We’re still trawling through the new iOS 6 beta releases that Apple pushed out after its WWDC keynote yesterday, and we continue to find nice new features and improvements. If you’re as excited about iOS 6 as we are, you’d probably like to hear about them.
Here’s a few changes Apple has made to emoji, Reminders, and more.
There were suggestions that Apple would refresh its iMac at WWDC yesterday — alongside the updates it issued to the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro. However, the Cupertino company’s popular all-in-one didn’t get a mention during the two-hour keynote. That could be because it is hard at work on redesigning the iMac and the Mac Pro.
According to one Apple executive, both machines will receive big updates next year.
Every year Apple picks the very best apps in the App Store as recipients of its prestigious Apple Design Awards (ADAs). iPhone apps like Infinity Blade and Mac apps like Pixelmator won last year, and this year’s winners are just as good.
11 apps were awarded ADAs today by Apple at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California during WWDC. The awards are meant to “celebrate excellence and recognize the outstanding work of iOS and OS X developers.”
Here are the winners of the 2012 ADAs:
Apple announced a lot of things from the stage at WWDC today, but there was nothing said about the future of the Mac Pro. Rumors speculated that Apple would be updating the two-year-old workhorse today, and the 2012 Mac Pro has just appeared on Apple’s website.
While the physical design of the machine has stayed the same, Apple has upgraded the Mac Pro’s specs: 3.06GHz Intel Xeon X5675 processors, new ATI Radeon HD graphic cards, four 3.5-inch drive bays for up to 8TB of storage, and 2 SuperDrives. A big disappointment is that Apple hasn’t added Thunderbolt I/O or USB 3.0 to the 2012 Mac Pro.
Wow! Apple just unleashed a thunderstorm of new products and software on the world. Our heads are still spinning trying to keep up with all the new awesome features but we’ve managed to compile a list of everything Apple just announced at today’s WWDC keynote so you know all about the goodies coming your way. Take a look and see what you might have missed.
Verifying the rumors we’ve been hearing for months, Apple has officially unveiled its totally new Maps application for iOS 6. Scott Forstall demoed the app onstage today at WWDC. “In iOS 6, we’ve built an entirely new mapping solution from the ground up, and it is beautiful,” said Forstall. “We’re doing all the cartography ourselves. This is a worldwide effort. We’re covering the world.” This includes 100 million business listings worldwide.
It looks like Google Maps has indeed been kicked to the curb.
Among the new backend, the new Maps app will feature an integrated traffic service, turn-by-turn navigation, Siri integration, an enhanced 3D view called “Flyover.”
After addressing the crowd about the App Store, Tim Cook has moved onto the next thing to brag about: new MacBooks, OS X updates and iOS 6! But first, Phil Schiller joins the stage.
(This story is developing.Check back for updates.)
Image: Engadget
Following those specifications for the new Mac Pro and the new MacBook Pro that we reported on earlier, the specifics for the Retina display MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Airs have now also been leaked. In addition to Intel’s Ivy Bridge processors for all models, highlights include up to 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage for the MacBook Air, and up to 768GB of storage for the MacBook Pro.
It’s almost here, folks. One of the biggest events of the year for an Apple fan is today, June 11th. Tim Cook, Phil Schiller and others will be taking the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in sunny San Francisco at 10 A.M. Pacific/ 1 P.M. Eastern.
We’re expecting a whole lot of announcements from Apple tomday, so stay tuned to Cult of Mac for breaking coverage all day, and especially starting at 10/1 Pacific/Eastern, when our live-blogging coverage of the keynote will commence.
Thousands of developers will be crammed into the Moscone Center this morning to watch Apple talk about new products like iOS 6, Mountain Lion, and possibly some new Macs. It’s going to be a very busy, exciting day. We can’t wait!
Don’t expect Apple to stream today’s keynote live, but keep hitting refresh on Cult of Mac for breaking news stories all day, plus post-keynote reactions. Apple usually posts a video recording of the keynote a few hours later, and we’ll have that live as soon as it’s up, along with a 90-second video recap for you impatient types. To whet your appetite, check out our complete roundup of what to expect from Apple at WWDC 2012 and our history of Apple product announcements at WWDC from the past decade.
Image: James Martin/CNET
Today at 10AM Pacific, Tim Cook will take the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco for Apple’s annual WWDC keynote, and if the rumor mill is to be believed, he’ll be hard pressed to fit everything Cupertino is ready to announce into its 90 minute presentation. We’re looking at massive upgrades to the entire Mac line, the official unveiling of iOS 6, loads of new apps, and maybe possibly even our first glimpse of the iPhone 5 and Apple HDTV.
Here’s what we think Apple will (and won’t) announce today, ranked in order of likelihood.
Apple’s online store has gone down ahead of the company’s keynote presentation at WWDC in just under four hours. We’ve had our suspicions that the company will be refreshing a number of its Macs, and this almost confirms they’ll be available to order today.
Apple’s unveiling of its next major operating system, iOS 6, is right around the corner. Scott Forstall and Co. are expected to announce the new OS to developers at WWDC next week. Very little is actually known about iOS 6, but there have been some rumors that made headlines over the last few months.
iOS 6 looks to be an evolutionary upgrade from iOS 5, rather than a revolutionary jump forward. Here’s what we expect to see.
As we patiently wait for Tim Cook to kick off Apple’s WWDC keynote in just under five hours time, the last of the WWDC rumors and reports are spilling in. One of the more questionable pieces comes from KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes the new MacBook Pro won’t get that thinner, lighter, MacBook Air-like form factor we’ve all been hearing about. But that a resurrected MacBook will instead.
