Apple WWDC 2017: By the numbers

It was an enthralling, albeit bladder-bursting, 2.5 hours at Apple’s 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose on Monday. The company announced a slew of upgrades, redesigns, added features and new products during the widely-anticipated keynote address. Numbers, because how else does one keep a press conference from running long?

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

The iMac Pro puts a darker spin on a familiar design

The cylindrical Mac Pro was a gorgeous feat of engineering, but that beautiful design also made it tough for Apple to update it regularly with fresh components. No wonder Apple essentially ditched it — with the newly announced iMac Pro, the company squeezed seriously high-end components into a familiar body. The company has gone as far as calling it the “most powerful Mac” ever, which seems at odds with the iMac Pro’s classic, consumer-friendly aesthetic. After all, aside from the space gray finish, the iMac Pro looks a lot like a machine that would set you back less than $2,000.

That is, until you see it in person. You won’t be able to get an iMac Pro of your own until this December, but Apple had one setup waaaaay in the back corner of its WWDC demo area. Unfortunately, the spot where Apple installed the machine was almost as dark as the iMac Pro was. We couldn’t touch it — or even touch the table it was on, for that matter — but the sleek, dusky design does wonders to make the iMac Pro seem distinct from the rest of Apple’s desktops. Go on, take a closer look:

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

The iMac Pro puts a darker spin on a familiar design

The cylindrical Mac Pro was a gorgeous feat of engineering, but that beautiful design also made it tough for Apple to update it regularly with fresh components. No wonder Apple essentially ditched it — with the newly announced iMac Pro, the company squeezed seriously high-end components into a familiar body. The company has gone as far as calling it the “most powerful Mac” ever, which seems at odds with the iMac Pro’s classic, consumer-friendly aesthetic. After all, aside from the space gray finish, the iMac Pro looks a lot like a machine that would set you back less than $2,000.

That is, until you see it in person. You won’t be able to get an iMac Pro of your own until this December, but Apple had one setup waaaaay in the back corner of its WWDC demo area. Unfortunately, the spot where Apple installed the machine was almost as dark as the iMac Pro was. We couldn’t touch it — or even touch the table it was on, for that matter — but the sleek, dusky design does wonders to make the iMac Pro seem distinct from the rest of Apple’s desktops. Go on, take a closer look:

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

Microsoft’s Outlook mobile apps help you edit your contacts

Believe it or not, Microsoft’s Outlook app for Android and iOS hasn’t let you add or edit contacts — you’ve had to turn to your PC or the web for that. At last, though, common sense prevails. As of now, you can add and edit your Outlook.com and Office 365 contacts through the iOS app (Android and Google contacts are “coming soon”). You can go to the People section to add details yourself, or add people from events, messages and your company directory. Also, Outlook lets you save those contacts to your phone’s native list so that you won’t be surprised when they give you a call.

Contact cards themselves are getting a makeover, we’d add. They now highlight key details (like email addresses and phone numbers) and display recent conversations or meetings, so you’ll have some context when a familiar-sounding name shows up in your inbox. These are simple additions, but they could make the difference between relying on Outlook or switching to an app that covers more of the fundamentals.

Source: Office Blogs

Microsoft’s Outlook mobile apps help you edit your contacts

Believe it or not, Microsoft’s Outlook app for Android and iOS hasn’t let you add or edit contacts — you’ve had to turn to your PC or the web for that. At last, though, common sense prevails. As of now, you can add and edit your Outlook.com and Office 365 contacts through the iOS app (Android and Google contacts are “coming soon”). You can go to the People section to add details yourself, or add people from events, messages and your company directory. Also, Outlook lets you save those contacts to your phone’s native list so that you won’t be surprised when they give you a call.

Contact cards themselves are getting a makeover, we’d add. They now highlight key details (like email addresses and phone numbers) and display recent conversations or meetings, so you’ll have some context when a familiar-sounding name shows up in your inbox. These are simple additions, but they could make the difference between relying on Outlook or switching to an app that covers more of the fundamentals.

Source: Office Blogs

The new iPad Pro vs. the 9.7-inch iPad Pro: What’s changed?

