In the movieThe Princess Bride , after a serial of exciting case , swordmasterInigo Montoyais asked to explain what has pass off since the film ’s hero was rendered unconscious .
“ have me explain,”he says . “ No , there is too much — let me sum up . ”
When it amount to explicate the WWDC 2017 keynote , I feel a lot like Inigo Montoya . This was a jammed two - plus hours that would probably run three - plus hours in the Director ’s Cut edition . There were enough Easter eggs in the “ extra feature of speech ” slide to depict the Easter Bunny catatonic . There ’s a plenty to process , and we ’ll be processing it for the next few days — maybe even all summertime .
But in the meantime , here are a few cock-a-hoop - picture takeaways from Monday ’s Apple presentation .
Apple walks the walk for professionals
When Apple gathered writer together earlier this year to emphasize the company’scommmitment to professional Mac users , that seemed to be a mea culpa to pro users , with the implication that in the hereafter , Apple would do them advantageously .
Apple iMac Pro will transport in December 2017 .
Monday ’s announcements were , in essence , Apple walking the walk after previously talking the talk . Not only did the company announce the forthcomingiMac Pro , whose macrocosm was strongly hinted at during that briefing , but it offered speed improvement across the entire line of work of laptop computer — including the improver of Kaby Lake processors to theMacBook Proline that was only premise eight months ago .
harmonize to most composition , the iMac Pro was designed at a spot when it was intended to be thereplacementfor the Mac Pro . While its world now makes me wonder on the button what role the new Mac Pro will do in the Mac product line , the fact is that the iMac Pro looks like a desktop computer really focalize on the needs of high - end professional . I talked to secret plan developers who were beside themselves with delight over the specs of the new iMac Pro . No , it ’s not for everyone — this is a calculator that starts at $ 5,000 , after all — but it ’s loaded up and ready for the very masses who might want such a affair .
And do n’t brush off the grandness of Apple ship those Kaby Lake update . Apple ’s sluggishness in updating Mac ironware to take vantage of speed advance from Intel is a cardinal reasonableness why professional users have been dun with Apple . This set of speed - bumped role model may not seem like headline news , but it ’s important because it shows Apple updating the Mac in a more timely fashion . It ’s a boastful deal — though Apple ’s not out of the Wood yet . It needs to continue to update its computers on a even fundament , rather than leaving them unaddressed for a couple of years at a time .
Apple’s not sleeping on VR and AR
Apple ’s competitors have been trumpet practical reality ( VR ) and augment reality ( AR ) tech for a while now , while Apple has remained comparatively quiet . But no longer : Monday ’s tonic made it vindicated that Apple takes VR and AR seriously and it ’s invest in those applied science for the long haul .
A demo of augmented reality on an iPad Pro running iOS 11 .
Perhaps one day Apple will manufacture its own VR or AR hardware , but that Clarence Day is n’t here yet , and probably wo n’t be for a while . That ’s not a braggart deal , though , when it ’s already sell meg of gimmick with cameras and a passel of processor business leader . The demo of the day was likely Wingnut ’s awe-inspiring augmented - reality game caper , which took plaza on top of a demonstration table on leg . We got a first musical theme about the possibilities for augmented realism last year from Pokémon Go , but with ARKit , Apple is providing its developers with the index to roll out many more gamy - qualityAR experienceson iOS . It ’s a big deal .
On the VR side , the chronicle ’s a chip muddier . It look like you may soon be capable to actually take on VR game on a high - death Mac , and the Industrial Light and Magic Star Wars VR demo suggests that developing VR game on a Mac will actually be possible , especially on the new iMac Pro . I steadfastly believe that in the long rill , VR headset drive by mobile processors will be how we use VR , but in the lag it ’s gracious to call up that the Mac is n’t a backwater , but a platform that ’s really getting serious about being a VR platform .
The iPad Pro gets its wings
After seven years in the iPhone ’s vestige , withiOS 11it really feels like the iPad is coming into its own , diverging dramatically from the glide path of the iPhone . With the new Dock , multitasking view , drag and driblet , and Files app , Apple is bring Mac - style functionality to the iPad , but in a uniquely iOS elan .
There ’s a lot to digest about how iPad multitasking has been falsify in iOS 11 — the raw multitasking view replaces both the covering switcher and Control Center , for example — but in the destruction these are characteristic that will be embrace by people who want to practice the iPad Pro to get work done , and ignored by those who do n’t manage so much .
The influence of macOS is undeniable : Files is a lot like the Finder , the Dock is extremely Mac - like ( but with Siri app hypnotism instead of a minimized - windowpane region ) , and drag and drib feels startlingly familiar . But that ’s to be ask , because the Mac has evolved over the years to fulfill the needs of many users . iOS is new , and still evolving , but its more serious users have those same need . On the Mac , Finder is the default option — the “ base screen ” for every user . On the iPad , that ’s not the case , but the Files app is there if you need it .
Apple Music steps forward, Siri steps back
Ingauging rumour about the WWDC tonic , I felt it was probable that this would be a major event for Siri . Siri by all odds grow a mint of screen time-—new voices and notifications , new proactive supporter in a bunch of position , and of track Siri ’s presence on the HomePod — but none of it felt cohesive .
In fact , it feels like Apple is continuing to chuck a whole lot of features into a box and call it Siri , despite the amorphous definition of what exactly Siri is . It ’s a vocalisation assistant , but sometimes also text . It ’s not the same on iOS as Apple TV , nor on macOS as on Apple Watch .
Apple HomePod is position first as a home music scheme , then as a digital assistant potentiality .
The promulgation of the HomePod could ’ve been a huge win for Siri . Here , at last , was a machine that puts Siri into the center of your living way , quick to get your club . Instead , though , the HomePod was a showcase for medicine in general and Apple Music in particular . We heard a bang-up deal about tweeters , woofers , audio processor , and the like during the tonic — and then there was a brief segment about Siri toward the oddment .
What does this all stand for ? My guess is that Siri is such an amorphous snatch - all of evolving feature film that Apple was reluctant to slant on it too hard in the intro of the HomePod . Instead , Apple Music ’s magnanimous subroutine library , curated playlist , and personalized recommendations carried the day . This is n’t a forged call for Apple to make — on reasoned quality alone it attacks the greatest weakness of the Amazon Echo — but it ’s interesting to see just how soft - pedaled the Siri extension are . Maybe Apple ’s not as surefooted about Siri as we think it is ?
A jam-packed event
No , there is too much . Let me sum up : When you , as a ship’s company , have four major software political program and a gaggle of hardware products in pauperism of update , you have a day like Monday . It will take Clarence Day , if not weeks , for all the substance of Apple ’s keynote to drop down in . This is the opening gun of Apple ’s product year , and there ’s much more to be learn . But I ’m impressed with the grandness of this year ’s WWDC tonic .
Apple strike me as a company with something to prove this class , show a hunger that has n’t been manifest in the last few years . That ’s a good thing . I like it when Apple feels it postulate to show itself , to users and developers likewise . The companionship is at its best when it ’s maltreat up to a challenge .
