Apple Announces VR Support to Macs at Annual Conference

Apple made a number of new announcements today, including three new additions to their Apple product lineup.

During Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple revealed a slew of new upgrades to their products and operating systems. Among these announcements were the reveals of a new iPad and iMac Pro along with Apple’s new smart speaker.

Coming in a new Space Gray colouring, the new iMac Pro has a 27-inch 5K screen and an optional 18-core processor. Apple is promoting the new iMac Pro as the most powerful Mac computer ever. The new desktop will use the Radeon Vega graphic chipset and will be capable of workstation-class performance. The iMac Pro will ship in December, starting at $5,000.

Apple’s new version of the iPad Pro will launch with a 20 per cent larger screen than current models, measuring at 10.5 inches. The new iPad includes a new feature called ProMotion, which increases the refresh rate, making the motion in video content smoother. The 10.5 inch iPad Pro will ship next week at $649.

Apple’s new smart speaker, HomePod, made its debut at the conference. Priced at $349, Apple’s HomePod aims to reinvent home music with the help of its power source, Apple’s own Siri. Apple claims that the company focused on the sound quality of the speakers and that it will sound incredible.

Apple plans to push augmented reality and virtual reality more than ever before with their new devices. After a long wait, VR will finally be supported by Mac devices. Apple will be teaming up with companies such as Valve to ensure that VR games are properly supported on the platform. A demo for augmented reality was shown off by Apple. Through software called ARKit, physical objects seen through the iPhone’s camera can be detected as surfaces, allowing the virtual images to be properly placed in the real world rather than simply appearing in front of you. The popular app, Pokemon Go, was used as an example, placing the Pokemon on the ground. Apple stated that one of the company’s goals is to become the biggest AR platform in the world. The new ARKit software will be a part of the new iOS 11, expected to launch later this year.