Tim Cook and crew unveiled updates to their iPad and iMac product lineups, as well as improvements to their mobile and desktop operating systems, today at a special event at Apple HQ in Cupertino, CA.
Software Updates
Everyone is getting on the same page as Apple announced that iOS 8.1 with continuity would be available Monday, October 20 and the camera roll is coming back in iOS 8.1. iCloud Public Library public beta is also a new feature in iOS 8.1 in which all photos can be shared in their original sizes and resolution. iCloud Drive allows access across all iOS devices and also Windows. An iWork update for OS X and iOS is available today.
OS X Yosemite is available for free today on the App Store.
WatchKit for developers will be out next month before the new Apple Watch hits stores in early 2015. Mobile application developers are given the opportunity to create awesome apps for Apple’s newest innovative product.
Airplay and Airdrop is now available across your devices without a WiFi network connection. Oh thank goodness.
Here’s a screenshot of a call out to Stephen Colbert (Chief of Secrecy) to show off the calling on the iMac.
iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3
The iPad Air 2, is slimmer than the iPhone 6 at 6.1mm thick, 18% thinner than the iPad Air, and comes equipped with a new anti-reflective coating. The colors replicate the new iPhone 6 with Silver, Space Gray, and Gold. iPad Air 2 runs on the new A8X chip providing better graphics performance at 180x faster, 10 hours of battery, and the M8 co-processor tracks motion & elevation.
The camera is certainly an upgrade and comes with new iSight upgrade with 8MP and the ability to shoot 1080p HD video. You’ll definitely have fun with this iPad as the camera supports panorama-43MP shots, burst photos, time-lapse, and slo-mo videos. The new front-facing is an improvement as well with a burst mode and FaceTime HD.
Apple listened to its customers’ feedback and updated the home button to a sapphire crystal surrounded by a stainless steel ring that enables Touch ID fingerprint scanning. The new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 will also support Apple Pay.
The iPad Mini 3 wasn’t left out and now has an all-new 7.9 Retina HD display, 5MP iSight camera, 1080p HD video recording, FaceTime HD camera, 802.11n MIMO, and Touch ID encompass Apple’s newest update to their smaller iPad.
Whether you want the 2 or the Mini, you’re going to pay the price for the bells and whistles. See below for the price comparison.
If you want it, preorders for the new iPads begin tomorrow October 17 and ship next week.
iMac
For all of you Mac lovers, here it comes…Apple decked out the laptop with an all new high-definition screen that is called the Retina 5K Display. The 27-inch display version boasts an astounding 5210 x 2880 pixels (15 million+ pixels). The new iMac is 5mm thick and uses 30% less energy than its predecessor. It starts at 3.5GHz Intel i5 and is upgradable to 4GHz i7. Specifications include Radeon R9 graphics. Thunderbolt 2, and 1TB fusion drive.
And guess what! The new iMac starts shipping today!
New Mac Mini starts at $499 and is also available today.
Screenshots taken from Apple’s livestream
I was thinking about getting an iPhone 6…learn more and watch our review of the 6 and 6 Plus at AZTB
