Apple Special Event Wrap Up, What’s New
At today’s special event, Apple announced a whole lot of new things. The most exciting news.. well, actually, there was a lot of exciting news. Apple is launching a new line of iMacs, a fourth-generation iPad, a Retina display supported 13-inch MacBook Pro, and more. The list literally goes on and on. Just in case you missed the Keynote address just a few minutes ago, we’ve summarized some of the more important announcements for you.
Apple by the Numbers
Apple sold more iPhone 5s in its opening weekend than any other phone has ever sold during its opening weekend.
More than three million iPods have sold
Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 6 has been downloaded onto 200 million devices in just over a month.
125 million documents have been shared in iCloud using the new sharing feature in Pages, Keynote, and Numbers. More than 300 billion (yes, billion) texts have been sent through iMessage on iPhones, iPod touches, iPads and Macs.
The app store offers more than 700,000 apps with more than 275,000 iPad optimized apps. Customers have downloaded 35 billion apps since the App Store started and Apple has paid developers $6.5 billion.
Apple has sold 100 million iPads in just 2.5 years. In June, more iPads were sold than any PC maker sold of any of their model of computer.
The iPad accounts for 90 percent of all Web traffic.
More than 2,500 schools implement iPad textbook programs.
The iPad is being deployed in 94 percent of all Fortune 500 companies.
App Updates
Today, Apple announced some big updates to its book related apps. iBooks will received a major update later today that will let you auto-scroll your books so you don’t have to touch the screen while you read. It is better integrated with iCloud so you can bookmark a page on one device and pick up where you left off on another. The updated version of iBooks will allow you to copy quotes from a book and post it to Facebook or Twitter with social network integration. The app now supports more than 40 languages.
Apple also updated its iBooks Author app to include custom fonts and integration of mathematical formulas.
New iMac
The biggest surprise in Apple’s announcement is the new, thinner iMac desktop computer. The new iMac has edge-to-edge glass and a remarkably thin display. The edge is 5 mm in thickness. It includes a headphone jack, an SDXC card slot, three USB ports, Thunderbolt connector, and an Ethernet port. The 21-inch iMac weighs only 12.5 pounds and the 27-inch iMac weighs 21 pounds.
13-Inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display
Just as we suspected, Apple made the smaller MacBook Pro with Retina display. This beautiful new laptop is 20 percent thinner than its predecessor, weighs only 3.75 pounds, and includes the Lightning connector. The new model costs $1,699 and ships today.
Fourth-Generation iPad
That’s right, Apple didn’t just refresh the iPad, they gave it an overhall. The newest iPad comes with the A6X processor chip that we were all hoping for in the third-generation iPad, making it twice as fast and with twice the graphics performance of the iPad 2. The front-facing camera has been updated to include HD for Facetime. The Wi-Fi connection has been updated to be twice as fast as the current-generation iPad and the new model features the lightning dock.
And of course, the iPad Mini
The big announcement was the new launch of the iPad mini. The 7.9-inch tablet is 23 percent thinner than the fourth-generation iPad and 53 percent lighter at only 0.68 pounds. The iPad mini comes in black and white. The black tablet features the slate black back. The device has 1024 x 768 pixel resolution. That is the same as the iPad 2. It includes an A5 dual-core chip, HD-quality front facing camera, 5 MP back camera, 10 hour battery life, and features the lightning dock connector.
