Apple snuck in a few surprises during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote Monday. As expected, absolutely none of these surprises included a glimpse at the rumor-battling iPhone 8. Still, Apple had plenty to boast about. Their exclusives-bolstered streaming service, for example, now has 27 million paid subscribers.
But Tim Cook and company had much more to discuss than just subscription numbers. Below, we've rounded up the biggest takeaways from Monday's keynote.
iMac Pro
The new iMac Pro was thoroughly teased at Monday's event. Apple is touting the new iMac Pro as its "most powerful Mac ever," featuring a 1080p FaceTime camera and real-time 3D rendering. The new iMac Pro will be available in December with a starting price of merely $4999. According to 9to5Mac, the current Mac Pro is expected to be replaced by a modular version soon.
Faster Safari
Craig Federighi, Apple's SVP of software engineering, vowed that Safari will soon earn the distinction of being the fastest desktop browser. Safari will also utilize autoplay blocking and "intelligent tracking prevention," which the Guardianreports should help users be able to browse in comfort without ads incessantly stalking their every move.
Amazon Prime on Apple TV
Amazon Prime is pretty fucking great, and it's finally coming to Apple TV. The move is particularly significant when considering the fact that Amazon previously halted sales of Apple TV and Chromecast devices, though any perceived animosity now appears to have been paused.
iOS 11
Say hello to person-to-person Apple Pay built right into iMessage! iOS 11, set to drop in the fall, will also introduce an improved Siri with translation capabilities and a more expressive voice.
App Store Redesign
The App Store doesn't get an overhaul very often. In fact, the Apple News-esque redesign teased Monday marks the first time Apple has shuffled the Store's look and feel in nearly a decade.
HomePod
Apple is coming straight for Amazon and Google with the awkwardly named HomePod. Though the HomePod will most frequently draw comparisons to Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, Apple seems to be putting the Pod's music functionality at the forefront of its hype.
"Apple reinvented portable music with iPod and now HomePod will reinvent how we enjoy music wirelessly throughout our homes," Philip Schiller, Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing, said Monday. "HomePod packs powerful speaker technology, Siri intelligence, and wireless access to the entire Apple Music library into a beautiful speaker that is less than 7 inches tall, can rock most any room with distortion free music, and be a helpful assistant around your home." The HomePod will be available in December for $349.
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