Apple brings mulitroom speaker support to HomeKit with AirPlay 2

Apple’s HomeKit has provided iPhone and iPad users with a simple platform to connect multiple smart home devices, but it’s shied away from one of the most important gadgets: speakers. While we’re yet to see the rumored Siri speaker, the company announced today that it’s expanding its smart home hub to support a large number of third-party audio hardware.

Many of the brands you’d expect to be on board are, including Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Denon, Bowers & Wilkins, Libratone and, of course, Beats. However, Sonos isn’t on the list, at least at the moment. If you happen to own a connected speaker made by one of Apple’s listed partners, expect them to introduce new speakers that integrate with the HomeKit app, allowing you to control your multi-room setup and enjoy collaborative Apple Music playlists that you’ve curated with friends.

The functionality comes as a result of AirPlay 2, an updated version of Apple’s wireless AV technology. The company hasn’t clarified if older AirPlay-enabled speakers can be updated to support the new platform — we’ve contacted Apple for more information and will update you once we hear back.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Apple brings mulitroom speaker support to HomeKit with AirPlay 2

Apple’s HomeKit has provided iPhone and iPad users with a simple platform to connect multiple smart home devices, but it’s shied away from one of the most important gadgets: speakers. While we’re yet to see the rumored Siri speaker, the company announced today that it’s expanding its smart home hub to support a large number of third-party audio hardware.

Many of the brands you’d expect to be on board are, including Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Denon, Bowers & Wilkins, Libratone and, of course, Beats. However, Sonos isn’t on the list, at least at the moment. If you happen to own a connected speaker made by one of Apple’s listed partners, expect them to introduce new speakers that integrate with the HomeKit app, allowing you to control your multi-room setup and enjoy collaborative Apple Music playlists that you’ve curated with friends.

The functionality comes as a result of AirPlay 2, an updated version of Apple’s wireless AV technology. The company hasn’t clarified if older AirPlay-enabled speakers can be updated to support the new platform — we’ve contacted Apple for more information and will update you once we hear back.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Apple introduces the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro

Apple’s original 12.9-inch iPad Pro hit the scene in November 2015. Its sheer size and high-end specs made it a standout of the tablet scene, while the Apple Pencil made to work with it made it a hit with designers and other creatives. Now, just a year after Apple introduced a smaller, still capable 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a more typical form factor, the tech company has replaced it with a new, larger model: a 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

This new model — which appears to be replacing the 9.7-inch iPad Pro — has a larger 10.5 inch display, which is 20 percent larger, with a 40 percent reduction in borders, and it weighs in at 1 pound. It has a full-size onscreen keyboard, as well as a full-sized Smart Keyboard (that Apple sells separately), with support for more than 30 languages. For the first time, there will be a Japanese-language keyboard, too.

There’s a True Tone display, a wide color gamut, Ultralow reflectivity and 600 nit brightness, making watching movies even better. Under the hood, the iPad Pro uses an A10X Fusion chip with a six-core CPU, which brings three high-performance cores and three high-efficiency ones. There’s also a 12-core GPU on deck, which should translate to a 40 percent boost in graphics performance, according to Apple. All of this also comes to the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro, making your choice more about size and price than performance or specs.

The new Pro models will now support fast charging, USB 3 support and some new smart covers. The beginning models will start with 64 GB of memory, twice the amount the entry line had previously. There’s a new 12MP camera (and a 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera) with optical image stabilization and a high-speed sensor with a 1.8 apterture. The camera has a six-element lense, quad-LED True Tone Flash, wide color capture, and 4K video capture. Plus? iOS 11 has a plethora of new iPad-specific features.

The new iPad Pro line starts at $649 for the 10.5-inch model (which is only $50 more than the previous 9.7-inch model), and only another $150 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s entry level device, which starts at at $799.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Source: Apple

Apple introduces the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro

Apple’s original 12.9-inch iPad Pro hit the scene in November 2015. Its sheer size and high-end specs made it a standout of the tablet scene, while the Apple Pencil made to work with it made it a hit with designers and other creatives. Now, just a year after Apple introduced a smaller, still capable 9.7-inch iPad Pro with a more typical form factor, the tech company has replaced it with a new, larger model: a 10.5-inch iPad Pro.

This new model — which appears to be replacing the 9.7-inch iPad Pro — has a larger 10.5 inch display, which is 20 percent larger, with a 40 percent reduction in borders, and it weighs in at 1 pound. It has a full-size onscreen keyboard, as well as a full-sized Smart Keyboard (that Apple sells separately), with support for more than 30 languages. For the first time, there will be a Japanese-language keyboard, too.