The iPad Pro’s new 10.5-inch screen size may be a bit bigger than the 9.7-inch model it’s replacing, but it’s still sleek and svelte. However, a larger display and a new chassis aren’t the only differences. Inside you’ll find upgraded specs belying the device’s thin frame. Take a peek at our table to to see how much of a difference that extra 0.8 inches of screen makes between smaller iPad Pro models.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch)
iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
Price
$649, $749, $949
$599, $749, $899
Dimensions
250.6 x 174.1 x 6.1mm (9.8 x 6.8 x 0.24 inches)
240 x 169.5 x 6.1mm (9.45 x 6.67 x 0.24 inches)
Weight
469g (1.03 pounds)
437g (0.96 pounds)
OS
iOS 10
iOS 9
Display
10.5-inch IPS LCD Retina display
9.7-inch IPS LCD Retina display
Resolution
2,224 x 1,668 (264 ppi)
2,048 x 1,536 (264 ppi)
Aspect ratio
4:3
4:3
Processor
Apple A10X
Apple A9X
Memory
Not available
2GB
Storage
64 / 256 / 512GB
32 / 128 / 256GB
Ports
Lightning
Lightning
Front camera
7MP, f2.2, 1080p video
5MP, f2.2, 720p video
Rear camera
12MP, f/1.8, 4K video at 30fps
12MP, f/2.2, 4K video at 30fps
Cellular radio
Optional
GSM/EDGE
CDMA
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/DC-HSDPA
LTE
Optional
GSM/EDGE
CDMA
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/DC-HSDPA
LTE
WiFi
Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth
v4.2
v4.2
Battery
30.4 Wh, 10 hours
27.5 Wh, 10 hours

* Specs in italics are unconfirmed.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

The new iPad Pro vs. the 9.7-inch iPad Pro: What’s changed?

The iPad Pro’s new 10.5-inch screen size may be a bit bigger than the 9.7-inch model it’s replacing, but it’s still sleek and svelte. However, a larger display and a new chassis aren’t the only differences. Inside you’ll find upgraded specs belying the device’s thin frame. Take a peek at our table to to see how much of a difference that extra 0.8 inches of screen makes between smaller iPad Pro models.

iPad Pro (10.5-inch)
iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
Price
$649, $749, $949
$599, $749, $899
Dimensions
250.6 x 174.1 x 6.1mm (9.8 x 6.8 x 0.24 inches)
240 x 169.5 x 6.1mm (9.45 x 6.67 x 0.24 inches)
Weight
469g (1.03 pounds)
437g (0.96 pounds)
OS
iOS 10
iOS 9
Display
10.5-inch IPS LCD Retina display
9.7-inch IPS LCD Retina display
Resolution
2,224 x 1,668 (264 ppi)
2,048 x 1,536 (264 ppi)
Aspect ratio
4:3
4:3
Processor
Apple A10X
Apple A9X
Memory
Not available
2GB
Storage
64 / 256 / 512GB
32 / 128 / 256GB
Ports
Lightning
Lightning
Front camera
7MP, f2.2, 1080p video
5MP, f2.2, 720p video
Rear camera
12MP, f/1.8, 4K video at 30fps
12MP, f/2.2, 4K video at 30fps
Cellular radio
Optional
GSM/EDGE
CDMA
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/DC-HSDPA
LTE
Optional
GSM/EDGE
CDMA
UMTS/HSPA/
HSPA+/DC-HSDPA
LTE
WiFi
Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Dual band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth
v4.2
v4.2
Battery
30.4 Wh, 10 hours
27.5 Wh, 10 hours

* Specs in italics are unconfirmed.

Get all the latest news from WWDC 2017 here!

AI can predict if you’ll die soon by examining your organs

When not stealing blue collar jobs, robots are becoming Dr. House, diagnosing maladies like breast and skin cancer with aplomb. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have pushed it to a morbid new level, however, with an AI system that can tell if you’re going to die. By analyzing CT scans from 48 patients, the deep learning algorithms could predict whether they’d die within five years with 69 percent accuracy — “broadly similar” to scores from human diagnosticians, the paper says.

