(Newser)
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Expectations were high going into Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco today, and the company didn't disappoint, rolling out a dramatic refresh of its MacBook Pro, and a new version of iOS brimming with new features. Here are the most important details:
The New Macbook Pro
- It's just 0.71 inches thick, and lighter than all previous MacBooks, CNET reports.
- It'll come with a 15.4-inch Retina display—Jonathan Ive said Apple took an "entirely new approach" to building the display, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Under the hood it will have quad-core processors, up to 16 GB of RAM, and up to 768 GB of Flash storage, with a 7-hour battery life.
- But all of that won't come cheap: It'll cost $2,199.
iOS6
- Siri is getting a major upgrade; it'll now be able to read you sports scores, make reservations at OpenTable, buy movie tickets at Fandango, open apps, and more, according to Gizmodo.
- Siri will also now be available on the iPad 2 and 3.
- Facebook will be fully integrated. You'll be able to access it from apps, Siri, and more.
- A new app called "Passbook" will handle your movie and plane tickets; go to the theater and they'll pop up on the lock screen.
- The maps app has been completely revamped. It now includes turn-by-turn directions, will feature anonymous, crowd-sourced traffic data, and an incredible flyover view, comprised of images from helicopters. The Journal points out that Apple bought C3's military-grade mapping tech.
- Facetime will now be available through cell networks, not just on WiFi.
Other Tidbits - OS X Mountain Lion is coming next month for $19.99. It'll make your computer act more like a phone, and have voice dictation.
- The Macbook Air is getting a $100 price cut, and an upgrade. Tim Cook touted it as the one true ultrabook. "Everyone's trying to copy it, but they're finding it's not so easy," he said, according to ZDNet.
