Lots of new Siri improvements: Sports info, Restaurants (Yelp & Open Table), now launches apps, "Eyes Free" (working with various car manufacturers to have built-in Siri integration with their cars), lots of new international languages (including local search for these countries).
- Siri coming to the iPad
- Facebook Integration - just like Twitter in iOS 5. Photos app, Safari, Maps, Came Center, iTunes Store, App Store (you can like apps or see what people have liked), Notifcation Center posting (Twitter also gets notification center posting), Contacts (Contacts data within Facebook will show up in Contacts app).
- Phone app (messaging/reminders options to incoming calls).
- Notification center: Do not disturb feature
- FaceTime over 3G/4G
- Unify Apple IDs with your phone #.
- Safari: iCloud Tabs, photo uploads, smart app banners
- Shared Photo Streams: Easy way to share photos with other people.
- Mail: VIPs, add photos & video from compose window, pull to refresh.
- Passbook: OS integration of movie ticket, starbucks card, plane ticket type apps. Makes it easy to find your tickets for various things within apps.
- Accessibility: enhanced features to benefit autistic kids (kickass Apple), single app-mode (allows teachers, for instance, to lock an app preventing the home buttom from being used).
- Maps: Local Search(Yelp integration), Traffic Service (pools data from other iOS users), Turn-by-turn navigation (routes you around traffic, can display on lock screen for mountin in a car while driving), Siri integration, Flyover (3D views).
- Beta 1 released to developers today.
Post-keynote Update: Mac Pros
Not that big of an update. Disappointing. No USB 3, no Thunderbolt. Mac Stories has a good rundown of new vs old.