Apple has announced a refresh to its iMac desktops, MacBooks and MacBook Pro lines. A new and powerful iMac Pro is in the works for release this December. iOS 11 and watchOS 4 updates have been announced along with macOS High Sierra’s release. The iPad Pro is to available in 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch models. Moreover, the new HomePod is an intelligent speaker designed to work with Apple Music.
The iMac, MacBook and iMac Pro
Starting with the iMac, there is now a Kaby Lake processor that goes to 4.2GHz or 4.5GHz with Turbo Boost. Fusion drive is the standard on 27-inch and the high-end 21.5-inch iMac. Up to twice the memory can be supported and SSD storage options are 50 percent faster. The graphics are powered by the Radeon Pro 500-series and there is a range of up to 8GB of vRAM. Colours are now 43 percent brighter with support for 1 billion colours. A Thunderbolt 3 port is found on the device.
The MacBook and MacBook Pro devices now contain the Kaby Lake Processors. For the MacBook, there is a 1.3GHz Core i7 with up to 3.6GHz Turbo Boost. The SSD is up to 50 percent faster, and it weighs under two pounds. Thinness of the MacBook is 13.1mm, making it the lightest and most thin of all the Apple notebooks. An updated 13-inch MacBook Air will have a 1.8GHz processor.
For the MacBook Pro, the processor is up to 3.5GHz Core i7 with Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHZ. There has been an update to the 15-inch MacBook Pro’s discrete graphics ability. The Touch Bar with Touch ID, Retina display and Thunderbolt 3 are found on the Pro.
A newly designed MacBook Pro is coming in December. The display is a 27-inch Retina 5K with 22 Teraflops powering the graphics. The processor is the 18-core Xeon with a performance for advanced graphics editing, real-time 3D rendering and virtual reality content creation. The GPU is the Radeon Pro Vega; there is up to 16GB of on-package high-bandwidth memory.
The design of the iMac Pro is entirely new. The architecture is all-flash and thermal design. Space grey is the colour of the new enclosure, and there is support for 1 billion colours.
There is support up to 4TB of SSD, four Thunderbolt 3 ports and 128GB of ECC memory. Ethernet is 10GB, and prices will start at $4,999.
iOS 11 and watchOS 4
iOS 11 has a range of new features for the iPhone and iPad. Multitasking is made easier on the iPad, and there is a customizable dock. Users will find it easier to move between active apps with Split View and Slide Over. A revamped Files app will make it simpler to move files between the device, iCloud, Box, Dropbox and other services. Apple Pencil functions have been updated for the iPad.
The processors, built-in camera and motion sensors will be utilised to create an engaging AR experience and virtual content. The camera has been improved, with Portrait Mode able to use optical image stabilisation, True Tone flash and HDR. Bounce and Loop are effects that create continuous loop video. High-efficiency Image File Format makes high-quality images small in file size.
Apple Pay will now be able to send money to friends using Apple Pay. A Do Not Disturb While Driving Feature has been added to make driving safer. The App Store has been redesigned and there are more customisation features in the Control Centre, Apple Maps, Home and AirPlay 2. Siri has been made to use up to date machine learning and AI functions.
WatchOS 4 has an improved Siri function with better machine learning and AI abilities. Updates will be better for Activity, Alarms, Breathe, Calendar, Maps, Reminders and Wallet. The Apple News app will give wearers new headlines as they come in.
The Workout app has new motions and heart rate algorithms for high-intensity interval training and auto-sets for swimming. Multiple workouts will be able to be combined for those who push themselves to the max. Apple Pay will allow users to pay anyone with an Apple Watch by moving the devices close to each other.
iPad Pro and HomePod
The iPad Pro will be available in 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch models. Performance will be powered by the A10X Fusion chip, and the display will have ProMotion technology. ProMotion improves the functionality of the Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro. The CPU will be six-cores, and the GPU will have 12-cores.
The HomePod is an intelligent speaker. Apple has designed the woofer to be upwards facing, and it will have a custom A8 chip. There will be seven beam-forming tweeters with their amplifiers. There is automatic room-sensing technology, six microphones with advanced echo technology and Siri waveform will allow users to know when Siri is engaged.
Apple has also announced an update to MacOS, call High Sierra.
