Tim Cook kicked off the 23rd annual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote with a welcoming note: “We have a great week planned for you and some really cool stuff to show you this morning.”
Cook said app sales have made $5 billion for developers. “It’s become an economy in and of itself.”
Apple teased the next-generation MacBook Pro before Phil Schiller unveiled its details: a 15.4-inch Retina display, a 2.3GHz quad-core i7 processor with 8GB of 1600MHz RAM (upgradeable to up to 16GB), a GeForce GT 650M graphics processor with 1GB of VRAM, and 256GB of flash storage.
The standout feature of the Retina-display model is (as you might expect) the brand-new, high-res display. With a resolution of 2880 by 1800—a total of 5,184,000 pixels, or 220 pixels per inch—the 15.4-inch screen has four times the number of pixels as the previous model. Apple also updated the existing MacBook Pro line: The 13- and 15-inch models get new processors and more powerful graphics cards. The Retina-display MacBook Pro starts at $2199; the standard 15-inch model starts at $1799; the 13-inch model starts at $1199.
After Schiller, Apple’s vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi took the stage to announce that Apple’s next OS X release—OS X Mountain Lion—will be available for consumers to download in July, for $20. He chose eight new features to highlight during the keynote, including some—such as Dictation on the Mac and Power Nap—that weren’t included in the Mountain Lion preview we saw in February.
Among the new Safari features Federighi spotlighted: iCloud Tabs, which uses Apple’s sync service to let you quickly access any tabs open on your other iCloud-enabled devices.
Another new Mountain Lion feature that will be exclusive to SSD-equipped Mac laptops: Power Nap works behind the scenes to keep your Mac up to date—syncing email, calendar appointments, notes, and reminders; updating Photo Stream; downloading app and OS updates; and backing up to a Time Machine drive—even when it’s sleeping.
Federighi showed off Game Center’s new cross-platform capabilities by competing in a road-racing game with a helmeted, unnamed opponent. Game Center can share the same account across devices, so you can share achievements, play with friends, and keep track of all your iOS and OS X games.
Senior vice president for iOS software Scott Forstall announced iOS 6, which has more than 200 new features—Siri enhancements, Maps, a new Phone app, and Facebook updates. Among its new skills: Siri has taken in interest in sports. Forstall asked Siri for the score of the last Giants game, and she promptly responded with the answer and a clean scoreboard interface.
Facebook will be integrated systemwide on iOS 6. You’ll be able to share photos, links, locations, iTunes and App Store items, and more via the ubiquitous social network. You can post to Facebook via Siri, too. Your Facebook friends’ contact information and calendar events can also sync to your iOS device.
Facebook and Twitter are integrated directly into your Notification Center in iOS 6: You can drag down to post a new Facebook update or tweet.
Here, Forstall also showed off iOS 6’s new Do Not Disturb feature. When it’s turned on, your iOS device will still receive push notifications, calls, and text messages, but they won’t light up your screen or make a sound. For added control, you can allow certain numbers to sound your phone as they otherwise would even when Do Not Disturb is enabled. If someone calls you back within three minutes after a muted call arrives—implying it’s urgent—your phone will ring.
The new Maps app is perhaps the biggest new feature to come to iOS 6, with Quick Route driving directions, local search, and traffic. Apple is doing all the cartography itself for the Maps app, eschewing Google Maps entirely.
The new Maps also offers turn-by-turn navigation, which also integrates with Siri: Ask Siri where to go, and she will start the turn-by-turn guidance. Siri can tell you about points of interest on your route. Ask Siri to point you towards a gas station; she will find one on your route. Siri can even answer, “Are we there yet?” In response, the app will give you your estimated time of arrival, updated in real-time with traffic data.
Forstall called Apple’s new app Passbook “the simplest way to get all of your passes in one place.” It can grab your boarding passes, tickets, store card apps (like Starbucks), movie tickets, and the like, and organize them. And when you get to the location where you need a pass, iOS can tell and pop up the appropriate pass on your lock screen.