There’s a True Tone display, a wide color gamut, Ultralow reflectivity and 600 nit brightness, making watching movies even better. Under the hood, the iPad Pro uses an A10X Fusion chip with a six-core CPU, which brings three high-performance cores and three high-efficiency ones. There’s also a 12-core GPU on deck, which should translate to a 40 percent boost in graphics performance, according to Apple. All of this also comes to the larger 12.9-inch iPad Pro, making your choice more about size and price than performance or specs.

The new Pro models will now support fast charging, USB 3 support and some new smart covers. The beginning models will start with 64 GB of memory, twice the amount the entry line had previously. There’s a new 12MP camera (and a 7-megapixel FaceTime HD camera) with optical image stabilization and a high-speed sensor with a 1.8 apterture. The camera has a six-element lense, quad-LED True Tone Flash, wide color capture, and 4K video capture. Plus? iOS 11 has a plethora of new iPad-specific features.

The new iPad Pro line starts at $649 for the 10.5-inch model (which is only $50 more than the previous 9.7-inch model), and only another $150 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s entry level device, which starts at at $799.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Source: Apple

ARKit is Apple’s new reality-bending developer platform

Apple is diving into the world of augmented reality. ARKit is Apple’s new developer platform, allowing programmers to build apps that blend the real world with digital objects. It’s due out later this year in iOS 11. ARKit supports Unity, Unreal and SceneKit — opening up the worlds of AR game development and movie-making — and it offers motion tracking, plus plane, lighting and scale estimations.

Since ARKit will be available on iPads and iPhones, Apple CEO Tim Cook claims it will represent the world’s largest AR platform. Compare it to Google Tango, for example: Google doesn’t automatically include Tango on every Android device; instead, manufacturers must choose to include it.

Wingnut AR, The Hobbit director Peter Jackson’s company, demoed an ARKit game on-stage at Apple’s WWDC event today. Creative Director Alasdair Coull held up an iPad Pro to a blank table and, on-screen, a living industrial village popped up, complete with townsfolk milling around and bombs dropping from planes. We also got a glimpse at an even more realistic version of Pokemon Go — the OG AR app — made possible via ARKit.

ARKit exists thanks in large part to advances in artificial intelligence technology. Apple hasn’t exactly been secretive about its focus on machine learning: Within the past year alone, the company published its first AI research paper, hired a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, acquired the companies Turi and Lattice Data, and started building hardware specifically for AI. Almost exactly one year ago, during WWDC 2016, Apple teased how its own deep neural networks would improve the iPhone.

Siri is a driving force behind Apple’s AI push. Voice-activated assistants have found a hungry market, and major companies including Amazon and Google are working quickly to build the best, most natural digital personality. At this year’s I/O conference, Google showcased its AI efforts, focusing on technology that would help Home, Android and other gadgets better understand human behavior and language. So far, Google’s early investments in AI have paid off.

Apple is hoping for similar results with its HomePod smart speaker, powered by Siri. The company revealed the Amazon Echo and Google Home competitor today, priced at $350 and due to hit stores in December.

Apple is also using upgrades in computer learning to improve iOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS and its Photos app. Robust AI tech is crucial to Apple’s self-driving car plans, too.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

ARKit is Apple’s new reality-bending developer platform

Apple is diving into the world of augmented reality. ARKit is Apple’s new developer platform, allowing programmers to build apps that blend the real world with digital objects. It’s due out later this year in iOS 11. ARKit supports Unity, Unreal and SceneKit — opening up the worlds of AR game development and movie-making — and it offers motion tracking, plus plane, lighting and scale estimations.

Since ARKit will be available on iPads and iPhones, Apple CEO Tim Cook claims it will represent the world’s largest AR platform. Compare it to Google Tango, for example: Google doesn’t automatically include Tango on every Android device; instead, manufacturers must choose to include it.

Wingnut AR, The Hobbit director Peter Jackson’s company, demoed an ARKit game on-stage at Apple’s WWDC event today. Creative Director Alasdair Coull held up an iPad Pro to a blank table and, on-screen, a living industrial village popped up, complete with townsfolk milling around and bombs dropping from planes. We also got a glimpse at an even more realistic version of Pokemon Go — the OG AR app — made possible via ARKit.

ARKit exists thanks in large part to advances in artificial intelligence technology. Apple hasn’t exactly been secretive about its focus on machine learning: Within the past year alone, the company published its first AI research paper, hired a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, acquired the companies Turi and Lattice Data, and started building hardware specifically for AI. Almost exactly one year ago, during WWDC 2016, Apple teased how its own deep neural networks would improve the iPhone.

