Apple had a productive day on October 22, 2013. And, that’s putting it lightly. On the same day that the company had some sort of shindig, it was reported that lots of people have downloaded something from Apple. After one month, Tim Cook revealed that iTunes Radio has 20 million “listeners,” who have listened to 1 billion songs, so far. Not too shabby considering the service is only available in the U.S. Cook also mentioned that within five days, Apple’s iOS 7 was found on some 200 million devices. He also boasted that 64% of iOS devices are now running iOS 7. Another staggering figure for software that has only been available to the public since September 18. If that wasn’t enough, the iOS App Store also has over one million apps, which have been downloaded 60 billion times.This news was probably most likely welcomed by developers who have made $13 billion on the platform.
Oh yeah. There was also something about iPads, Macs and free software when Tim Cook took the stage at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Here’s a rundown in case you missed all the announcements.
iPad Air and iPad Mini
As expected, Apple unveiled its fifth generation iPad with some new and exciting features. The most obvious place to start is with the design. The new iPad has a brand new design which has slimmed down the iPad by 25%. The iPad Air is only only 7.5mm thick and still features the 9.7-inch display. Other features include the new A7 processor (this is the same processor found in the iPhone 5s), an updated 5-megapixel iSight camera and will be available in either black, white, silver, and space gray. Pricing starts at $499 and will ship on November 1.
Apple also announced the new iPad Mini. Not a lot of changes in the design, but it does feature the heavily requested Retina display. This will run at 2048×1536, just like its full-sized brethren. It will also contain the 64-bit A7 chip and pricing will start at $399. No exact release date was announced, but expect it to hit shelves sometime in November.
New Mac Pro
Another announcement that Tim Cook made was the Mac Pro. This unique cylinder full of computing power also made its debut. The tech specs includes: 3.7GHz quad-core Xeon, 12GB DRAM, 2GB VRAM, and 256GB for the $2,999 model. It also features AMD FirePro graphics, holds up to one terabyte of flash storage, supports 4K HDMI video and was designed specifically for video and image editing. Expect a December release date.
Upgraded MacBooks and MacBook Air
It was also made known that Apple was releasing two new MacBooks. The new MacBook Pro features Retina display, integrated graphics and Thunderbolt 2. Both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros getting some additional upgrades as well. The new MacBooks have gotten slimmer, lighter and will have improved battery life. Both models are currently available with the 13‑inch starting at $1299 and the 15‑inch starting at $1999.
The MacBook Air and its long battery life also made an appearance. The 11-inch MacBook Air now lasts up to 9 hours, while the 13‑inch model lasts up to an outstanding 12 hours. Additional features include fourth-generation Intel Core processors with Intel HD Graphics 5000 and the latest 802.11ac technology for faster Wi-fi speeds. Apple is also claiming that flash storage in the MacBook Air is now up to 45 percent faster than the previous generation. The 11-inch starts at $999 and 13‑inch at $1099. Both are on sale now.
Free OS X Mavericks
As expected, Apple announced the latest version of its OS X operating system. OS X 10.9 Mavericks, named after a lethal surfing point in northern Cali, will feature iBooks, a Finder window, an Apple Maps app that syncs with other iOS devices and the new Tags, which will let you tag photos and files so that they can be easily organized across apps. The software will also improve battery life by about an hour. The big news surrounding Mavericks is that those currently using Mountain Lion, Lion or Snow Leopard can upgrade for free.
What Wasn’t Announced
For starters, the iPad will not be available in gold like the iPhone 5S. It will only be sold in silver-and-white or space-gray-and-black. Also, unlike the latest iPhone, the fingerprint sensor will not be found on the iPad. There will be no “smart covers,” at least not just yet for the iPad either. Some were expecting a smart cover reveal, since it’s been reported that Apple has tested, and even prototyped, smart covers for the iPad that would contain keyboards and Bluetooth connections.
Apple once again made no mention of the anticipated Apple TV. This rumor has been lingering for two years and some are now beginning to wonder if Apple is actually going to head into the television market. Finally, although not a huge surprise, was that there was absolutely nothing related to the so-called iWatch. It seems that people will just have to continue to speculate until Apple’s piece of wearable tech is officially unveiled.
A lot went down at Apple’s big fall event. Hopefully, we were able to touch on everything. But if we did miss something please let us know. If we covered everything, then tell us what your thoughts are? Was there a new piece of Apple hardware or software that got you excited? And were there any announcements that you were hoping that Apple would make that didn’t happen?
Image via Flickr
