IDGĪ demonstration of augmented reality on an iPad Pro running iOS 11. But no longer: Monday’s keynote made it clear that Apple takes VR and AR seriously and it’s investing in those technologies for the long haul.
It needs to continue to update its computers on a regular basis, rather than leaving them unaddressed for a couple of years at a time.Īpple’s competitors have been trumpeting virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) tech for a while now, while Apple has remained relatively quiet. It’s a big deal-though Apple’s not out of the woods yet. This set of speed-bumped models may not seem like headline news, but it’s important because it shows Apple updating the Mac in a more timely fashion. Apple’s sluggishness in updating Mac hardware to take advantage of speed improvements from Intel is a key reason why professional users have been frustrated with Apple.
No, it’s not for everyone-this is a computer that starts at $5,000, after all-but it’s loaded up and ready for the very people who might want such a thing.Īnd don’t discount the importance of Apple shipping those Kaby Lake updates. I talked to game developers who were beside themselves with delight over the specs of the new iMac Pro. While its existence now makes me wonder exactly what role the new Mac Pro will serve in the Mac product line, the fact is that the iMac Pro appears to be a desktop computer truly focused on the needs of high-end professionals. Not only did the company announce the forthcoming iMac Pro, whose existence was strongly hinted at during that briefing, but it offered speed improvements across the entire line of laptops-including the addition of Kaby Lake processors to the MacBook Pro line that was only introduced eight months ago.Īccording to most reports, the iMac Pro was designed at a point when it was intended to be the replacement for the Mac Pro. Monday’s announcements were, in essence, Apple walking the walk after previously talking the talk. IDGĪpple iMac Pro will ship in December 2017. When Apple gathered writers together earlier this year to emphasize the company’s commmitment to professional Mac users, that seemed to be a mea culpa to pro users, with the implication that in the future, Apple would serve them better.