Siri is a driving force behind Apple’s AI push. Voice-activated assistants have found a hungry market, and major companies including Amazon and Google are working quickly to build the best, most natural digital personality. At this year’s I/O conference, Google showcased its AI efforts, focusing on technology that would help Home, Android and other gadgets better understand human behavior and language. So far, Google’s early investments in AI have paid off.

Apple is hoping for similar results with its HomePod smart speaker, powered by Siri. The company revealed the Amazon Echo and Google Home competitor today, priced at $350 and due to hit stores in December.

Apple is also using upgrades in computer learning to improve iOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS and its Photos app. Robust AI tech is crucial to Apple’s self-driving car plans, too.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

‘Monument Valley 2’ is now available on iOS

Monument Valley is one of the greatest mobile games ever released, a brilliant puzzle jaunt through an MC Escher landscape punctuated with lovely chimes and audio accents. Nobody expected a sequel to come around any time soon, so Apple nonchalantly announcing the game at WWDC today is a delightful surprise. Monument Valley 2 is officially live on the App Store for $5.

Per the game’s description, the sequel seems to follow a mother looking out for her child as they explore the titular valley. Get the game today so you can be in the know when you see it pop up in House of Cards next season.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Source: Monument Valley 2 (App Store)

‘Monument Valley 2’ is now available on iOS

Monument Valley is one of the greatest mobile games ever released, a brilliant puzzle jaunt through an MC Escher landscape punctuated with lovely chimes and audio accents. Nobody expected a sequel to come around any time soon, so Apple nonchalantly announcing the game at WWDC today is a delightful surprise. Monument Valley 2 is officially live on the App Store for $5.

Per the game’s description, the sequel seems to follow a mother looking out for her child as they explore the titular valley. Get the game today so you can be in the know when you see it pop up in House of Cards next season.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Source: Monument Valley 2 (App Store)

Apple unveils HomePod, its Siri smart speaker

Just as we expected, Apple unveiled its Siri speaker, Homepod, today during its WWDC keynote. It’s yet another category where Apple is a bit late to the party — Amazon’s Echo and Alexa ecosystem has grown steadily over the past few years, and Google has also gotten a start with its Home speaker and Assistant. Even Microsoft has a leg up with the Cortana-powered Harman Kardon Invoke speaker. Apple’s pitch, as usual, is that it’s delivering a more premium audio experience than the competition.

The HomePod’s small, vase-like case houses a four-inch woofer and seven tweeters. It’s powered by Apple’s A8 processor, just like the iPhone. HomePod features “real-time acoustic modeling,” which allows it to tweak music to suit its environment. Apple is also targeting Sonos as a competitor, which is a sign that the HomePod’s audio quality will be better than what we’ve seen from Amazon and Google.

Of course, you can use the HomePod to access Siri with voice commands. But on this device, Siri is more than just a virtual assistant — it’s a “musicologist” that will help you find new tunes on Apple Music. You can also tell Siri you like a certain song, and it’ll remember your tastes. What’s most unique is that you’ll be able to ask Siri specific questions like, “Who’s the guitarist on this song?”

HomePod is coming in December for $349, which is significantly more than the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Sonos’s $300 Play:3. It’ll be available in white and Apple’s usual space grey. We’re hoping to get some hands on time with it soon, so keep an eye out.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Apple unveils HomePod, its Siri smart speaker

Just as we expected, Apple unveiled its Siri speaker, Homepod, today during its WWDC keynote. It’s yet another category where Apple is a bit late to the party — Amazon’s Echo and Alexa ecosystem has grown steadily over the past few years, and Google has also gotten a start with its Home speaker and Assistant. Even Microsoft has a leg up with the Cortana-powered Harman Kardon Invoke speaker. Apple’s pitch, as usual, is that it’s delivering a more premium audio experience than the competition.

The HomePod’s small, vase-like case houses a four-inch woofer and seven tweeters. It’s powered by Apple’s A8 processor, just like the iPhone. HomePod features “real-time acoustic modeling,” which allows it to tweak music to suit its environment. Apple is also targeting Sonos as a competitor, which is a sign that the HomePod’s audio quality will be better than what we’ve seen from Amazon and Google.

Of course, you can use the HomePod to access Siri with voice commands. But on this device, Siri is more than just a virtual assistant — it’s a “musicologist” that will help you find new tunes on Apple Music. You can also tell Siri you like a certain song, and it’ll remember your tastes. What’s most unique is that you’ll be able to ask Siri specific questions like, “Who’s the guitarist on this song?”

HomePod is coming in December for $349, which is significantly more than the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Sonos’s $300 Play:3. It’ll be available in white and Apple’s usual space grey. We’re hoping to get some hands on time with it soon, so keep an eye out.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!