Luckily, foretelling such dire consequences may help doctors to stave them off. “Predicting the future of a patient is useful because it may enable doctors to tailor treatments to the individual,” lead author Dr. Luke Oakden-Rayner told the University of Adelaide. “Instead of focusing on diagnosing diseases, the automated systems can predict medical outcomes in a way that doctors are not trained to do, by incorporating large volumes of data and detecting subtle patterns.”

For this study, the system was looking for things like emphysema, an enlarged heart and vascular conditions like blood clotting.The deep learning system was trained to analyze over 16,000 image features that could indicate signs of disease in those organs. Machines have become adept at it surprisingly quickly, even though it’s “something that requires extensive training for human experts,” said Oakden-Rayner.

AI can pick problems in the heart and lungs (at left) that might lead to an early death.

The goal was not to build a grim diagnostic system, and the AI only analyzed retrospective patient data. Rather, the team is looking to lay the groundwork for algorithms that can diagnose your overall health, rather than just spotting a single disease. They also want to “motivate the use of routinely collected, high resolution radiologic images as sources of high quality data for precision medicine,” according to the paper. In other words, they’re encouraging more scans as a way to improve the results of future diagnostic systems.

“Our research opens new avenues for the application of artificial intelligence technology in medical image analysis, and could offer new hope for the early detection of serious illness, requiring specific medical interventions,” says Oakden-Rayner.

Via: Reddit

Source: Nature

Apple Reveals Redesigned App Store for iOS 11 With Design Similar to Apple Music

iOS 11 will see a complete overhaul to the App Store on iPhone and iPad, with a new design that looks visually similar to Apple Music’s iOS app. The new tabs include Today, Games, Apps, Updates, and Search.

The store page for each app includes detailed information about the app, screenshots, videos, and a purchase button, similar to the current App Store. The store will feature a new App of the Day, Game of the Day, and The Daily List, with the best apps currently available for users to download.

Within the announcement, Apple also revealed that Monument Valley 2 is launching today exclusively on iOS.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2017
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iOS 11 Preview: Enhanced Siri, Voice Translation, Unified Control Center & More

Apple’s senior VP of software, Craig Federighi, took to the stage at WWDC today to give a preview of iOS 11, showing off new features like a smarter Photo Library and a redesigned Control Center.

Messages is set to receive a redesigned app drawer that makes it easier to use apps and stickers, while a more optimized device storage system will make Messages backups smaller and faster, with messages stored and synced across devices over iCloud. Beginning iOS 11, for the first time, Apple Pay is also integrated into the Messages app.

Siri is will become more naturally spoken, with a new voice powered by deep learning techniques. Also set to feature is a beta translation feature that will allow users to get live translations between English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. More languages are promised by Apple in the months to come.

Lastly for Siri, a new on-device learning system will enable the virtual assistant to understand what a user is likely to want depending on circumstances and time of day. User data will be synced across all devices on a user’s account with end-to-end encryption.

Control Center will be substantially redesigned to appear on a single screen and fill the bottom half of an iPhone’s display, implementing 3D Touch for sub-options within buttons, and sliders to adjust volume and brightness. The Lock Screen and Notification Center will be unified on a single screen, with a swipe up or down from the Lock Screen offering immediate access to notifications.

Apple Maps will include detailed shopping floor plans for shopping malls in Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, and London, with several other major cities also covered and additional ones to come. Major airports will also be included in the floor plans, while lane guidance and posted speed limits will be displayed during navigation.

Apple is introducing an optional Do Not Disturb While Driving feature in iOS 11 to prevent distracted driving. HomeKit will also support a new AirPlay 2 protocol for supporting speakers, with a Shared Up Next feature for the protocol where multiple connected users can edit a party playlist. A new MusicKit API will let third-party developers get full access to Apple Music in iOS 11.

iOS 11 will also bring several new features specifically to the iPad for its larger screen, including Drag-and-Drop, a new customizable Dock, a redesigned app switcher, and more.

Related Roundups: iOS 11, WWDC 2017
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