WWDC 2012 - page 2

Apple just announced that Siri Dictation will be implemented systemwide in OS X Mountain Lion. The feature will be integrated across the OS, “even in apps like Microsoft Word.” A small dialog box with the Siri mic appears when you want to dictate.

“Now in Mountain Lion you can share right from the app where you’re working. There’s a share button on the toolbar.” Like iOS, you can share files and media with social networks like Twitter and Flickr, or send something directly to AirDrop. Want to send a tweet? Do it directly in the OS. Facebook integration will also be present in Mountain Lion.

Open browser tabs will be synced with iCloud across devices, and there’s a “Do Not Disturb” option for Notification Center.

Craig Federighi took the stage after Phil Schiller at WWDC today to talk everything Mac. OS X Lion has been a wild success, and 40% of all Mac users run the operating system 9 months later. 26 million copies have been shipped exclusively through the Mac App Store.

There are 60 million Mac users around the world, and Apple’s market share has been rising exponentially in the desktop space over the past few years. The rest of the PC industry has seen a decline in sales.

“iCloud has taken off like a rocket with over 125 million registered users,” said Federighi. Apple also ran through tentpole features of OS X Mountain Lion that were revealed in the developer preview months ago. Some new features, such as Siri Dictation, were also announced.

Following the announcement of the revolutionary new MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple has updated a score of OS X apps for the new screen resolution. Final Cut X can now be viewed in full 1080p on the new Pro’s 2880 x 1800 display. Professional apps like Autodesk and Adobe Photoshop will support the 220 ppi screen right out of the gate.

Mail, Safari, iMovie, iPhoto and more apps have also been updated. And… wait for it…. Diablo III is ready for Retina on the Mac. O yes.

Apple will ship a Retina-ready version of OS X Lion with the new MacBook Pro when it ships. Non-Retina apps will be pixel-doubled automatically.

Following a refresh to the MacBook Air lineup, Apple’s Phil Schiller unveiled a revamped MacBook Pro today at WWDC12. The updated machine boasts Intel Ivy Bridge 2.7GHz (turbo boosted up to 3.7GHz), USB 3.0, Nvidia GeForce GT 650m graphics, and 7 hours of battery life.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro spec upgrade costs $1199, while the 15-inch will sell for $1499. The 15-inch is offered in $1799 and $2199 models with beefier quad-core chips. The outwards design of these upgraded MacBook Pros have stayed the same.

“”Nobody turns over their entire line as quickly and completely as we do at Apple. So what’s next? We need to make room on the slide for this.” And Apple is about to announce a completely new and improved MacBook Pro, the next-generation.

““With the MBA, the engineering team did something bold. They reenvisioned the consumer notebook, and were aggressive in embracing new technologies, and discarding legacy technologies. Things we could eventually do without.”

“So what would make a next-generation MacBook Pro?” Schiller asks.

According to Schiller, the next-gen MBP is the most beautiful computer Apple has ever made. It’s thin, its light, it has no optical drive, it’s exactly what the rumors had us believe it would be: a cross between the last MBP and the MacBook Air.

The new MBP is about as thin as the current Air, and weighs under four and a half pounds. And it has a Retina Display.

Noting that everyone tries to copy the MacBook Air, Phil Schiller says they’re updating their ultraportable line.

The MacBook Air will now feature:

• Updated CPU — Ivy Bridge, up to 2.0GHz dual-core i&.
• Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
• Up to 8GB RAM
• 60% Faster Graphics
• Up to 512GB SSD
• USB 3 Support!
• 720p FaceTime camera
• No retina!

Prices now start at $999 and $1099 for the 11-inch, $1199 and $1499 for the 13-inch

(This story is developing.Check back for updates.)

Image: The Verge

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

Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at WWDC12 and kicked things off with some numbers. The App Store currently boasts 400 million accounts, making it the largest and “most vibrant app ecosystem on the planet.” There are over 650,000 apps in the App Store, and 225,000 are made for the iPad.

Apple has seen a staggering 30 billion App Store downloads since the store’s launch in 2008, and third-party developers have been paid a “mind-boggling” $5 billion.

The App Store is available in 120 countries around the world, and Apple is adding 32 more countries today.

“Nothing makes us happier than to see hundreds of thousands of developers around the world using our hardware and software to share their ideas,” said Tim Cook. “It’s becoming an economy in and of itself.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook has just taken the stage at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to deliver the keynote address, and are we excited.

Over the next hour and a half, Tim Cook is expected to announce some radical new products for Apple, including new Macs and iOS 6. Apple is expected to abandon Google Maps for its own in-house solution. We will also likely hear a release date for OS X Mountain Lion.

Stay tuned for updates, and keep refreshing our home page for the latest scoops from the keynote. We’ll be live-blogging the whole thing over the course of the next 90 minutes, so as soon as something’s announced, you’ll see it on the front page.

What are you most looking forward to Apple announcing today? Let us know in the comments.

In a hysterical change of pace, instead of Apple CEO Tim Cook taking the stage to start the WWDC keynote at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Siri came on the big screen to warm up the crowd instead.

“Hello and welcome to WWDC. I’m Siri, your virtual assistant and today I was asked to warm up the crowd, which should be easy since the high will be 75 degrees,” said Siri.

Here were some more jokes Siri told:

“How many developers does it take to change a lightbulb? None, that’s a hardware problem.”

“Hey, any of you guys been working with ICS or Jelly Bean. Who’s working up these codenames? Ben & Jerry?”

