Today’s Apple keynote was one of the biggest in recent memory, and as always, the company filled it with loads of figures, stats, and numbers. Here are some of the highlights from Apple’s September 12 keynote at the Steve Jobs Theater.
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Apple’s September 12 Keynote by the Numbers
Apple Announces macOS High Sierra to Launch on September 25th
Today, Apple announced on its website that the official release date of macOS High Sierra will be September 25th.
As detailed at WWDC in June, macOS High Sierra features the introduction of several significant new and updated under-the-hood technologies including APFS, macOS’s new file system, Metal 2, which harnesses the power of your Mac’s GPU, and HEVC video compression. High Sierra also adds new features and refinements to existing apps like Mail, Photos, Notes, Safari, Siri, and more.
Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of macOS High Sierra yet, but it should be released to developers soon. The GM seed gives developers a chance to finalize their macOS apps and submit them to the Mac App Store for approval before High Sierra is released publicly.
You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.
Apple Announces iOS 11 to Launch on September 19th
As had been widely expected, Apple confirmed the official release date of iOS 11 at a media event held today at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino. iOS 11 will be released on September 19th.
Announced at WWDC in June, iOS 11 includes new and updated built-in apps and system features with a major focus on the iPad. With iOS 11, Apple has rethought multitasking on the iPad – revamping the dock, changing how Split View works, and introducing system-level features like drag and drop of files, text, photos, apps, and more. The changes include a new stock app called Files, which bears some resemblance to the macOS Finder but built for touch. Apple has also implemented more Apple Pencil-friendly features like system-wide document markup and inline note taking in Notes. The iPhone and iPad’s cameras play a big part in iOS 11 too, supporting document scanning in Notes and brand new augmented reality APIs for third-party developers.
Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of iOS 11 yet, but it will presumably be released to developers later today. Typically the last developer release before a public launch, the GM seed will allow developers to finalize their iOS 11 apps and submit them to the App Store for approval before iOS 11 is released publicly.
You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.
4K HDR Video Is Coming to the 5th Generation Apple TV
Long anticipated, 4K HDR streaming video is coming to the Apple TV. As announced at the Apple press event today, the first ever held at the Steve Jobs Theater in Apple Park, 4K streaming will be available on the new 5th generation Apple TV, which has been dubbed the ‘Apple TV 4K.’ The new Apple TV also supports HDR televisions with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The Apple TV’s new capabilities are powered by an A10X Fusion chip, the same chip that powers the iPad Pro.
Based on the iOS 11 gold master leak last weekend, the Apple TV 4K’s content will be displayed at 2160p resolution, which is twice the standard 1080p HD resolution. 4K content on iTunes will be priced the same as existing HD content, and any HD content you already own will be upgraded for free to 4K resolution. 4K content will also be available from third-party streaming services including Netflix and, later this year, Amazon Prime Video.
Apple also announced that later this year, it will debut live sports and news inside its TV app. When browsing available sports, the Apple TV will display the time remaining in a game and the score to help you decide what to watch. However, the score display can be turned off if you’d prefer not to know. The TV app is also expanding to include Australia and Canada this month and France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and the UK later this year.
The update to Apple’s television-connected box brings it in line with other hardware manufacturers who have offered 4K video support for a while. With more 4K content available than ever before from providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video (which will be debuting its own Apple TV app soon), the time was ripe for an Apple TV revision. According to Eddy Cue’s presentation during the keynote, the new Apple TV will be available for ordering on September 15th and will ship on September 22nd. Presumably, 4K video will start to show up in iTunes and on the Apple TV around the same time.
The new Apple TV 4K starts at $179 for the 32GB model, and the 64GB model will run $199. Apple will also continue to sell the 32GB 4th generation Apple TV for $149.
You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.
Apple Announces watchOS 4 Will Launch on September 19th
Apple confirmed the official release date of watchOS 4 at a media event held today at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. watchOS 4 will be released on Tuesday, September 19th.
Announced at WWDC in June, watchOS 4 features new watch faces including a Siri watch face that displays personalized information based on the time of day, Toy Story and Kaleidoscope faces, motivational notifications to inspire you to close your Activity rings, a new Workout app interface, automatic syncing with curated Music playlists, a dedicated Apple News app, and more.
Apple hasn’t announced a Golden Master seed of watchOS 4 yet, but it will presumably be released to developers later today. Usually the last developer release before a public launch, the GM seed will allow developers to finalize their watchOS 4 apps and submit them to the App Store for approval before watchOS 4 is released publicly.
You can also follow all of our Apple event coverage through our September 12 hub, or subscribe to the dedicated September 12 RSS feed.