We’re almost certain Apple will announce a new MacBook Pro at WWDC this week, but what we’re not quite so sure of is exactly what the new notebook will bring. An Intel Ivy Bridge processor and a high-resolution Retina display seem like the most feasible changes, but there’s also been much debate over a new design.
Some reports have suggested the device will sport a thinner, lighter form factor that will be heavily influenced by the MacBook Air. While others have claimed the design will remain the same as existing MacBook Pros. Now a leaked logic board for the upcoming device seems to side with the latter.
Chinese forum WeiPhone.com has posted alleged download links to Apple’s iOS 6 and Safari 6 developer preview files ahead of WWDC tomorrow. Apple is expected to introduce the software on Monday, June 11th and release a preview to developers. The links provided by WeiPhone are currently inactive, but they will assumedly start serving iOS 6 and Safari 6 beta downloads for supported iOS devices once Apple lifts the curtain tomorrow.
The lovefest known as the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference starts Monday. As with any such event that involves Apple announcing new products, the global outpouring of love will be matched by a rising outpouring of hate.
Some people hate Apple. Other people hate people who hate Apple. Many of these haters have turned pro, leading to a lucrative “hater industrial complex.”
I know, because I’ve been the target of hate from both sides. I’m on the hate list of both the most extreme anti-Apple haters and pro-Apple haters.
Passion in technology, flame-wars, fanboyism and its discontents are nothing new. But in the past couple of years, something new has happened: The loudest, most insistent hate is now coming from the anti-Apple crowd, rather than the pro-Apple people.
I’ll tell you why below.
Also, it needs to be said: Haters are rare. The vast majority of users — and the vast majority of bona fide fans — don’t fall into the “hater” category. But haters appear to be everywhere because they’re active and vocal, and their rants memorable.
But first, let’s understand once and for all who hates, how they hate, and why.
There has been rather a lot of interest recently in the 3D motion sensing device Leap by San Franciscan company Leap Motion. While the company CTO was somewhat reluctant to talk about The Leap’s modus operandi / camera / sensor, he was more than happy to give Cult of Mac a demonstration of Leap in action. Watch the video here.
A hardware bomb! That’s what CultCast special guest and Ars Technica writer Chris Foresman thinks is about to go down at next week’s WWDC. I think he’s right, and on our brand new CultCast we’ll tell you why Apple might be about to refresh every Mac they make. Plus, there’s iOS 6. We’ll tell you what to expect from Apple’s new mobile OS too.
And don’t miss our winner of Faves and Raves, the game where we pitch our favorite hardware/apps and then vote on which is best.
All that and too many LULZ on our brand new CultCast. Subscribe now in iTunes and read on through for our show notes.
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) has been a staple event for the company since since the turn of the 21st century. The first ever WWDC was held in 1983, but it wasn’t until 2002 that Apple started using the conference as a major launchpad for new products. Since then, Steve Jobs and Co. have unveiled products like the Power Mac G5, Mac Pro, iPhone, and plenty of software. Because WWDC has always been a developer-focused conference, Apple uses the event to announce new apps, OS X versions, major iOS updates, etc. For an Apple fan, it doesn’t get much better than WWDC.
With WWDC 2012 set to kick off on Monday, June 11th, we decided to take a look back at the big announcements Apple made at WWDC over the past decade.
U.S. Facebook users should start seeing Facebook’s new App Center when they log into Facebook via the web, Android app, or iOS apps. Facebook’s new App Center is less of an “App Store” and more of a central location for Facebook users to discover new apps. In reality, it’s just a way for Facebook to keep users in Facebook or using Facebook integrated apps.
The City of Cupertino has just released a slew of new plans and technical drawings for Apple’s proposed Spaceship Campus, which is set to finish construction in 2015.
The most interesting part of these plans, though? The plans for a massive new subterranean auditorium for future Apple press announcements. This will be where Apple unveils products like the ninth-generation iPhone, the seventh-generation iPad, the future Apple HDTV and other magical gadgets we haven’t even thought of ye.
Here’s some pictures of the auditorium. It’s like a giant secret lair!
Apple has produced some of the most memorable adverts in history. Its “1984” commercial for the original Macintosh is still talked about today, and we can all remember the “Mac vs. PC” commercials, and the dancing silhouettes that were used to promote the iPod. However, it hasn’t quite been the same story in recent years.
Despite promoting incredibly popular products like the iPhone and the iPad, Apple’s most recent commercials have been far from unforgettable. In fact, the CEO of one ad-tracking firm has revealed that Apple is being mocked for its latest Siri commercials, which employ celebrities to sell a feature that rarely works in real life.
When Apple pulled Airfoil Speakers Touch from the App Store last week, many believed that the Cupertino company was gearing up to introduce the same functionality to iOS 6 later this year. It seems, however, that this was just wishful thinking. In letter to one customer obtained by Cult of Mac, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, explains the real reason why Airfoil Speakers Touch was pulled.
Macs equipped with Retina displays are high on everyone’s wish-list right now, but despite many rumors claiming we’ll see them announced at WWDC, we’ve still had our doubts they’ll arrive this year. However, we’ve been handed a glimmer of hope this morning after Retina-ready Mac applications began appearing in the Mac App Store.
Earlier this week, we did the math and declared prepaid carrier Cricket Mobile to be the best iPhone deal around, but today’s announcement that Sprint’s Virgin Mobile will also be offering the iPhone 4S starting on June 24th changes the math substantially, and Cricket’s no longer looking like such a good deal.
Virgin Mobile’s iPhone deal requires you to purchase a completely unsubsidized iPhone from them up front at $649, $150 more expensive than Cricket. But that initial money spent up front can really pay off over time, depending on which plan you sign up for.
How much? You can save over $1000 over the course of two-years on Virgin Mobile compared to AT&T, Verizon or Sprint.