Everything You Need To Know About The New Devices And Updates From Today’s Apple Event

Apple is on something of a roll at the moment.

Still riding off the success of the strangely popular Apple airpods, and days after announcing that they were gearing up to permanently discontinue iTunes, one of the key programs that really changed the way we listened to music, the tech giant has today announced a whole suite of new products. Everything from a new operating system for the iPad to a brand new desktop was covered.

Here’s a complete overview of all of the products announced at their World Wide Developers Conference in San Jose.

iOS 13

Just like death and taxes, new operating updates are inevitable. And so rolls around iOS 13, an update light on fresh new features, and heavy on little tweaks to pre-existing ones.

The only really new feature is Dark Mode, described as a “new look” for the iPhone. Designed especially for low-light settings, Dark Mode reduces screen glare and is well-suited for late night scrolling. Better yet, it can be set to turn on automatically, so you won’t have to worry about switching over after you’ve hopped into bed.

The new look home screen, thanks to iOS 13.

Otherwise, key to iOS 13 is greater functionality for some of the iPhone’s staples, including a new “more natural” voice for Siri, checklist options for the Notes app, Voice Control options for hands-free use, a new look to Reminders, and a unique set of editing tools for the Photo App.

macOS Catalina

macOS Catalina is Apple’s new desktop operating system, and, as with the iOS 13, it doesn’t exactly break the mould. Indeed, most significant is the bevy of updated apps that will be rolled out with the Catalina.

An Apple device running on Catalina.

A post-iTunes operating system, it’ll be fitted with Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV apps, all of which have been designed to be simple and user-friendly. According to the tech giant, Apple Music is “lightning fast”, and connects quickly to iTunes, while Apple TV rolls iTunes movies and Apple streaming into one handy package. Apple Podcasts is uh… a podcast library. That’s about it.

Oh, the Catalina has also been fitted with Screen Time, so you can make yourself feel sick by discovering exactly how much time you spend on your desktop and your phone.

tvOS 13

Apple TV is going to get a new look thanks to tvOS 13, an update that focuses on superficial rather than significant changes.

tvOS13 boasts a bunch of sleek new features.

So, expect a new look to the home screen, a new set of screensavers, the ability to use your PlayStation and Xbox controllers to navigate your way through the apps, and Apple Arcade, a subscription-based gaming platform that offers over 100 titles. None of those titles have been announced yet, but here’s to guessing at least one of them is a Tetris clone.

watchOS 6

Clearly designed to narrow the gap between the Apple Watch and the FitBit, the watchOS 6 is all about expanding the potential of Apple’s portable timekeeper to monitor health and fitness.

The Apple Watch has been fitted with new features that’ll give your FitBit a run for its money.

So, get ready for Cycle Tracker, which gives users the ability to check their menstrual cycle, a new look to the device’s Activity rings interface, and, perhaps most interestingly of all, the new Noise app, which allows users to monitor whether their surroundings are too loud and are damaging their ear health. That one’ll be an essential for regular gig-goers.

iPadOS

If you’re an iPad user, don’t feel left out: most of the iOS 13 updates are coming your way too. That means Dark Mode is coming to the iPad, as is optimal photo editing, performance improvements, and a new look Maps app.

The Apple iPad has been retrofitted with a bunch of new features.

Unique to the iPad are (say it with me now) a fresh Home Screen, high-powered functionality for Safari, and new updated interface designed to shake up what you can do with the Apple Pencil. You can now send entire documents with a simple flick of the pencil, and, maybe most excitingly of all, there’s a new tool that’ll let you draw perfectly straight lines. Hallelujah.

Mac Pro

The biggest product announced at the San Diego press conference was definitely the Mac Pro, a super-powered workstation computer, and the accompanying Apple Pro Display XDR, a state of the art monitor. The Pro boasts Afterburner, an accelerator card that will virtually eliminate lag for video editors looking to render files, a cutting edge graphic card for designers, and 1.5 trillobite’s worth of memory. Basically, it’s very fast, and very powerful.

See that stand? That stand costs almost $1,500 bucks.

The 32-inch wide Pro Display XDR, meanwhile, can display images in 6k, making it perfect for gamers and graphic designers. Be warned though: as Business Insider have already pointed out, the stand alone costs U.S. $1,000 (AUD $1,433.60), and the XDR won’t be able to stand up properly without one. Clearly, Apple reckon their customers have very, very deep pockets — the Mac Pro itself costs U.S. $5,000 (AUD $7,167).