“Seriously, I am excited about the new Samsung. Not the phone, the refrigerator.”

“I love you guys, but it’s hard for me to get emotional. Because my emotions haven’t been coded yet.”

And now Siri is introducing Tim Cook! Awesome!

Image: Engadget

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 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.

Lines are already starting to form for the WWDC keynote at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. A Photo tweeted by iOS developer Glasshouse Apps (responsible for The Early Edition and Quip, among others) shows the beginnings of a line outside the glass-fronted conference center.

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.

Not that there was any doubt, but as this picture proves, yup, Apple is unveiling iOS 6 at WWDC on Monday.

Source: CNET

The chances of iOS 6 being anything like this video concept by Joost van der Ree are pretty slim: we already know most of what to expect in iOS 6, and across the board, it looks like an app — not feature — focused update.

But who cares? This still looks great. We’re not so sure about the redesign of the Notification Center to pull down under the home screen — this seems counter intuitive — or the need for a “Mission Control” for finding running apps — the existing task switcher is an expert feature unused by most people which works just fine for poiwer users — but we do love the major innovation of this mockup: “Flipcons”, which show all your app updates and notifications as an overlay that pops out of each individual app on the homescreen.

None of this stuff will be in iOS 6, of course. But maybe some of it will come via jailbreak, and if it doesn’t, there’s always iOS 7.

Source: YouTube
Via: Redmond Pie

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.

Following earlier reports hinting that Apple would allow devs to start making software for the existing Apple TV as a way of paving the way for a true Apple HDTV early next year, BGR is now officially sticking their neck out, saying an Apple TV SDK is coming at WWDC, allowing devs to build Apple TV-compatible apps. This is in addition to a new control API that will allow other entertainment devices in the living room to use the same remote as the Apple Tv, and even connect through it.

BGR’s the only place claiming such a thing, so we’ll have to see, but it makes sense: if Apple wants to release a proper HDTV, they’ll need to have apps to run on it. This paves the way without tipping their hand too much.

Source: BGR

WWDC is only a few days away and the event is shaping up to be filled dramatic announcements. Expectations include an Apple HDTV, a new Mac lineup that includes an updated Mac Pro, the unveiling of the next iPhone, iOS 6 with Siri support for the iPad, updates to Siri’s functionality, and load of additional details about Mountain Lion.

Whether all those expectations are met or not, WWDC and its keynote will pack lots of information for developers and IT professionals as well as various Apple product announcements and previews. The big announcements may be the best part of WWDC for most Mac users and Apple fans, but the event is, at its heart, a giant powwow for developers. It also offers IT professionals and CIOs their best glimpse at Apple future plans and the new technologies that they will need to support and/or manage.

So what are IT leaders and business professionals going to be looking for at WWDC? Here’s our IT wish list for this year’s WWDC.

Apple offers a number of search engines for iOS users, including Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft Bing. According to a new report today, Apple will be adding Baidu search engine support for iPhone owners in China as early as next week. The feature will likely be announced alongside other iOS 6 announcements at WWDC.

Baidu is basically the Google of China, owning 80% of the market there while Google only owns 17%. It’s not surprising that Apple would want to support the largest search engine in the iPhone and iPad’s fastest growing market. Not to mention that this is another move that pushes a certain company farther away from iOS.

Yesterday we told you that Apple is getting ready to breathe life into the Mac Pro at WWDC next week, and today more specs for the upcoming machine have been allegedly revealed. It’s been nearly two years since Apple introduced a new Mac Pro, and there are plenty of internal upgrades that need to be made for it to be considered a computer that meets professional standards.

Apple will finally bring its Thunderbolt I/O architecture to the Mac Pro this year, as well as some other major improvements.

At this point, the consensus of everyone from the smallest Apple blogs to the venerable Wall Street Journal is that Apple will dump Google as its Maps provider in iOS 6 in favor of its own, in-house technology that will bring, among other enhancements, 3D mapping to the mix.

Apple’s move has caught Google not just off-guard, it’s put the search giant into a total panic. Need proof? Look no further than Google’s debacle of an emergency announcement today, in which they unveiled “the next dimension of Google Maps.”

During this announcement, Google coincidentally announced their own 3D Maps solution… coincidentally enough, just five days before Apple’s expected to unveil theirs. Oh, and they showed it working on an iPad instead of an Android tablet… and their app was so hacked together it crashed numerous times during the presentation.

Can anyone say “rushed?”

With the MacBook Pro, Air and iMac lineups all expected to see a refresh at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference next week, it looks like the seemingly-abanonded Mac Pro will also be updated. Apple has begun pulling Mac Pro stock from its retail stores and online shipping estimates are also starting to slip. This type of activity is typical right before a new version of an Apple product is announced, as Apple clears out its old inventory to make room for the new.

The Mac Pro saw its last refresh in July of 2010, and many have begun to lose faith that Apple will continue to support its ‘pro’ users as the company transitions to being more consumer-oriented. It would seem that we can all be hopeful for the future of the Mac Pro, as the machine is about to see its first refresh in nearly two years.

Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference is set to kick off next Monday with a media keynote, and signage for the conference is already being put up. We expected the banners to start going up Friday afternoon, but Apple has started decorating earlier than normal.

Thousands of developers will fill the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California all next week, and Apple is expected to unveil iOS 6, new Macs, and some other surprises. It’s going to be a wild week!

Update: We’ve gotten more pics from the Moscone Center for you to check out.