Manage Your iPhone Your Way With iMazing [Sponsor]
iMazing is a macOS app that provides unparalleled access to everything on your iOS devices. iMazing works over both WiFi and USB, so it’s ready whenever you are. With it, you can do things like pull your favorite photos or songs off your iPhone or send content the other direction to your favorite media player on your iPhone. It’s a great way to preserve memories too. For example, you can export years of Messages conversations with loved ones with just a couple of clicks.
iMazing is also a sophisticated iOS backup app. You can create advanced backups to any destination you want, including external drives or a NAS, and unlike iTunes, iMazing keeps a history of your backups so you can roll back to any prior backup. You can even automate the process with the recently-released iMazing Mini, a menu bar app for macOS that’s bundled with iMazing and is available for free as a standalone product too.
Backups support encryption and are browsable so you can access the contents of your backups even if your iOS device is lost or stolen. There are also great tools for power users like iOS installation tools, a device console, access to iOS log files, editable backups, and data export to the CSV file format. You have more data on your iOS devices than you might realize and iMazing is the perfect way to access and manage it.
iMazing has an amazing deal just for MacStories readers that you won’t want to pass up. For a limited time, you can get 30% off iMazing 2 at checkout by using this special link.
Our thanks to iMazing for sponsoring MacStories this week.
Logitech Circle 2 Camera Now Supports HomeKit
Earlier this summer Logitech released a new home security camera called the Circle 2. The camera is sleek and can be adapted to work well in different areas of the home thanks to a variety of accessories like a window mount or plug mount. Today, thanks to loosened restrictions for HomeKit devices Apple introduced alongside iOS 11, the Circle 2 is receiving HomeKit support through a software update.
At the time of its release, Logitech announced that HomeKit support would be added in a future update, but there were conflicting reports on exactly how that would work. Today in the press release where Logitech confirmed that HomeKit support has now arrived, they clarify that it is only available on the wired model of the camera. According to a Logitech PR rep who spoke with 9to5Mac, the wired requirement is one imposed by Apple, so it is unlikely to change anytime soon for owners of the wireless model. Instructions for setting up the wired Circle 2 with HomeKit are available in a support document.
The wired Circle 2 camera is available now from many retailers for $179.95, and Logitech notes that Apple stores will begin selling the product in October.
Soulver Updated with Split View Support and File Management Features
The iOS version of the calculator-replacement app, Soulver, received a big update today. The app, which combines elements of a text editor with a calculator, lets you work out problems the way you would describe them in writing. The latest version of Soulver, released earlier today, adds some key features for iPad users, greater cloud storage flexibility, and a host of other improvements.
For iPad users, Soulver has added support for Split View and Slide Over. Soulver is the perfect app to put in Split View as you reference other apps to collect numbers. I expect to get a lot of use out of this feature alone.
You no longer need to pick between storing your Soulver documents in iCloud or Dropbox. The app can now access documents in both cloud services and move items between them. If you enable support for both services, you can set one as the default in the app’s settings. You can also migrate documents from one service to the other from settings.
Soulver now supports importing from any file provider on your iOS device by long-pressing the plus button in the navigation bar and can recover deleted files from the trash by tapping the folder icon. Shake to undo, which is a nice trick, but not very discoverable, has also been abandoned in favor of a dedicated button in the navigation bar.
Flexibility is necessary for utilities like Soulver to remain relevant. With Split View support and more file management options, Soulver has laid a foundation for iOS 11 and beyond.
Soulver is available on the App Store.
HomeKitty: A Crowdsourced HomeKit Database Written in Swift
Recent days have seen an increasing number of HomeKit accessories released, making it more difficult to keep up with all the products currently on the market. Enter HomeKitty.
HomeKitty is a new site created single-handedly by developer Patrick Balestra as a hub for all things HomeKit. It was written entirely in Swift, and contains basic information about every currently available HomeKit accessory. Thanks to the site’s categorical listings, you simply select a category of device – such as lights, outlets, or thermostats – to view all available products of that type.
Alongside a product’s image, HomeKitty displays its name, price, maker, and a link to either the product’s official manufacturer site or its listing in the Apple Store – that’s it. Rather than include detailed listings and ratings/reviews for HomeKit products, HomeKitty keeps things clutter-free and serves as a sleek, easy-to-navigate database that can help point prospective shoppers in the right direction.
HomeKitty was designed to serve as a crowdsourced site, so anyone can submit a product for inclusion in its database. Once approved, the product will be displayed alongside existing entries; currently over 80 products are listed. For now, every listing is restricted to products currently available for purchase, but in the future Balestra plans to add announced-but-unreleased products as well.